The Blue Bird (1976) and Violet Links

The news of Liz Taylor's death derailed me this morning as Twitter exploded. Though I am less nostalgic as a person than I appear to be on the web  (I think it's that love of Oscar history and "anniversary" post-fetish that makes me seem like a weepy 'they don't make 'em like they used to' type.), this month has been admittedly nostalgia-saturated. We shall return to stuff in theaters very soon.

As I was posting about Liz and sharing reader of the day "first movie" memories I began to wonder when my Liz fandom began? I have no specific recall like I do with some stars. My earliest vivid pop culture memories  from childhood are mostly bunched around the axis of The Muppets, Star Wars and Natalie Wood (television airings of her old movies) in the late 70s. So I was looking at Liz's filmography and realized the first time I saw her must have been in the family film The Blue Bird. I remember zero about the movie other than her face... which is weird because Jane Fonda, Cicely Tyson and Ava Gardner are also in it though obvs I didn't yet know who they were... except for maybe Fonda.  I'm actually shocked to remember that my parents took us to this because in my house (my parents are right wingers) Jane Fonda was a 'traitorous devil' or some such. In all my years of film fandom I have never heard anyone talk about this movie and I had forgotten its existence myself so maybe it's not on DVD?

My favorite tweet about Liz this morning was this one, from diminutive comedienne Selene Luna. She has a perceptive papa.

Carefully Taylor'ed Memories
The Guardian explains Liz Taylor's Gay Icon status beautifully.
The Guardian Guy Lodge looks back over her career in clips.
Playbill remembers the Dame's stage outings with a photo gallery.
Boy Culture remembers her wild rollercoaster of a career and imagines how, to the generations before us -- particular those who grew up with her growing up alongside them onscreen, she must be even more intimately revered.

Fun Liz-Links To Dry Those Wet Eyes
Movie|Line shares the most memorable Elizabeth Taylor cameos. This is how many younger viewers became familiar with her from the 80s onward.
Movie|Line also has a fun post on Liz's most OTT acting.
Acidemic admires her generosity of spirit and sexuality. And like The Film Experience, Acidemic doesn't just post about her on the day of her death.
Awards Daily Sasha names her 10 favorites
La Dolce Musto Michael Musto names his 5 favorites with a good note on Cleopatra's reputation.
The Star remembers a trip Liz & Dick (Richard Burton) took to Toronto in the 60s... with photos.
The Montreal Gazette has wedding photos from their marriage in Montreal.

My 5 (okay 6) Favorites
Since Sasha and Musto listed their fav Liz performances, I'd feel remiss if I didn't.

1. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
2. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
3. Butterfield 8 -(post coming next month for the Oscar anniversary.)
   
   
4. Giant and Suddenly Last Summer
   (Tie. I toggle back and forth. I haven't seen either of them in about 5 years. But I love that she does the same thing for both films in a way as the pivot point between two very different acting styles from two also legendary screen stars in a tense triangle of this-movie-can't-be-real star power.)
5. A Place in the Sun -here's a previous writeup on this.

Those are the biggies for me but I should note that I have seen neither The VIPs nor Boom, both of which I've wanted to see for some time. There's never enough of it! (Time, that is.)