Elizabeth Taylor and the 60s. Plan #1 (Butterfield 8)
If we talk about the tape itself, it is very average merits. A lot of passing dialogues that make the film heavier rather than more interesting for the viewer. The middle of the tape is also falling. It turned out too long, as if time slows down in anticipation of the finale - a flood of unnecessary scenes. It seems that in trying to make a truly original and explosive film, Daniel Mann focused more on the aesthetics of Tennessee Williams than he fought for identity.
However, the merits of the tape are unconditional. For Liz Taylor, this role was a real breakthrough. Without sentimental maxims and face-acting outputs, she simply and naturally merged into a single whole with her character. Therefore, looking at Gloria, drinking alcohol and dressed in underwear, it is difficult to see Liz. We're seeing Gloria. Such miracles of acting. And then let the critics understand how similar the heroine and Liz herself were to each other.
However, the real explosion was the topic. Even now, reading the comments on the KP, I notice how many authors are lost in their assessments. Who is our heroine: prostitute, content, mistress, “beauty”, “girl with character”, “leading a vicious life”... You know, after less than 60 years, such different comments reveal the exact hit of the filmmakers. They got to the very point of gender contradictions, showing a woman with a very difficult personal life. It will be psychologically reinforced. We will be shown the hysterical desire to get love, which consists in stealing an expensive thing (this will be more fully revealed by Hitchcock in Marnie). We will learn about the trauma of childhood, and will highlight (a little softening) terrible relationship with the mother, and much more. But of course, the authors clearly and unequivocally strived for the viewer to abandon any cliches and see the woman, the heroine, as she is (and does not want to appear or what others want her to see). And in this respect, of course, the film is relevant today. That’s why he deserves high marks.
7 out of 10
I am very skeptical of the filmography of most Hollywood divas, because the roles are given to them so much, even if the film is considered a masterpiece, for the most part they are objects of desire, nothing more.
Here everything is a little more complicated, but it is still a shame that Elizabeth’s acting talent was so misused. She was given the role of a high-class prostitute. The whole film condemns her for something, the whole film she is called a cheap whore, but in fact nothing that would disgust me from the heroine is not shown. She does not harm others, she just lives as she wants. The film does not show her supposed countless lovers, they are only suggested by the script. All her sins are in words, and this is the writer’s fault. If the writer is not able to turn away from the character with deeds, but only try to instill disgust in words, then this is a bad writer. This young lady does not chase money, she has dignity and has a head on her shoulders, but all the characters treat her as the heroine of some De Sade novel.
The only negative characters of this film are her friend Steve and that rich womanizer who cares for her, then causes her the most terrible insults and somewhere even slight physical injuries for no special reason, but with a look so insulted. Steve, played by Eddie Fisher, constantly reproaches her, presenting it under the guise of care and true friendship. The second, insulting and belittling her, presents it as love. This hero first behaves like a scoundrel, then he magically corrects himself, then again a scoundrel. He does a lot worse than the main character. He is abhorrent to everyone: Gloria, his wife, everyone, but he is constantly being excused. He was humiliated, he was not allowed to open up! Oh, yeah! The film itself makes it clear that such scoundrels deserve a better fate. They can drink, cheat on their exemplary wives, use physical force, revile, and get away with it. But try a woman to live freely at least for a moment - she is a disgusting prostitute, a disgrace to the family, a person who needs to be returned to the path of truth. Again, none of Gloria's alleged sins were shown in the film. I know Hollywood wouldn’t have been able to report it directly, but they didn’t even try.
1 in 10
And that's just because of Elizabeth Taylor's magnificence. She's given silly dialogue, the story is just disgusting, the film is disgustingly empty, and if Butterfield 8 is really the best thing she could be offered then I feel sorry for her as an actress.
When a person, out of interest, becomes acquainted with the first vices, this very interest only feeds the fascination with this vice. This vice is followed by a new one, and the new by another, and so on. A person goes into all this for pleasure. If these vices are associated with wealth, fame, and respectability, then the pursuit of pleasure may also be accompanied by the pursuit of the goods previously enumerated. A person descends in the eyes of others and sows confusion in the soul of loved ones. It was such a test that the main character of the drama “Butterfield 8” had to survive.
Synopsis Beauty Gloria always led a vicious life, part of which were exceptionally rich and respectable men who paid her a lot of money for their services. But one day, Gloria met an elite but married lawyer, Richard, whom she fell in love with without memory, and he fell in love with her. Gloria's bad reputation and Richard's marriage prevent both from being together until it all leads to tragic consequences.
