The Picture of Dorian Gray

Like many other people, I saw this movie when it came out in 1973. I was a huge fan of "Dark Shadows," which was another Dan Curtis Production and I was interested in seeing his version of Oscar Wilde's story. This version of the Picture of Dorian Gray was "tastefully" done compared to Gothic horror films since. Possibly this could be due to the time it was filmed. The actions of the character, Dorian Gray, were more inuendo and not blatantly in your face. Some sexual excapades were obvious (like his night with Sybil Vane), while other references to pedophilia, homosexuality, and other liasons were hinted. As a result, I appreciated the frightening aspects of hiding his double life and seeing this as a moral tale demonstrating how that life caught up with the character. I was a teacher at one point in my existence and would have my students read the book BEFORE viewing a film based on the material in that book. The reason I did that was due to a problem I felt all film makers have when making any film. They either add to or take away some of the finer points an author writes about when creating a story. As a result, some of these films lose the original author's intent. As a classroom tool, reading the book and viewing a film made it easier to compare and constrast the two. But I always encouraged my students to read the book FIRST, this gave them a better basis to approach both the book and a film. The quality of the DVD was fine; it played on my Blueray player. The film has decent sound (I don't think it was supposed to have a surround sound.) Two scenes in the film were slightly discolored possibily because of the age of the film. Overall, it was great seeing this film after almost 40 years.

The Black & White Version is Better of Dorian Gray is better, but this on is okay.

Made by the same people who did Dark Shadows, so some camp and "insider" moments abound. Basic story told fairly well, but it is certainly no substitute for the book by Oscar Wilde. A lot of the literary flavor was lost.

i never read the book, but i had heard of this story. when the video started and saw it was "made for tv" type quality i considered changing to something else. the couple of BBC shakespeare videos on here i've tried to watch were terrible to me. the look, the sound, the acting, i found boring. maybe that's just me.i gave it a few minutes and something clicked and i decided to stick with it. it was OK. i think if there was a restored version, i would enjoy it more. and based on that thought, i'm giving it a 4.

This movie is weird but I really liked it. I can see why some would not, but I think it's a great film.

The facial features of actor Shane Briant are so perfect that, at times, they lent his beauty an eerie quality, and I'm talking early on. The 2009 version offers very explicit images, a lot of special effects, and Ben Barne's brand of beauty is more "easily digestible," but his facial expressions are in many scenes so exaggerated that they distracted me from the movie. Some scenes in which he is still innocent come through ok, as well as some scenes when he is cruel. However, this 1973 version is more intelligently told: it relies a lot on clues and lets the public read between the lines. I understand that they had to resort to this in order to circumvent censorship, but by building the story this way, they were able to show additional evil pleasures that the 2009 version could not touch with a ten-foot pole. Plus, Shane Briant's facial expression changes are really subtle: he conveys the evil, the coldness, and the boredom very well without having to make faces, which makes him a far darker and more evil character than 2009's Dorian Gray.

Not bad for a 70's film which actually comes off as more of a theatrical presentation than a movie. The lead player, Shane Briant, was brilliant in his role as Dorian with his almost angelic physical characteristics and eloquent delivery, but the timing of some of the other characters felt a bit awkward at points, particularly from the actress who portrayed Beatrice... felt stiff and too eager. A bit slow but worth the watch.

I have always avoided Oscar Wilde because I just cannot stomach the uppity, pretentious, and obnoxious tone. All the omnipresent quotes from him seem designed to show how smart he was instead of trying to convey some deeper thoughts. It all seems to be an unending and exasperating stretch of pretention.But it may warrant two hours of half-hearted attention to an adopted video? About 20 minutes into the video, I was hooked. There is, after all, a probing and serious side to Wilde. On to his original works now. Thanks, Prime Video.

This is one of my favourite films, so, of course, I am very appreciative to own it on DVD. I enjoy it more than the book, actually, because it's close to it but without the philosophical chatter. Those who love Gothic fiction must give it a chance, especially if they've read the book.

I enjoyed this version (as there has not been many done for film) but unfortunately this print is very grainy with poor picture quality. But at the moment the only copy around. Still would give it a try if you love the book.

Sehr einfach gehalten, keine weitere Info über den Film mitgeliefert. Film weicht in einige wichtige Punkten ab vom Buch. Ist aber mal ganz lustig zu gucken

classic movie....

Good morning,Arrived on time.Congratulations on your work.Recommend all customers AMAZON.CO.UKLoved this movie.Thank you for your attention.Hugs.Marco