I was looking at the DVD’s at our local library when I saw Elizabeth Taylor England’s Other Elizabeth. I love reading biographies and watching them as well. I enjoy finding out about the lives of people especially celebrities. I didn’t know much about Elizabeth except a few things about her many marriages and health problems. I thought this would be interesting to watch.

It is divided into fourteen different chapters, which are:

1. Opening
2. The Early Years
3. National Velvet
4. School and Teen Years
5. A Place in the Sun
6. Giant
7. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
8. Marriage to Mike Todd
9. Butterfield 8
10. Cleopatra
11. Richard Burton
12. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
13. Helping with the Fight Against HIV/AIDS
14. Dame Elizabeth

Elizabeth Taylor was born in London in 1932 and raised in the old Hollywood studio system. She has been in 70 films, won 2 Oscars and had numerous marriages. It begins with various childhood photos and Elizabeth shares things from her childhood days. She talks about the filming of Lassie Come Home in 1944 and shows scenes from the movie. There is an interview with Angela Lansbury, who Elizabeth worked with on National Velvet in 1944. Angela talks several times throughout the documentary.

Elizabeth said that A Place in the Sun was the movie that established her as a major adult star. Filming started in 1951 when she was just 17. She said she didn’t take acting seriously until this movie. There are various times when Shirley MacLaine and Rod Steiger share memories of their friendship with Elizabeth.

Elizabeth tells about the horrible crash that Montgomery Clift was in. She tells how she handled the situation. She talks about James Dean and Rock Hudson. She was close to both of them. James Dean was killed at the age of 24 in a car crash. At the time he was working on his third film which he was filming with Elizabeth.

She talks about filming Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1958. In 1957 she had married third husband, Mike Todd. It shows home movie footage of them together. Elizabeth gets emotional as she tells of his death. He was killed in a plane crash when she had been married to him for only 414 days. She was given two weeks off from work and then had to get back to work on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. When that was complete she was scheduled for another movie which was Butterfield 8. She said that she did it with a gun to her head and then won an Oscar for it.

Cleopatra started filming in 1960 but had to stop due to bad weather and Elizabeth’s health. Reproduction started in 1961 and took over two years to finish. It was the most expensive movie to ever be made up to that point and Elizabeth was paid a million dollars for doing the picture. It showed location footage from the movie. She shared how she knew Richard Burton since she was 19 and things about their relationship.

News footage is shown announcing that Rock Hudson had AIDS. She decided to get involved with raising money and awareness to fight against HIV/AIDS. She got death threats from people who were against the cause. She didn’t care because this cause had touched her close friend, Rock Hudson, and her heart. She got together with friend Dr. Mathilde Krim and formed the AIDS foundation in 1991. It has raised over $160 million for the cause. There are interviews with Dr. Krim in the documentary as well.

Jeanine Basinger is interviewed many times throughout the program. She is a film historian. The program closes with Jeanine saying, “She is as famous today as ever”. “That is the level of her celebrity. She transcends her own work. We don't need her work, we just need her.”

It was originally broadcast on public television by GREAT PERFORMANCES, which is produced for PBS by Thirteen/WNET New York. The original airdate was April 4, 2001.

Color
Running Time: 60 Minutes

My Thoughts:

Elizabeth Taylor England’s Other Elizabeth was enjoyable for me to watch. I really liked how Elizabeth herself commented on many of the different topics throughout the program. I loved to see the different pictures of Elizabeth from some of the movies she made. I didn’t realize how beautiful she really was back then.

This isn’t something that I would spend money on to have in my personal DVD collection. Although I enjoyed watching it I think one time would be enough. It was good, but not something I would call great. If you are a Elizabeth Taylor fan I think you will really find this a nice DVD to own. I like her all right, but she isn’t a favorite if you know what I mean.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8