The Picture of Dorian Gray
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Movie Reviews of The Picture of Dorian Gray
Movie Review: wonderful book, bad movie
Summary: 3 Stars
The only reason this movie can get three stars is that it is based on such a good novel. When I watched it I found myself laughing at the terrible acting of the actor who plays Dorian Gray. His facial expression does not change once during the whole film. Lord Henry, who really makes the books what it is, was played by a fitting actor, but he needed to slow way down and put meaning into what he was saying. It sounded as though he was reading Lord Henry's classic lines for the first time and as fast as possible. The worst part about this movie was the very end. Dorian's portrait, which gradually changes over the course of the movie, gaining the signs of aging that remain absent from Dorian's beautiful face, is seen at three stages in the novel. First, as a fresh portrait of a good-looking young man. Next, a portrait of the same young man, but slightly aged and less innocent - a mischievious look on his face. However, the next time we see the portrait, at the end of the movie, it has somehow morphed into a completely unrealistic, wildly colorful, cartoonish painting of what appears to be a zombie or monster of some kind. Huh? I am quite sure this is not what Oscar Wilde had in mind, and it detracts enormously from the movie.Movie Review: Elegant and well mounted
Summary: 4 Stars
The Wilde novel on which this movie is based is a sort of "semi-classic ";like other novels which set the template for horror genres such as the mad scientist (Frankenstein);the vampire( Dracula) and the shape shifter (The Werewolf of Paris/Jekyll and Hyde )it is not generally accorded the sort of elevated status of a Dickens or an Austen but rather is seen as a minor work that has some resonanace on the mythic level as establishing a form of literary shorthand .We all know what Jekyll and Hyde personality means even if we have never read the book.
This movie of the Wilde novel is likewise a semi-classic ;respected but rarely spoken of in the same breath as the Universal or Hammer classics of the genre .It is elaborate and well mounted ,subtle and disturbing rather than truly frightening and a movie that establishes a miasma of corruption rather than going for the gross out .
Hurd Hatfield plays Dorian ,a handsome youth in Victorian England who falls under the influence of the hedonistic Lord Henry Wooton (George Sanders).He has his portrait painted and makes a Faustian bargain -his picture will age hideously ,to reflect his increasing moral corruption ,while he will forever retain the form of youth and handomeness.
The movie is reminiscent of the Val Lewton RKO movies of the era in that nothing overtly horrific takes place on screen until the portrait is revealed in the closing scene when the sombre and elegant black and white gives way to garish and lurid colour .This is the only visual shock in the movie and the picture is truly repellant ,a reflection of the corrupt soul Dorian has become.The change in the music that takes palce at the same time effectively reinforces this -it becomes discordant and brash .The picture is by Ivan Allbright and it is very potent indeed .
Hatfield as the psychic vampire and philanderer is excellent ,playing with a deliberate flatness and lack of emotion that is effective .Sanders is ideal casting , dispensing Wildean epigrams with elegant insouciance and Angela Lansbury is superb in an Oscar nominated turn as Sybil Vane a cheap actress Dorian briefly takes up with .
Oscars went to Cedric Gibbons and Harry Peters for best monochrome photography and quite rightly so
The script by Albert Lewin who also directs well relies too heavily on voice over narration and I feel this weakens its impact a trifle .
This is an elegant little movie and worth your time but its not for those who like explicit gore in their horror movies
Movie Review: Where to find the real painting.
Summary: 5 Stars
The painting from this movie hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago, in the Galleries of American Art. The color and detail are amazing in person.Movie Review: This movie needs to be re-made and updated!
Summary: 2 Stars
I do enjoy the story of Picture of Dorian Gray. I'm fascinated by it actually. The whole obsession with youth and having his portrait turn evil is really interesting. However this movie needs to seriously be updated. It's a good film but I have too many gripes about it. It's too slow moving, the characters talk too fast and I can't understand a word (especially Lord Henry), and half the time it's just really hard to follow! I agree with half of the reviews here who said Hurd Hatfield was too wooden! My God anyone can do better acting than that. I don't know if he was channeling the character of Dorian but there was nothing charming about this guy. He was supposed to be very good looking and mesmorizing, but Hurd was a robot! He didn't seem life like at all. Way too cold, way too still, and way too wooden. He just stared blankly and when he talked he barely made any expressions or moved his mouth. I'm supposed to feel sorry for him? Hardly! The great thing about this movie is the portrait itself. It's very eery and I love how it's in color. That's pretty neat. The rest is just UGH. I hear they are doing a remake with Ryan Phillipe. Now THAT should be interesting! Although I think Ryan may be a little too old for the part of Dorian, he certainly is handsome! I hope for better acting overall from that one than the 1945 version. It's just a snooze...Movie Review: Moral Leprosy
Summary: 5 Stars
When you think of expressionism in the movies you tend to think of the wierd angles, lighting and cutting of the German directors of the 20's and 30's. But Albert Lewin's marvelous movie adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novel makes the same kind of other-wordly impact with an amazing and unsettling exaggeration of Victorian manners, morals, and architecture. The icy detachment of Gray and his friends from any emotional involvement with their surroundings heightens tremendously the impact on us of the genuinely human gestures and feelings of the other characters. This Faustian parable about a man and his graven image probably reflects Wilde's torment over whether he had sold his own soul to become an international funnyman. The whole cast is a standout but it's Lewin's picture and a total success.