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Dame Elizabeth Taylor & Sir Richard Burton appeared together in 12 films, in this order: Cleopatra (1963), The V.I.P.s (1963), The Sandpiper (1965), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), The Taming of the Shrew (1967), Doctor Faustus (1967), The Comedians (1967), Boom (1968), Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), Under Milk Wood (1972), Hammersmith Is Out (1972), Divorce His - Divorce Hers (1973,TV). "The Sandpiper" is the first film they appeared in together after being married in 1964. The rest of these films were made during this, their 1st, ten year marriage. The story of "The Sandpiper" goes like this: Youngster Danny Reynolds (Morgan Mason) & his free-spirited artistic mother, Laura (Elizabeth Taylor), have an enviable lifestyle near the magnificent coastline of California's Big Sur. Laura home-schools her son. Government authorities take Danny from her after he shoots a deer. Danny's forced to live in a parochial orphanage which is also where he's schooled. His unmarried mother's beyond herself with frustration, despair & grief over their her son's life being ruined & both of their lives being disrupted. Dr. Edward Hewitt (Richard Burton), an Episcopal priest, is also the school's administrator. Frankly, at first, he's bewildered by Laura's free-spirited, artistically-bent ideals. The priest considers her amoral & anti-social. The more contact they have with each other, the more seductive he finds her to be. Irresistibly so. Inevitably, the opposites attract each other. Laura & Edward fall in love & become romantically involved in an adulterous affair. Among notable supporting cast are Eva marie Saint (Claire Hewitt) & Charles Bronson (Cos Erickson). A lot of director Vincente Minnelli's technical innovation & genuis was used to film Big Sur's panoramic splendor using Panavision & Metrocolor. This film won an Oscar in 1965 for Best Original Song, "The Shadow of Your Smile," by Johnny Mandel & Paul Francis Webster. It's a mood-setting melody that's so Taylor & Burton. So typical of Minnelli films are the remarkable qualities of top knotch script, cast, musical score, costumes & most especially the cinematography of the scenery. Shortly, I'll be providing reviews of Vincente Minnelli's accomplishments as a filmmaker. As the man behind the scenes with one of the most famous musical wives ever (Judy Garland) taking the center of any stage on Earth of her choice, too little has been recognized about Minnelli's cinematic achievements. When thinking of 20th century directors who made significant changes in filmmaking, so much focus has been placed upon Hitchcock. Yet, there was a more reserved filmmaker who made key technical inventions in order to shoot scenes the ways he envisioned them. "The Sandpiper" has been under-rated & over-looked. It's high time to take another look. This is a film critic's film. Meaning for those who appreciate a wide variety of professional skills that obviously show in a genuine work of cinematic art. The most obvious historical value of this film is the newly wed Burtons on screen playing adulterous lovers. Priceless footage now~Read full review
Another love story about 2 people who desire each other, yet have entanglements which seem to prevent it. Nature's overwhelming beauty and the power of the California Coast between Morro Bay and Big Sur can't help but draw you in!
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