Product Description

Studio: Mpi Home Video Release Date: 08/27/2002 Run time: 111 minutes Rating: Nr

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50388 in DVD
• Brand: MPI
• Released on: 2002-08-27
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Customer Reviews

They need to try again
I saw this movie when it came out in the 70's and it's a great movie, but the sound is so low on the DVD that even at full volume, it is inaudible. I had it replaced and the second one was the same way. Until they get this fixed, don't waste your time and money.

Inaudible soundtrack dooms this Dorian Gray
As much as I would've liked this film, my enjoyment was ruined by a bad DVD transfer that had a horribly inaudible soundtrack. When this occurred on my replacement DVD, I had to come to the conclusion that this was a flaw of MPI, who distributed this disc. While they present a great product in the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes films, they do nobody any favors with this slipshod transfer. It only gets the one star for the solid visuals, but unless you want to crank your TV volume at full blast to even hear a bit of the soundtrack, this is a product that I recommend avoiding.

The "straightening up" of Dorian Gray
Leaving aside audio issues, which are there, not imagined, this adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novella leaves many other things to be desired.

Not only does the screenplay and eerie soundtrack lend an ominous, "Dark Shadows" feel to the proceedings, there has been a concerted effort to downplay the homo-erotic subtext of Wilde's work. Gray is transformed into a Jack-the-Ripperesque, Jeckel and Hyde figure, preying on women, living the life of a rock-star or playboy. Shane Briant does have a bit of a Freddie Mercury/David Bowie quality about him, but any suggestion that he might be involved with other men is minimized to a few lingering glances and innuendo.

Without Wilde's subtext, some plot points and characters no longer make sense. Here Sybil kills herself because Gray deflowers her and then abandons her -- in the text it is a split over aesthetics in a much more profound and psychological encounter. This Gray is simply an insensitive cad, not worthy of the picture becoming so twisted. Wilde's Gray is a self-consumed aesthete who tires of people and throws them aside when he becomes disillusioned. This is far more damning to one's soul.

The tell-tale test for me was the handling of Alan Campbell. Compare this rendering with that of the BBC version just three years later. Again this one doesn't make much sense. Nor does the relationship with Beatrice, again I feel as an attempt to "straighten up" Dorian.

Certainly this production is more ambitious than the BBC version, including remote shots and crowd scenes, but what good are production values when the script is fatally flawed and the mood is reduced to melodramatic horror.

Watch the BBC version with John Gielgud and the far superior Peter Firth. Not only is that cast more attractive and has a better grasp of the work, it's to be chosen primarily if you want to come anywhere near Wilde's spirit and intention.