Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Warner Bros. | Release Date: June 22, 1966 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Entertainment WeeklyJoe McGovern
It features the best real-life husband-wife pairing onscreen ever. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterJames Powers
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is an instant film classic, and Warner Bros. deserves the highest credit for making it a movie without compromise. Read full review
90
The New York TimesStanley Kauffmann
In its forthright dealing with the play, this becomes one of the most scathingly honest American films ever made. Read full review
90
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
The naked power and oblique tenderness of Edward Albee's incisive, inhuman drama have been transformed from legit into a brilliant motion picture. Keen adaptation and handsome production by Ernest Lehman, outstanding direction by Mike Nichols in his feature debut, and four topflight performances score an artistic bullseye. Read full review
80
EmpireDavid Parkinson
A time capsule now of all that was considered controversial and gutsy in 1966. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Strong stuff, intensely watchable, but definitely not for children. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
An emotional horror story, both the play and the film triggered controversy and challenged the status quo. Read full review
80
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
Edward Albee's vitriolic stage portrayal of domestic blisslessness translated grainily and effectively to the screen. Taylor gives what is probably her finest performance as the blowsy harridan Martha. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh Larsen
What Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh did for Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, Burton and Taylor do for Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? They remind us that sometimes writing and directing must simply step aside and concede the power of performance. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderDave Kehr
Mike Nichols had the Burtons for his first film (1966), but he felt compelled to drag in so many jazzy camera tricks that Richard and Elizabeth seem largely superfluous for the first couple of reels. When Nichols finally settles down, it's almost too late. Read full review
50
Village VoiceAndrew Sarris
Nichols has actually committed all the classic errors of the sophisticated stage director let loose on the unsophisticated movies. For starters, he has underestimated the power of the spoken word in his search for visual pyrotechnics. Read full review
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