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Peter O'Toole Funeral To Be Attended By Ex-Wife Sian Phillips


Peter O'Toole Sian Phillips Richard Burton

Peter O'Toole's death on the 14th December has brought a renewed interest in the actor and his lengthy and illustrious career as well as people emerging from the fray to attest to the star's character and praise one of the old hellraisers. O'Toole's former wife, Siân Phillips, may have split acrimoniously from the Lawrence of Arabia actor but apparently holds her ex-husband in high enough esteem to be planning on attending his funeral.

Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole Burned Out In The Late 70s Due To Alcohol.

The Leeds-raised actor married the Welsh-born actress in 1959 and they had two children together, Kate and Patricia, before their 1979 divorce. "It is sad the way things worked out, but Siân did have some very happy times with Peter and a death is a time to see a whole life in perspective," a friend of Miss Phillips tells The Telegraph.

Continue reading: Peter O'Toole Funeral To Be Attended By Ex-Wife Sian Phillips

'Burton And Taylor' Re-imagined By Carter & West, But Was There Any Chemistry?


Helena Bonham Carter Elizabeth Taylor Richard Burton

It was the real-life and onscreen romance that fascinated millions and now the unique romance of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton has yet again been brought back to life in the BBC4 biopic, Burton and Taylor, that aired last night (22nd July).

Burton & Taylor
Burton And Taylor:
Helena Bonham Carter & Dominic West Brought The Fabled Romance Back To Life.

Set in 1983, the Richard Laxton-directed biopic tracks a period of the lovers' lives where they appeared together in the Noël Coward play, Private Lives, in New York.

Continue reading: 'Burton And Taylor' Re-imagined By Carter & West, But Was There Any Chemistry?

Bonham-Carter And West As 'Burton And Taylor' - BBC4's Last Drama Hurrah [Pictures]


Helena Bonham Carter Dominic West Elizabeth Taylor Richard Burton

The BBC Four biopic Burton And Taylor will - as Drama Commissioning Controller Ben Stephenson puts it – see them "go out with a bang,” of original drama, anyway. The TV movie details the relationship between Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor during the Noël Coward play Private Lives.

Dominic West and Helena Bonham Carter in Burton and Taylor

"I nearly didn't take the role," Bonham-Carter admitted to Vogue. "When I first found out about it, I thought, 'Elizabeth Taylor? I should run a mile.' Even my mum said, 'Don't touch that with a barge pole.' But it was the script that won me over - it was such a touching, sweet story. The fact that it was about two of the world's most famous stars was incidental."

Continue reading: Bonham-Carter And West As 'Burton And Taylor' - BBC4's Last Drama Hurrah [Pictures]

"All The World's A Stage": Shakespeare's Globe To Take The Bard On Global Tour


David Tennant Richard Burton

Shakespeare's Hamlet, a play thought to have been originally penned in 1603, is going on tour as part of production company Shakespeare's Globe celebrating the 450th anniversary of the Bard's birth and 400 years since his death on April 23rd. The Globe's artistic director, Dominic Dromgoole announced the news, calling the plans "a thrill." According to BBC News, the theatre company will spend two years on world tour, performing in each of the 196 countries beginning and ending on the same day two years apart.

David Tennant
Former Doctor Who David Tennant Was One Of The Most Famous Incarnations Of Hamlet.

Travelling by planes, trains, boats and buses the cast of eight will bring the shortened two and a half hour performance to a wide range of different stages, including beach, woodland, and traditional wooden stage. "We already know this production works in all sorts of venue - whether it's a charismatic national theatre with glistening chandeliers or a simple market square. Or just in a field. It's a slightly mad extension of our Globe to Globe project last year, when we had 37 Shakespeare plays in 37 different languages staged in London by companies from around the world. The contacts made last year are already proving crucial to deciding some of the places we'll visit."

Continue reading: "All The World's A Stage": Shakespeare's Globe To Take The Bard On Global Tour

Helena Bonham-Carter And Dominic West In BBC's Burton And Taylor Biopic: First Pic Released


Helena Bonham Carter Dominic West Richard Burton Elizabeth Taylor

Taylor and BurtonDominic West [L] As Richard Burton and Helena Bonham-Carter [R] as Elizabeth Taylor

The first picture has been released by the BBC showing Helena Bonham-Carter and Dominic West in full costume as one of Hollywood's most famous couples - Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor - ahead of the airing of brand new Burton and Taylor feature-length television biopic.

The snap shows the pair affectionately united in sumptuous shades of blue and purple, with fur and diamonds adorning Bonham-Carter; who is married to Edward Scissorhands director Tim Burton and turned 47 in May. 

