August 11, 2024
Elizabeth vs. Faye
Two new HBO Max documentaries shine a light on two Oscar-winning Hollywood legends
By Dan Pal
Growing up I always knew who the big movie stars were. My mother always loved Elizabeth Taylor as they were only five months apart and my mom grew up on her films. Faye Dunaway was nine years younger than Taylor and became a household name in the 1960s as the tide was turning from the “golden age” of Hollywood to a new era that changed everything we knew about cinema. Dunaway was one of the A list actresses in the 1970s that I looked up to, alongside Jane Fonda, Barbra Streisand, Sally Field, Diane Keaton, and few others. New documentaries have premiered on HBO Max that expertly highlight the careers of Taylor and Dunaway.
Elizabeth: The Lost Tapes uses recordings of Taylor from 1964, ironically just before this shift in the medium, as she discusses her life and career at that point. Taylor passed away in 2011 but Faye Dunaway is still around, though she rarely makes movies today. The documentary Faye allows the actress to discuss her life and career through a recent interview. Both films provide an in-depth look at the stars who both won Oscars and then suffered various career and personal setbacks. They are well-worth seeing films and while they take similar bio/documentary trajectories, they examine the actresses from perspectives most telling of the eras in which they had their respective career peaks.
The Taylor documentary features the actress talking on tape about her early career at MGM when she had little control over the roles she would be given. While she was shining in early films such as National Velvet and A Place in the Sun, Taylor discusses how she wanted to take acting much more seriously than she had the opportunity to do with some of roles she played. Essentially she was part of the studio system and worked at a time when roles for women were not very complex. Hollywood wanted her to be a movie star but she wanted to be an actress. Taylor goes on to say that she never liked fame or being called a “sex goddess.” None of this fulfilled her. Even her first Oscar-winning role in Butterfield 8, in which she played a prostitute, she hated. (She later won another Oscar for a much more challenging role in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.)
Dunaway, on the other hand, was given the chance to play much more complicated characters in her early films such as Bonnie and Clyde and The Thomas Crown Affair. She represented a new generation that wasn’t as interested in “stars.” It wanted something more deep from its films and actors, especially given the turbulent times of the 1960s.
It’s interesting hearing Taylor talk about her lack of acting training while Dunaway studied her craft in college and under famed Actor’s Studio teacher/director Elia Kazan. It’s clear that Dunaway was seemingly destined to be considered an accomplished actress while Taylor was often fodder for gossip columns due, in part, to the many marriages she had by the time she was thirty. Watching the documentaries and seeing the many clips from the actresses’ films, it’s easy to see that Dunaway was given more substantive roles to play than Taylor. Most of this was due to how young Taylor was when she began her acting career and the way Hollywood functioned in the 1940s and 50s. Dunaway benefitted from the changes that had occurred within society and the industry in the 1960s and 70s.
Both documentaries feature a host of interesting film clips and interviews from each actress’s time in the spotlight. Both were also known for their incredible and very photogenic looks. Yet Elizabeth: The Lost Tapes focuses a bit more on Taylor’s personal life than any substance that might have been found in some of her work. It never really delves into her craft. Whereas Faye spends an ample amount of time examining what Dunaway delivered so well in films such as Chinatown and Network. Does this reflect the quality of their work or the era in which they made some of their most significant films?
Taylor comes across as a frustrated actress who always wanted to be taken seriously. She’s strong though, even if her personal life may have kept her from making a bigger impact as an actress. Dunaway, on the other hand, has always been known as being “not easy” to work with. Even the opening of the documentary demonstrates the control she wants to have with regard to the lighting, her hair, and how she wants her water to be served while being interviewed. Taylor sounds nothing but accommodating and considerate to her interviewers.
While I feel I’ve known this Taylor story and that her documentary doesn’t exactly provide many new insights, it is interesting to hear how much more fulfilled she became when taking on the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 90s. She clearly found her calling as an exemplary activist. Dunaway’s story evolves into something less heroic and perhaps much more typical of actresses whose career takes a dive after they hit the age of forty. For Dunaway, all of the clout and acclaim she had in the business seemed to have evaporated after the release of Mommie Dearest in 1981. Her career never recovered after that which is a shame because the film clips shown throughout her documentary really illustrate what a great actress she was.
Like Taylor, Dunaway distinguishes between her public and private personas. The last decade or so hasn’t been particularly kind to her, in part, due to her own making. Yet, what I really liked about Faye was how honest and vulnerable she is throughout her interviews. She discusses her diagnosis of bipolar disorder which may have been one of the main factors in her career decline. Whereas Taylor persevered in other avenues in her life, Dunaway has struggled. Again, is this due to the eras in which the actresses have lived and worked? Both documentaries will leave viewers pondering their legacies either way. They’re both engrossing films that deserve to be seen by anyone who has an interest in Hollywood history, its actresses, and how women have evolved in the industry.
Elizabeth: The Lost Tapes and Faye can both be viewed on HBO Max.
