Everyone knows the basic story. Basil Hallward (Jeremy Brett) paints a portrait of young Dorian Gray (Peter Firth) that perfectly captures his innocence and beauty. Lord Henry (Sir John Gielgud) is entranced by both the portrait and the model. He more or less woos Dorian Gray and corrupts him with his cynicism. Gray begins to treat people heartlessly in his selfish search for sensation, beginning with his rejection of the actress he was in love with (Judi Bowker) because, being distracted by Gray's presence in the theater, she gave a poor performance as Juliet. She kills herself but Gray is unmoved. In the end, the butler discovers Gray, dead apparently by his own hand, shriveled and ugly, as wicked-looking as his portrait has become over the years.
The performances aren't bad, and neither is the script. (Adaptation by John Osborne.) But it's a filmed play, after all, and it looks like one.
Peter Firth doesn't look particularly unsullied to me at the start, or especially handsome either. In the MGM film, Hurd Hatfield wasn't especially attractive either but he DID look like he was ready to be thoroughly debauched. And George Sanders in 1945 was the equal of John Gielgud here, slinging around those Wilde aphorisms.
The early film, sadly, had been cleaned up by MGM to promote domestic consumption, I suppose, so some anti-Americanisms and anti-feminist barbs were deleted. "America has never actually been 'discovered,' merely 'detected'." And "When good Americans die they go to Paris. When bad Americans die they go -- to America." Both the play and the novel had a little trouble depicting Gray's descent into the obscene. In the novel, Gray engages in such morally corrupt enterprises as examining rare stones, viewing barbaric paintings, and fondling fabrics.
It's doubtful that a Victorian audience would have approved of what Gray was really up to, namely hanging around and having love affairs with both sexes. The MGM version couldn't deal with it either, but this play makes the homoeroticism about as explicit as it can. Basil the artist is clearly jealous of Sir John. The men talk of "loving" one another. And in the penultimate scene, Gielgud is awed by Gray's perpetual beauty and kneels to kiss his hand, a gesture Firth rejects with contempt.
Sir John's witticisms come thick and fast and they're always amusing but I found this version a little static and was disappointed. The 1945 movie had its flaws but the production values were higher and it showed.
The performances aren't bad, and neither is the script. (Adaptation by John Osborne.) But it's a filmed play, after all, and it looks like one.
Peter Firth doesn't look particularly unsullied to me at the start, or especially handsome either. In the MGM film, Hurd Hatfield wasn't especially attractive either but he DID look like he was ready to be thoroughly debauched. And George Sanders in 1945 was the equal of John Gielgud here, slinging around those Wilde aphorisms.
The early film, sadly, had been cleaned up by MGM to promote domestic consumption, I suppose, so some anti-Americanisms and anti-feminist barbs were deleted. "America has never actually been 'discovered,' merely 'detected'." And "When good Americans die they go to Paris. When bad Americans die they go -- to America." Both the play and the novel had a little trouble depicting Gray's descent into the obscene. In the novel, Gray engages in such morally corrupt enterprises as examining rare stones, viewing barbaric paintings, and fondling fabrics.
It's doubtful that a Victorian audience would have approved of what Gray was really up to, namely hanging around and having love affairs with both sexes. The MGM version couldn't deal with it either, but this play makes the homoeroticism about as explicit as it can. Basil the artist is clearly jealous of Sir John. The men talk of "loving" one another. And in the penultimate scene, Gielgud is awed by Gray's perpetual beauty and kneels to kiss his hand, a gesture Firth rejects with contempt.
Sir John's witticisms come thick and fast and they're always amusing but I found this version a little static and was disappointed. The 1945 movie had its flaws but the production values were higher and it showed.