4 Early Classics Directed by Mike Nichols
Director Mike Nichols, who passed away earlier this year and was honored at the Oscars in their In Memoriam segment, started his career as one half of a popular comedy duo with Elaine May. From there, he found even more success as a director on Broadway, where he worked in collaboration with Neil Simon and earned Tony Awards for Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1966).
It was only a matter of time that Hollywood came calling and Nichols answered by directing some of the most influential films of the 1960s and 1970s. A brief return to the stage followed, but he came back to Hollywood to earn both critical acclaim and box office success. Nichols was active in film and on stage well into his 80s and died on Nov. 19, 2014. Here are four early classics directed by Mike Nichols.
After earning Tony Awards for his Broadway work with Neil Simon, Nichols made his Hollywood debut by directing a controversial adaptation of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Albee's play was a big success, but because of the multiple use of a number of curse words, many felt that it couldn't be adapted for the big screen in its original form. But by the mid-1960s, the Production Code that had kept Hollywood on the straight and narrow had become meaningless. With Ernest Lehman writing the script, Nichols cast Hollywood's most famous pair, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, to play Martha and George, a middle-aged married couple whose marriage has been drowning in booze and bitter disappointment. Poor George hasn't lived up to his potential, something that is repeatedly beat into him by the vulgar Martha. Meanwhile, they entertain late-night guests (George Segal and Sandy Dennis), who are subjected to their endless needling as well as sadistic games like "get the guests" and "hump the hostess." Nichols film was a triumph, earning 13 Academy Awards while becoming a box office hit. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? won five Oscars, including Best Actress for Taylor.
Hot on the heels of his success with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Nichols directed what would come to be one of the seminal films of the New Hollywood era. Adapted from the book by celebrated author Charles Webb, The Graduate starred Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock, a recent college graduate literally and figuratively drifting about his parent's house after graduating from college. With no particular future on the horizon, Benjamin makes the acquaintance of Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), a dissatisfied middle-aged family friend who attempts to seduce him after being driven home from a party. Though he clumsily declines her initial attempts—which includes the famous line, "Mrs. Robinson, are you trying to seduce me?"—Benjamin begins a sexual tryst with her while continuing to hem and haw about his future. Meanwhile, he falls in love with Mrs. Robinson's daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross), which infuriates her mother once she finds out. Benjamin is forced to confess the affair, which throws his future with Elaine into serious doubt. Once again, Nichols directed a highly acclaimed film that earned five Academy Award nominations. The film earned him his the only Academy Award for Best Director in his career.
Despite his overwhelming success with his first two movies, Nichols hit a wall with his adaptation of Joseph Heller's literary classic, Catch-22. Working in collaboration once again with writer Buck Henry, who wrote the pages for The Graduate, Nichols' Catch-22 was a satirical antiwar comedy set in World War II about a misfit bombing crew led by the hopelessly sane Captain Yossarian (Alan Arkin). Yossarian wants nothing more than to get out of his remaining bombing missions, but finds his number of required sorties increasing thanks to his publicity-hungry commander (Martin Balsam) and his sycophantic cohort (Henry). That leads to Yossarian trying to declare himself insane, a futile effort given the fact that he's surrounded by genuinely crazy people, including war profiteer Milo Minderbender (Jon Voight) and the murderous Aarfy Aardvark (Charles Grodin). With a country already weary of the Vietnam War, Catch-22 failed to win over audiences at the time, but it has since grown to become a cult classic.
Turning away from comedy and character-driven material, Nichols teamed up with Buck Henry once more to direct the science fiction thriller, The Day of the Dolphin. Adapted from Robert Merle's best-selling novel of the same name, the film follows dolphin researcher Dr. Jake Terrell (George C. Scott), whose investigations into dolphin intelligence leads him and his wife (Trish Van Devere) to believe the animals have the capability of speech. The couple is sponsored by a shadowy foundation headed by Harold DeMilo (Fritz Weaver), only to discover that the dolphins have been kidnapped in an attempt to assassinate the president. TheDay of the Dolphin was not a commercial or critical success and led to Nichols return to the stage for a years-long hiatus from Hollywood.
