The Picture of Dorian Gray

Really creepy and mysterious but still a very beautiful and deep movie

I actually really liked this but I wish it went into more detail about his deeds. The acting was great and I love Ms Angela Lansbury 😝

5.8 - The Picture of Dorian Gray, the novel by Oscar Wilde, was one of my favorite high school reads. But I’ve never watched any of the adaptations until now.

As far as adaptations go, I guess this is solid. I’ve seen it called the most faithful, so I am afraid to see others. I think the central story about the horrors of the picture are intact. But the character resolution changes turned me off a bit.

*Spoilers (I guess - but it’s 80 years old, and the book is 135, so come on.)*

1. Removing nearly all explanations of Dorian’s terrible acts to off-screen removes a lot of the punch of just how terrible he is. Even the start of his descent with Sibyl is changed just enough, making it about her integrity as aligns with the era, vs because of her acting ability declining due to her infatuation with Dorian, adds a layer of ambiguity to Dorian’s morality that was not there in the book, at least that I remember.

2. Having the good deed reflect as hope & as a positive instead of further grotesqueness from it being self-serving, undermines Dorian as a character, in my opinion. The purpose, as I understood it, was always an examination of the soul & if that is a way to recover your soul, then what purpose is there to avoid the life Dorian accepted or pursued.

All in all, for its time, this is a solid film. The staging, blocking, & lighting are strong. The acting is good. I appreciated most of Hurd Hatfield’s portrayal of Dorian - cold & meticulous. And the use of color exclusively on the portrait makes it jump against the rest of the black and white film. But I’m not sure it’s an all time classic for me.

Really creepy and mysterious but still a very beautiful and deep movie

I actually really liked this but I wish it went into more detail about his deeds. The acting was great and I love Ms Angela Lansbury 😝

5.8 - The Picture of Dorian Gray, the novel by Oscar Wilde, was one of my favorite high school reads. But I’ve never watched any of the adaptations until now.

As far as adaptations go, I guess this is solid. I’ve seen it called the most faithful, so I am afraid to see others. I think the central story about the horrors of the picture are intact. But the character resolution changes turned me off a bit.

*Spoilers (I guess - but it’s 80 years old, and the book is 135, so come on.)*

1. Removing nearly all explanations of Dorian’s terrible acts to off-screen removes a lot of the punch of just how terrible he is. Even the start of his descent with Sibyl is changed just enough, making it about her integrity as aligns with the era, vs because of her acting ability declining due to her infatuation with Dorian, adds a layer of ambiguity to Dorian’s morality that was not there in the book, at least that I remember.

2. Having the good deed reflect as hope & as a positive instead of further grotesqueness from it being self-serving, undermines Dorian as a character, in my opinion. The purpose, as I understood it, was always an examination of the soul & if that is a way to recover your soul, then what purpose is there to avoid the life Dorian accepted or pursued.

All in all, for its time, this is a solid film. The staging, blocking, & lighting are strong. The acting is good. I appreciated most of Hurd Hatfield’s portrayal of Dorian - cold & meticulous. And the use of color exclusively on the portrait makes it jump against the rest of the black and white film. But I’m not sure it’s an all time classic for me.