Elizabeth vs. Faye
Two new HBO Max documentaries shine a light on two Oscar-winning Hollywood legends
By Dan Pal
Growing up I always knew who the big movie stars were. My mother always loved Elizabeth Taylor as they were only five months apart and my mom grew up on her films. Faye Dunaway was nine years younger than Taylor and became a household name in the 1960s as the tide was turning from the “golden age” of Hollywood to a new era that changed everything we knew about cinema. Dunaway was one of the A list actresses in the 1970s that I looked up to, alongside Jane Fonda, Barbra Streisand, Sally Field, Diane Keaton, and few others. New documentaries have premiered on HBO Max that expertly highlight the careers of Taylor and Dunaway.
Elizabeth: The Lost Tapes uses recordings of Taylor from 1964, ironically just before this shift in the medium, as she discusses her life and career at that point. Taylor passed away in 2011 but Faye Dunaway is still around, though she rarely makes movies today. The documentary Faye allows the actress to discuss her life and career through a recent interview. Both films provide an in-depth look at the stars who both won Oscars and then suffered various career and personal setbacks. They are well-worth seeing films and while they take similar bio/documentary trajectories, they examine the actresses from perspectives most telling of the eras in which they had their respective career peaks.
The Taylor documentary features the actress talking on tape about her early career at MGM when she had little control over the roles she would be given. While she was shining in early films such as National Velvet and A Place in the Sun, Taylor discusses how she wanted to take acting much more seriously than she had the opportunity to do with some of roles she played. Essentially she was part of the studio system and worked at a time when roles for women were not very complex. Hollywood wanted her to be a movie star but she wanted to be an actress. Taylor goes on to say that she never liked fame or being called a “sex goddess.” None of this fulfilled her. Even her first Oscar-winning role in Butterfield 8, in which she played a prostitute, she hated. (She later won another Oscar for a much more challenging role in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.)
Dunaway, on the other hand, was given the chance to play much more complicated characters in her early films such as Bonnie and Clyde and The Thomas Crown Affair. She represented a new generation that wasn’t as interested in “stars.” It wanted something more deep from its films and actors, especially given the turbulent times of the 1960s.
It’s interesting hearing Taylor talk about her lack of acting training while Dunaway studied her craft in college and under famed Actor’s Studio teacher/director Elia Kazan. It’s clear that Dunaway was seemingly destined to be considered an accomplished actress while Taylor was often fodder for gossip columns due, in part, to the many marriages she had by the time she was thirty. Watching the documentaries and seeing the many clips from the actresses’ films, it’s easy to see that Dunaway was given more substantive roles to play than Taylor. Most of this was due to how young Taylor was when she began her acting career and the way Hollywood functioned in the 1940s and 50s. Dunaway benefitted from the changes that had occurred within society and the industry in the 1960s and 70s.
Both documentaries feature a host of interesting film clips and interviews from each actress’s time in the spotlight. Both were also known for their incredible and very photogenic looks. Yet Elizabeth: The Lost Tapes focuses a bit more on Taylor’s personal life than any substance that might have been found in some of her work. It never really delves into her craft. Whereas Faye spends an ample amount of time examining what Dunaway delivered so well in films such as Chinatown and Network. Does this reflect the quality of their work or the era in which they made some of their most significant films?
Taylor comes across as a frustrated actress who always wanted to be taken seriously. She’s strong though, even if her personal life may have kept her from making a bigger impact as an actress. Dunaway, on the other hand, has always been known as being “not easy” to work with. Even the opening of the documentary demonstrates the control she wants to have with regard to the lighting, her hair, and how she wants her water to be served while being interviewed. Taylor sounds nothing but accommodating and considerate to her interviewers.
While I feel I’ve known this Taylor story and that her documentary doesn’t exactly provide many new insights, it is interesting to hear how much more fulfilled she became when taking on the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 90s. She clearly found her calling as an exemplary activist. Dunaway’s story evolves into something less heroic and perhaps much more typical of actresses whose career takes a dive after they hit the age of forty. For Dunaway, all of the clout and acclaim she had in the business seemed to have evaporated after the release of Mommie Dearest in 1981. Her career never recovered after that which is a shame because the film clips shown throughout her documentary really illustrate what a great actress she was.
Like Taylor, Dunaway distinguishes between her public and private personas. The last decade or so hasn’t been particularly kind to her, in part, due to her own making. Yet, what I really liked about Faye was how honest and vulnerable she is throughout her interviews. She discusses her diagnosis of bipolar disorder which may have been one of the main factors in her career decline. Whereas Taylor persevered in other avenues in her life, Dunaway has struggled. Again, is this due to the eras in which the actresses have lived and worked? Both documentaries will leave viewers pondering their legacies either way. They’re both engrossing films that deserve to be seen by anyone who has an interest in Hollywood history, its actresses, and how women have evolved in the industry.
Elizabeth: The Lost Tapes and Faye can both be viewed on HBO Max.
