Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes

2024

1h 40m

Documentary

Biography

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for Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes: Trailer 1

List

95%

Tomatometer

22 Reviews

80%

Audience Score

Fewer than 50 Ratings

ELIZABETH TAYLOR: THE LOST TAPES offers an unprecedented exploration into the life of Elizabeth Taylor, Hollywood's quintessential star. With extraordinary access to Taylor's personal archives and 40 hours of newly unearthed, intimate audio interviews with journalist Richard Meryman, audiences are invited to rediscover, not just a mega star of Hollywood's Golden Age, but a complex woman who navigated lifelong fame, personal identity, and public scrutiny on a global stage from early childhood. These candid conversations peel back the layers of one of cinema's most enduring icons, revealing a woman at odds with her public image, yearning for respect and agency. The film follows the life of an actress who defied the era's expectations by portraying strong-willed women on-screen, offering a nuanced portrait of the intersection of vulnerability and strength.

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Richard Brody

New Yorker

The Lost Tapes lays bare the gap between private self and public image.

Aug 9, 2024

Full Review

Owen Gleiberman

Variety

[A] luscious and enveloping documentary.

Aug 7, 2024

Full Review

Fiona Sturges

Financial Times

The Lost Tapes paints a vivid and unsettling picture of life in the spotlight, but it’s by no means the whole story.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 7, 2024

Full Review

Ezequiel Boetti

Otroscines.com

The documentary works as a chronicle of an era and shows how the Hollywood machine is capable of tailoring stars to suit their wishes. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3/5

Aug 9, 2024

Full Review

Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

On one hand we get a richer portrait of Taylor’s early career and personal life from her own perspective, which dispels a lot of misconceptions about both, but on the other hand what does the use of these tapes say about consent after someone has died?

Aug 9, 2024

Full Review

Matt Roush

TV Insider

The Lost Tapes is an invaluable guide through Taylor’s remarkable life...

Rated: 5/5

Aug 9, 2024

Full Review

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Aldis H

The tapes were not f****** lost, that's just advertising double speak. They just haven't been shown, for good reason.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/08/24

Full Review

jim p

So amazing. She was a beauty that loved, lost, and lived. We’ll never have a star like her again.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/04/24

Full Review

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Nanette Burstein

Director

Elizabeth Taylor

Self

J.J. Abrams

Producer

Sean M. Stuart

Producer

Nanette Burstein

Executive Producer

Barbara Berkowitz

Executive Producer

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Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Director: Nanette Burstein
Producer: J.J. Abrams, Sean M. Stuart, Glen Zipper, Bill Gerber, Rachel Rusch Rich
Distributor: Max
Production Co: HBO Documentary Films, Zipper Bros Films, Gerber Pictures, Sutter Road Picture Company, Bad Robot
Genre: Documentary, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 3, 2024
Runtime: 1h 40m

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Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes

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