It was only a matter of time that Hollywood came calling and Nichols answered by directing some of the most influential films of the 1960s and 1970s. A brief return to the stage followed, but he came back to Hollywood to earn both critical acclaim and box office success. Nichols was active in film and on stage well into his 80s and died on Nov. 19, 2014. Here are four early classics directed by Mike Nichols.
1. 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' – 1966
After earning Tony Awards for his Broadway work with Neil Simon, Nichols made his Hollywood debut by directing a controversial adaptation of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Albee's play was a big success, but because of the multiple use of a number of curse words, many felt that it couldn't be adapted for the big screen in its original form. But by the mid-1960s, the Production Code that had kept Hollywood on the straight and narrow had become meaningless. With Ernest Lehman writing the script, Nichols cast Hollywood's most famous pair, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, to play Martha and George, a middle-aged married couple whose marriage has been drowning in booze and bitter disappointment. Poor George hasn't lived up to his potential, something that is repeatedly beat into him by the vulgar Martha. Meanwhile, they entertain late-night guests (George Segal and Sandy Dennis), who are subjected to their endless needling as well as sadistic games like "get the guests" and "hump the hostess." Nichols film was a triumph, earning 13 Academy Awards while becoming a box office hit. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? won five Oscars, including Best Actress for Taylor.
2. 'The Graduate' – 1967
Hot on the heels of his success with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Nichols directed what would come to be one of the seminal films of the New Hollywood era. Adapted from the book by celebrated author Charles Webb, The Graduate starred Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock, a recent college graduate literally and figuratively drifting about his parent's house after graduating from college. With no particular future on the horizon, Benjamin makes the acquaintance of Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), a dissatisfied middle-aged family friend who attempts to seduce him after being driven home from a party. Though he clumsily declines her initial attempts—which includes the famous line, "Mrs. Robinson, are you trying to seduce me?"—Benjamin begins a sexual tryst with her while continuing to hem and haw about his future. Meanwhile, he falls in love with Mrs. Robinson's daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross), which infuriates her mother once she finds out. Benjamin is forced to confess the affair, which throws his future with Elaine into serious doubt. Once again, Nichols directed a highly acclaimed film that earned five Academy Award nominations. The film earned him his the only Academy Award for Best Director in his career.
3. 'Catch-22' – 1970
Despite his overwhelming success with his first two movies, Nichols hit a wall with his adaptation of Joseph Heller's literary classic, Catch-22. Working in collaboration once again with writer Buck Henry, who wrote the pages for The Graduate, Nichols' Catch-22 was a satirical antiwar comedy set in World War II about a misfit bombing crew led by the hopelessly sane Captain Yossarian (Alan Arkin). Yossarian wants nothing more than to get out of his remaining bombing missions, but finds his number of required sorties increasing thanks to his publicity-hungry commander (Martin Balsam) and his sycophantic cohort (Henry). That leads to Yossarian trying to declare himself insane, a futile effort given the fact that he's surrounded by genuinely crazy people, including war profiteer Milo Minderbender (Jon Voight) and the murderous Aarfy Aardvark (Charles Grodin). With a country already weary of the Vietnam War, Catch-22 failed to win over audiences at the time, but it has since grown to become a cult classic.
4. 'The Day of the Dolphin' – 1973
Turning away from comedy and character-driven material, Nichols teamed up with Buck Henry once more to direct the science fiction thriller, The Day of the Dolphin. Adapted from Robert Merle's best-selling novel of the same name, the film follows dolphin researcher Dr. Jake Terrell (George C. Scott), whose investigations into dolphin intelligence leads him and his wife (Trish Van Devere) to believe the animals have the capability of speech. The couple is sponsored by a shadowy foundation headed by Harold DeMilo (Fritz Weaver), only to discover that the dolphins have been kidnapped in an attempt to assassinate the president. TheDay of the Dolphin was not a commercial or critical success and led to Nichols return to the stage for a years-long hiatus from Hollywood.
