A liquid crystal cell of bend alignment mode or hybrid alignment mode should be optically compensated suitably enough to display an image of high contrast. In the displayed image, change of hue is little, and no inversion of gradation is observed. In a liquid crystal display having a liquid crystal cell of bend alignment mode and a pair of polarizing plates, one of the polarizing plates comprises a polarizing membrane and two optically anisotropic layers. A first optically anisotropic layer is made from discotic compounds oriented in hybrid alignment, and is placed so that a direction giving the maximum refractive index in plane may be essentially at 45.degree. to a transmission axis in plane of the polarizing membrane. The second optically anisotropic layer consists of a cellulose ester film, and is placed so that a direction giving the maximum refractive index in plane may be essentially parallel or perpendicular to a transmission axis in plane of the polarizing membrane. The liquid crystal cell of bend alignment mode and the first and second optically anisotropic layers have appropriate optical characters measured at any wavelength of 450 nm, 550 nm and 630 nm. Similar optical characters are also effective in a liquid crystal cell of hybrid alignment mode.