ELIZABETH TAYLOR: THE LOST TAPES © Frank Worth
Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes, an unprecedented exploration of the star’s life
In 2002, Nanette Burstein co-directed The Kid Stays in the Picture with Brett Morgen, a documentary about the life of producer and jet-setter Robert Evans. With Elizabeth Taylor: the Lost Tapes, Burstein pays homage to the fascinating career of the blue-eyed star and eternal Cleopatra, from her childhood to her twilight years. A Cannes Classics screening with the director.
Nanette Burstein drew on 70 hours of private recordings and delved into Elizabeth Taylor’s personal archives to depict her life. Like the opposite pole of a magnet, the future star was drawn towards cinema, viewing the experience as a game she wanted to be a part of. One of the first photographs in the documentary shows a young Elizabeth with Lassie the dog in her first major film, Lassie Come Home (1943). At 11 years old, she stepped into the spotlight with remarkable screen presence. For her next role as a young rider, she did everything she could to convince production to cast her despite her small size – a testament to her assertive nature, even in childhood. Elizabeth would soon play the role of wife both on and off screen. Her wedding at 18 marked the first of eight marriages.
With great delicacy, Nanette Burstein’s film presents the love life and career of the star, revealing Elizabeth Taylor’s generous personality. This portrait also serves as a dissection of Hollywood, at a time when so-called “starlets” were caught up in the turbulence of studios set on imposing upon them roles, and even lovers, against their will. Elizabeth reached starry heights of recognition when she won her second Oscar with Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Mike Nichols, alongside her great love Richard Burton, in 1966.
