Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

Woolf was Dir. Nichols' first feature film, which is a hell of a thing to have on your CV. Adapted from Edward Albee's stage play it's an intimate portrait of a middle aged husband and wife, George and Martha (Burton and Taylor), who've been married too long and wilfully consume too much alcohol, a combination that results in a frequent battle of wills, savage one-upmanship, hurtful sarcasm, insults and straightforward spiteful comments, much of which is blackly humorous. The duo are visited late one night by a younger couple and so begins an airing of dirty laundry that's as compelling as it is shocking. The big names are predictably great, but Sandy Dennis is equally fantastic.

4 exercised wits out of 5