Continue reading: Helena Bonham-Carter And Dominic West In BBC's Burton And Taylor Biopic: First Pic Released

Richard Burton And Elizabeth Taylor Snuggle Up Together On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame


Richard Burton Elizabeth Taylor

Richard Burton - who died in 1984, aged 58 and starred alongside Elizabeth Taylor in 11 films – has been received his very own star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame, The BBC Reports.

Speaking at the unveiling, Welsh actor Michael Sheen, who attended the ceremony with the Hollywood pair’s adopted daughter, Maria, recalled how he felt when they visited his hometown. "The same beach that I built my boyhood sand castles and learned to flailingly swim, it was that same beach, that one legendary day, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor descended from the heavens, like gods from Olympus, in a helicopter ... and landed on those sands," Sheen said. "They stepped out swathed in luxurious fur coats - it was the '70s - and walked among us for too short a time." The unveiling was pertinently held on the the 50th anniversary of their film, Cleopatra. Speaking after the unveiling, Ms Burton said: "I am very proud and very touched by this. I look at the plaque and it brings tears to my eyes."

Continue reading: Richard Burton And Elizabeth Taylor Snuggle Up Together On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame

The Nine Muses Review


Good
More like a cinematic poem or art installation than a movie, this swirly collection of imagery - some new, some found - loosely traces the nine muses from Greek mythology. And it's for adventurous filmgoers only.

There isn't a narrative, although the film is arranged to recount an epic journey using voice-over readings from authors like Homer, Sophocles, Milton, Shakespeare, Beckett and Nietzsche. There are also title-card quotes, songs and music, including some pieces performed in old film clips (such as Leontyne Price singing Motherless Child). Meanwhile we see a collage of old film clips and crisp new footage shot in snowy Alaska featuring silent men in yellow, blue and black parkas that obscure their faces.

Continue reading: The Nine Muses Review

Cleopatra (1963) Review


OK
It is virtually impossible to separate Cleopatra the movie from Cleopatra the spectacle -- and that's because they are truly and rarely intertwined.

A legend of Hollywood, the 1963 production of Cleopatra has so much curiosity surrounding it I hardly know where to start. It was budgeted at $2 million and eventually cost (up to) $44 million to produce -- close to $300 million in today's dollars. Liz Taylor almost died during the filming and was given a tracheotomy to keep her alive. The production was forced to move from Rome to London and back to Rome again. Two of its stars fell in love (Taylor and Burton) on the set, ruining both of their marriages. 20th Century Fox essentially went bankrupt, leading to the ousting of its chief. The first director was fired after burning $7 million with nothing to show for it. The second director (Mankiewicz) was fired during editing, only to be rehired when no one else could finish the picture. Taylor threw up the first time she saw the finished product. Producer Walter Wanger never worked in Hollywood again. And the original six-hour epic was cut to a little over three.

Continue reading: Cleopatra (1963) Review

Alexander The Great Review


Weak
God help Oliver Stone if his upcoming Alexander is really a remake of 1956's Alexander the Great, as this film's press notes state.

Put simply, Alexander the Great is a colossal bore. Directed by Robert Rossen (The Hustler, All the King's Men), this visit to the epic well comes off far worse than contemporaries Ben-Hur and Cleopatra. What's the problem? Well, the troubles are legion. Start with Richard Burton, engaging here in the lead role of the philosopher/warrior/conquerer, but given a series of brooding sermons to deliver for well over two hours. Burton doesn't carry the movie as he absolutely has to; the result is an experience not unlike attending a late night lecture. Then there's the warfare. Those of us spoiled on modern epics like Troy will find the playful skirmishes here on the laughable side. Sure, you can stage a battle with just a couple hundred men and no special effects if you shoot it carefully, but if your warriors look tired and on the verge of striking, you won't quite get the necessary effect. My little brother and I had more authentic swordfights when we were kids, using sticks in the backyard. Pretty sad considering Alexander conquered Europe and Asia.

Continue reading: Alexander The Great Review

Brief Encounter (1974) Review


Bad
About half an hour into Brief Encounter, I began to wonder why it was acclaimed as a great film. Then I did a little research and discovered I was watching the wrong Brief Encounter. The 1946 version, directed by David Lean, that's the good one. This one, despite a promising cast of Richard Burton and Sophia Loren is made-for-TV crap. Based on Noel Coward's play (aka Still Life), we find Loren falling for a guy who picks some grit out of her eye at a train station. Will they shrug off society and hook up?

Continue reading: Brief Encounter (1974) Review

Richard Burton

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Richard Burton Movies

The Nine Muses Movie Review

The Nine Muses Movie Review

More like a cinematic poem or art installation than a movie, this swirly collection of...

Cleopatra (1963) Movie Review

Cleopatra (1963) Movie Review

It is virtually impossible to separate Cleopatra the movie from Cleopatra the spectacle -- and...

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