Elizabeth Taylor - An Intimate Portrait

Elizabeth Taylor: An Intimate Portrait (1975)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Made-for-TV documentary hosted and narrated by Peter Lawford that discusses the life and career of Elizabeth Taylor. Even though this was made in 1975, Taylor is referred to as a legend, which was certainly true but it's also quite amazing considering all the things that hadn't yet happened in her life. The documentary does a fairly good job at talking about her days before Hollywood, how she got her start and what made her become so famous. The documentary takes a look at her personal life as well as her movies and for the most part this was very detailed for the era. With that said, there's no question that a lot more was needed in order to make this work. There are many times when boring stories are being told and just dragged along to the point where you lose focus in what the person is saying. This happens several times during the segments where Taylor's mother is interviewed, which is rather shocking because you'd think she'd have some better stories to tell. The highlight of the film comes when director Richard Brooks talks about working with her on CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, which was during a period where her husband at the time was killed in a plane crash. The gimmick he used to make her eat was a rather touching and funny story. Fans of Taylor will probably want to check this out but she certainly deserves a much better documentary.