The official Burton & Taylor trailer has been making the rounds across the Internet over the last couple of days, but if you haven’t yet caught it, it’s a good one. It gives us a glimpse into Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor reuniting to put together a play in 1983, a project that would eventually prove tumultuous for the two actors. BBC America previously put out a teaser trailer for the TV movie, which showed a lot of hurt feelings and carefully cruel words, but the official trailer for Burton & Taylor is a whole lot more complicated.
The King’s Speech’s Helena Bonham Carter and The Wire’s Dominic West star in the new film, which takes a look at a very specific period in the couple’s relationship, or lack thereof. Burton and Taylor were married twice, between 1964 and 1974, and then again between 1975 and 1976. The actor married again a couple of times after divorcing Taylor, but in 1983, the couple reconciled enough to appear in the play Private Lives together.
Of course, starring in a play together gave the two actors a reason to be in relatively close proximity, which means that in the TV movie there should be ample opportunity for heartfelt conversations, as well as plenty of arguments. If you know anything about Burton and Taylor’s time during Private Lives, you’ll know the play was panned. Judging by that fact and the footage we've seen, it's likely viewers will see plenty of tension between the two stars both on and off the stage.
Burton & Taylor follows up another project about the famous couple, Liz & Dick, which famously starred Lindsay Lohan and Defiance’s Grant Bowler. Lifetime’s big TV movie did 3.5 million viewers when it first aired but became the butt of many a Lohan joke. Burton & Taylor has already aired in the U.K., and while it didn’t get as many eyeballs there as the Lifetime movie did here, the reception for the film has been mostly positive, which means it should be worth a watch when it does hit the U.S. small screen. At the very least, West and Bonham Carter look very much the part.
U.S. audiences won’t have too long to wait. The 90-minute drama is expected to premiere as part of BBC America’s Dramaville this fall, and the network recently announced an October 16 premiere date. This means fans of West and Bonham Carter can catch Burton & Taylor when it hits the schedule on October 16 at 9 p.m. ET.
