Richard Burton: The Brilliant, Tragic Life of a Hollywood Legend

Cinema Peek

Cinema Peek

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Richard Burton possessed one of the most unforgettable voices in acting — but behind that voice was a life of extraordinary talent, ambition, love, scandal and self-destruction.

This Cinema Peek documentary follows Burton from his working-class Welsh childhood in Pontrhydyfen and his formative relationship with Philip Burton, through RAF service, Shakespeare, Broadway and Hollywood. We revisit My Cousin Rachel, The Robe, Camelot, Cleopatra, Becket, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Where Eagles Dare, Equus and Nineteen Eighty-Four.

The film also explores his famous relationship with Elizabeth Taylor, their two marriages, the seven Academy Award nominations that never produced an Oscar, his battles with alcohol, his literary ambitions, and the final years of one of Britain's most compelling performers.

CHAPTERS
00:00 The Voice That Defined a Generation
00:54 A Welsh Mining Childhood
03:09 Philip Burton Changes His Life
04:43 RAF Service and the First Stage Work
06:54 London, Broadway and Early Stardom
09:58 Hollywood Breakthrough
12:18 Shakespeare and the Old Vic
16:00 Camelot
16:52 Cleopatra and Elizabeth Taylor
22:01 Seven Oscar Nominations, No Wins
28:13 Burton and Taylor: Marriage, Wealth and Chaos
33:53 Other Romances and Final Marriages
36:38 The Generous Man Behind the Fame
37:47 Alcohol and Self-Destruction
42:11 The Great Performances
49:02 Nineteen Eighty-Four and the Final Screen Work
50:20 Awards, Honours and Writing
54:24 The Final Years
57:48 Legacy

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