The Picture of Dorian Gray
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Movie Reviews of The Picture of Dorian Gray
Movie Review: What the...?
Summary: 2 Stars
We had to watch this movie in my English class and it totally sucked! The music was corny and i couldn't tell what the hell was going on. It would skip from one scene to another and you couldn't follow the plot. Am I supposed to know who "this" person is just from one scene?! I didn't get it at all. The only good part was the changing of the painting. That part I did get.Movie Review: Near Perfection
Summary: 4 Stars
Handsome, young and morally corrupt Dorian Gray has his portrait painted. Soon after, under the influence of the incorrigible Lord Henry Wotton, he betrays his fiancee, leading to her suicide. As the years pass Dorian does not age but evidence of his narcissim are apparent in his portrait which grows uglier with each transgression. His mysterious behavior and ageless appearance begin to attract suspicion. This is one of my favorite stories by Oscar Wilde. This movie has everything that a good movie should have.Movie Review: MY ALL TIME FAVORITE
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw this in 1983 and I was spellbound: THE WORDS OF OSCAR WILDE - well they spoke 2 me...'Albert Lewin(who only made six films) had great taste in selecting his crew and cast(It won Oscar for Best Photography).
It is STRANGE that it was MGM that produced this film. Metro was never known 2 take risks(Fury 1936 by Fritz Lang is an example)and the subject of the film and that is was based on Oscar Wilde`s only novel(BOTH QUITE CONTRIVERSAL) is a pleasure 2 behold..
MGM was Andy Hardy, Lassie Come Home, musicals, tearjerkers of the old times but NEVER EVER OSCAR WILDE.
The cast is excellent and it is a standing monument of HIGH ART!
Is is SLOW-moving, but it dares 2 be.... I assume some young people today would find it dull on that account....
Movie Review: Refusing to bow down to cliches
Summary: 5 Stars
I was skeptical of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" from the start, when Lord Henry Wotton started spouting off classic Wilde pieces of wit like "There's no such thing as a good influence. All influences are bad, as they detract away from man's individual nature" at a barely understandable speed. I thought it would be something along the lines of "The Importance of Being Earnest" (2002) - lots of dialogue and very predictable plot.Wrong!
This movie refused to fall into the traps that movies so often fall into today.
For example, somewhere around the 70 minute mark, close to the end, the brother of Angela Landbury's character shows up, vowing to have his revenge against Dorian. I thought, "Well, it's all over now. Just kill him and go home". And then, not five minutes later, the movie pulled a twist and make me spin around 180*.
Another example - I spent about 30 minutes waiting to see a picture of Dorina's portrait once Dorian started to become "evil". I thought, "All right, when I see it, the portrait will be old. Just show it already!" And poof it was revealed and I made an audible sound of surprise. It was horrible! And in color! AND HORRIBLE!
My favorite example - The tossing of the letter cutter - will he do it? Will he do it? See, you couldn't have known. One of the benefits of having such a stoic Dorian Gray is it could never be determined what he was thinking.
I do recommend this movie. It is on the AFI's Top 100 Thriller list for a reason.
Movie Review: Haunting and mysterious tale with a disturbing leading man
Summary: 4 Stars
The chief criticism of MGM's film version of Oscar Wilde's classic story "The Picture Of Dorian Gray" always appears to be the choice of a rather, (at first glance) wooden Hurd Hatfield playing the mysterious Dorian Gray. In actual fact his waxwork like presence in the story I feel heightens the sense of drama and mystery surrounding this strange tale of a young man who sells his soul in order to remain forever young while his recently painted portrait ages as a direct result of his ongoing moral decline.Based on the famous novel by Oscar Wilde MGM pulled out all the stops in bringing this story to the screen. A Pandro Berman Production, the film was both scripted and directed by Albert Lewin who was responsible for another surreal classic in "Pandora And The Flying Dutchman". Casting in this production is impeccable. Hurd Hatfield who forever after would be associated in people's minds with this role is I believe perfect as Dorian Gray the young aristocrat in Victorian London who outwardly is the very image of innocence but who underneath is the personification of depravity and evil. His angelic appearance and expressionless manner is superb in conveying the corruption and depravity that the character is guilty of (off camera of course), and it was a stroke of genius to use him rather than another more obviously villianess looking type. Here "suggestion" is the overwhelming quality which makes this version of "The Picture Of Dorian Gray" such a masterpiece. George Sanders is perfectly cast as dissolute gentleman Lord Henry Wotton a friend of Dorian's who has made a lifetimes work out of totally avoiding any work or personal commitment of any kind and who is a fountain of cynicism and wry observations about people and their failings. It is a role tailor made for Sanders much akin to his characters in "All About Eve" and "Rebecca". Angela Lansbury in only her third Hollywood production shines in the role of Sibyl Vane a sad little singer at the Two Turtles Pub who falls in love with Dorian and becomes one of the first victims of his vicious disregard for the feelings of others. Lansbury received another Academy Award nomination for this role (the first being for the classic "Gaslight"). The main cast is rounded out by a lovely Donna Reed as Gladys Hallward Dorian's later fiance, Lowell Gilmore in a superb performance as the painter Basil Hallward, Gladys's uncle who is responsible for the portrait of Dorian and who pays the ultimate price for its creation, and Peter Lawford newly arrived in Hollywood as David Stone an admirer of Gladys.
The film was a major production for that year at MGM and no expense was spared in bringing it to the screen. Cedric Gibbons MGM's legendary set designer outdid himself in the recreation of Victorian London and his elaborate interiors add greatly to the overall look of the film. Costumer Irene also has to be singled out for her wonderful period costumes for both the men and women which are so accurately a refection of this era. The real standout feature in "The Picture Of Dorian Grey" however must go to the very famous Oscar winning photography of Harry Stradling who not only enhanced the superb black and white interiors but provided the film with the intriguing breaks into technicolour whenever a closeup view of Dorian Gray's portrait was revealed. This is startingly done without warning to maximum effect and is a vital part in revealing to the audience the growing depravity and decay that Dorian's character undergoes while he doesn't visibly change one bit. Even today these colour sequences pack a real punch and really add to the overall horror of this story.They are without a doubt the main thing that people today remember the film for and they truly deserved the Academy Award that year.
"The Picture Of Dorian Gray" certainly would not appeal to all viewers. Much of what is said or done is off camera throughout the film but the building sense of menace and doom really suceeds in keeping the viewers attention. I love this story and strongly believe that Hurd Hatfield really makes the film a memorable piece directly because he actually does little in the story. A definite horror piece it is and if you like a film where you have to think and where things are often implied and where the characters are richly drawn from great literature then "The Picture Of Dorian Gray" is highly recommended viewing.