Game of actors To be honest, Butterfield 8 is the first movie I really got to know Elizabeth Taylor because I’ve seen her films in fragments before. I heard about her popularity, her endless romances, but most importantly, her unforgettable performance. I can say with confidence that in this film she performed her role perfectly, in the sense that there was no pretense or falsehood. The image of the prostitute Gloria is the image of a lonely woman who, to her own horror, this whole life gives real pleasure. She had a difficult childhood, which in particular left an imprint. However, I personally think that Taylor unexpectedly received her first Oscar for many thanks to an unexpected ending, which you will learn about if you watch the film.
Directorship After watching Daniel Mann’s other two films, Come Back Baby Sheba and Tattooed Rose, I became convinced that Mann likes to focus on the subject of women in all her understandings. I can’t say whether he really understands female nature or studies it with his films, but one thing I am convinced of is that at least these three films, including Butterfield 8, share the difficult fate of women in this world. The director did not seek to humiliate the main character. Rather, he tried to win the sympathy of the viewer. However, he did not show the main character as a prostitute who took up the case from lack of money. She really enjoyed the process. At the same time, she had mercantile goals, since among her clients were wealthy men. The director shows that Gloria is so mired in this swamp of vice that the way out for her is rather the limit of dreams. That’s probably why the movie ends up like this.
Scenario As it turned out, the film is based on the novel of the same name by American writer Joan O’Hara. Of course, I have never read this book in my life and, moreover, had no idea of its existence. However, I would be interested to at least look through a couple of chapters to see how the writer presented the characters in his novel. First of all, questions are raised by the main character Gloria. The plot does not introduce us to her profession, that is, throughout the film we see only how Gloria finally realized her viciousness. Meeting Richard was a wake-up call for her after a long sleep. But too late to realize what she has been doing for the past few years does not give her a chance to change her life for the better.
Result Unfortunately, I can’t say that I have a very positive impression of the film. But undoubtedly, the film deserves close attention due to its interesting plot, dynamic directing and, of course, the incomparable performance of Elizabeth Taylor. I think the film will have to be revisited to better understand its message. I would advise you to see it at least once.
"Butterfield 8" is an American dramatic melodrama of 1960, which is a sensual and tender film and a golden collection of American cinema of the last century. We see the story of love and tragedy of an elite prostitute and a very beautiful woman who could not help loving. A heroine named Gloria went through many male hands, but when she met Him, everything changed, but by an offensive coincidence, their happiness was not long, and we see a dramatic love story with a tragic finale.
This film was made more than half a century ago, but it looks as eager and fascinating as before. For 1960, this highly incriminating and frank melodrama, and it is shot with taste and special charm. All attention in this film is eliminated on Elizabeth Taylor, who plays the main role. Elizabeth was an incredibly beautiful, desirable and sexy woman - a dream of millions of men, and that is a fact. In addition, she was a great and strong actress. In this film, Taylor played sensually, emotionally and clearly, and it was simply impossible to break away from her. The Oscar for this role, I think, deserved it. Her character was a difficult personality, and the role was difficult, and Elizabeth coped with her with a hurrah. There was so much in her character, but she could not help loving. Why? Watch this film and understand, seeing the charm, mystery and female charm of the legendary American diva and Queen of Hollywood.
“BUtterfield 8” is the story of a woman who was created for love, and we see her complicated story with an incredibly dramatic ending that will be difficult to forget. This is a great movie and I recommend it!
I try to try something new all the time.
- Try some common sense for a change!
- Well, that's if there's nothing else left...
If you say that this film is about infidelity and lies, debauchery and tragedy, family difficulties and childhood traumas, polished glamorous gentlemen and what is hidden behind all sorts of glamour, it can and will be true. But what an unusual angle is chosen here to identify all these problems! It is not so much the lie itself that is revealed as its regularity, respectability, obligation, how it is welcomed! Someone is lying, and his or her family or friends know that this is a lie, but continue to maintain the illusion that they perceive everything as true.
The daughter lies to her mother so that she can continue to consider her a pure and airy creature, and feed her cakes. And in fact, the mother very much understands that her daughter has been dissolving with many already. The wife pretends to believe in the fidelity of her husband, who is clearly cheating on her. It seems noble, but it aggravates the problem even more than if she cursed, but confessed to her husband sincerely in her torments and her extreme affection for him. The depressing denouement is accelerated by the inability of the characters to either frankly or understand the sincerity of others.
The vicissitudes of the main character were somewhat reminiscent of noir "Sorry, mistaken number": a man to whom his wife's relatives provided a clean job, a sinecure, but who is extremely oppressed by this and is looking for something that can renew the male principle in himself. The problems of the heroine only confirm that the injuries of young years are often pushed to debauchery, although not all of them are so creepy. But what is particularly intriguing is that the action revolves around a few things that serve as a symbol of what is happening with the characters. A phone that is often impossible to reach, while all further events depend on the conversation without exaggeration. And especially the coat, every square inch, every hair of which seems to echo the metamorphosis of the girl who got lost in her difficulties. Yes, the first and undisputed Oscar is Elizabeth Taylor.