Richard Burton
A Welsh actor who has achieved legendary status.
For me, my favourite Richard Burton work is his narrative
of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood, but we must
leap straight to Hollywood where he made some great classics.
The Robe, for instance, where he plays a Roman, Marcellus,
whom is converted to Christianity by Christ's robe. Jean Simmon's
plays Diana, the love of Marcellus's life. Cleopatra, the
film where Richard Burton met Elizabeth Taylor and they embarked
on the love affair that made headlines throughout the world
and the fact that Elizabeth Taylor was married at the time
to Eddie Fisher and Richard was married to Sybil Williams,
those headlines made scandlous reading. And then we enter
the more gritty roles, The Night Of The Iguana, The Spy who
Came In From The Cold, a role, in my opinion that really suited
Richard Burton's edgy performance, and, although many consider
Who's Afraid Of Virginia Wolfe? a classic, it's not my cup
of tea, so to speak, so I'll skip to a true classic, in my
opinion, Where Eagles Dare, where Richard Burton is brilliant
beside Clint Eastwood in a clever and well written plot and
Ann Of A Thousand Days, where Burton again was nominated for
an Oscar which he failed to win. Many believe his failed to
win an Oscar from his seven nominations was due to remarks
he made early in his Hollywood career whilst making The Robe;
apparently Richard made some negative remarks regarding blacklisting
Hollywood...
It is hard to leave Richard Burton without mentioning
Look Back In Anger and Equus, two Burton films highly regarded
by his fans and critics alike...
Richard Burton is one of Hollywood's enduring
legends, but I'll remember Richard Burton for his voice and
narrative on War Of The Worlds and his reading of Dylan Thomas's
Under Milk Wood...
Tim Rees
Share
