Richard Burton as Hamlet at the Old Vic, 1953
4,551 words
For 250 years Shakespeare has been central to the Western literary canon. No other writer of any land or age has enjoyed popularity and renown on such a colossal and astounding scale. Read more …
Richard Burton: In from the Cold
For years nothing about Richard Burton attracted my attention to him more than to any other famous person. He appeared in many inferior films, but even his highly regarded ones—Look Back in Anger (1959-British), The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), The Taming of the Shrew (1967-US-Italian), 1984 (1984)—were not among my favorites. Read more …