Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?

Here is Alex North’s haunting and dreamlike score from the film Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, based on the play of the same name by homeboy Edward Albee. Replete with dialogue excerpts! Some of the cues never actually made it to film, such as the beautiful harpsichord entr’acte which was discarded because, well, the film doesn’t have an intermission.

The score swings from ethereal to full on baroque with the centre tracks employing far more dissonance than the start and finish, yet having a timeless quality to it all. As the film is so dialogue-heavy, it is easy to imagine that the score (as an underscore to dialogue) would be sidelined but North has made a highlight of the genre. And it’s backed up by being performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra.

WARNING: the dialogue excerpts on some tracks inevitably hold MAJOR spoilers, so I’d highly recommend watching the film first. In general, I highly recommend watching the film. An extraordinary example of cinema, Taylor and Burton (married at the time!) give it their all in powerhouse performances; Taylor in particular, who chews the script and scenery up, unleashing all Hell as the venomous Martha. The definitive performance, and a rather faithful (save a trip in the car) adaptation of Albee’s stunning play.

The film was nominated for every eligible category going at the Academy Awards, and was the first film to have its entire cast nominated for awards. Only Taylor and Sandy Dennis (as the mousy Honey) won, for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. Burton was robbed of Best Actor, thanks to A Man for All Seasons cleaning up that year, winning six awards to Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?'s five.

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