Significant Factual Flubs

First, in the beginning of this film, it is stated that Private Lives hadn't been revived on Broadway in years. In fact, less than 8 years earlier, (1975 season) it had what may be its all-time best revival (with Maggie Smith & John Standing), which had a fairly long run, and was certainly in the consciousness of theatre-goers when the Taylor-Burton circus came to town. The 1983 production never had a chance of being taken seriously, and the fact that both leads were in terrible health made the endeavor doomed to be simultaneously bad art and a ghoulish celebrity-gazing sell-out. ("C'mon, honey, let's see how bad BAD can be!")

The Burton & Taylor run of Private lives ran three months at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in NYC, closing in July 1983. This film ends it there with title cards stating that he then moved to Switzerland and died 8 months later, and kept in touch with Liz til he died.

WRONG! Never a couple to put dignity before a solid buck, the truth is that after the blistering reviews and jokes fostered by the NY run, they took a couple of months off, then brought it to LA, opening at the Wilshire Theatre in Beverly Hills for 6 weeks in October - November 1983. The mere fact that they pulled off the LA leg of the production would have put a different spin on the ending of "Burton & Taylor" - both a statement of their willingness (the opposite of the film portrayal)to put up with both each other and risking public ridicule for another large paycheck (guaranteed on her home turf). But the real happy-ish ending left out of this film, was that, in spite of the fact that the few months off allowed them both to show up looking even more dissipated (in his case) and matronly and overweight (in hers), yet the reviews in LA were far kinder than in NY - often by the same critics - and of course it sold out.

Bonham Carter and West gave fine performances, but certain aesthetics should have been more accurate: Why didn't Helena Bonham Carter get blue contacts for this project? Such an obvious anomaly when Taylor is famous for her eye color; Taylor was also about 30 lbs overweight in this period, which simple padding could have helped. West looked his healthy, dashing young-40s self, rather than the leathery late-50s-who-looked-70 that was Burton at the end. Both of these actors could have been helped by more accurate makeup, costuming and hair.