![]() The Trials of Oscar Wilde may be a bit dated, but it's still quite powerful - and Finch is often mesmerizing. Ken Hughes' direction is solid, always leading the viewer exactly where he needs to go. Lionel Jeffries engages in some marvelous scenery chewing, and John Fraser quite looks the part of Lord Alfred Douglas. James Mason, who should be equally good as the lawyer who undoes Wilde, should be Finch's match yet Mason seems to be operating at less than his full powers, turning in a performance that is good, yet less than it should be. Oscar Wilde was tried for sodomy by the father of his lover Sir Alfred Douglas at the age of forty-five. Finch does a superb job of capturing the many sides of Wilde, and of anchoring the film with his presence and his manner. It also allows Finch to turn in a performance that captures all of the wit and mischief of Wilde, while at the same time creating a portrait that is more muscular and masculine than that which is usually credited to the man. Oscar Wilde was born at 21 Westland Row, Dublin (now home of the Oscar Wilde Centre, Trinity College), the second of three children born to an Anglo-Irish couple: Jane, née Elgee, and Sir William Wilde.Oscar was two years younger than his brother, William (Willie) Wilde. However, this has the dramatic benefit of making his fall from grace more tragic. Certainly, in this treatment, Wilde comes off as a bit more noble and "above it all" than the facts indicate. Today's audiences will find this a bit coy in places, a bit baffling in others, and may feel that the filmmakers are simply trying to whitewash the facts. Thus, Trials has to skirt the issue quite a bit, hinting as far as it can and opting for ambiguity when things threaten to get a bit dicey. In 1960, simply making an English film about Wilde was tempting fate, as any real discussion of his homosexuality and its consequences would have been banned by the national censor. An optimist will tell you the glass is half-full the pessimist, half-empty and the engineer will tell you the glass is twice the size it needs to be. It's even more gruesome in person.A sterling performance from Peter Finch infuses The Trials of Oscar Wilde with a radiant glow, despite some concessions to the mores of the time in which it was filmed that may strike modern viewers as both odd and rather dishonest. I had the opportunity to see the actual painting from the film during an Ivan Albright exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1997. 3.19K subscribers 2.5K views 5 months ago Oscar Wilde is a 1960 biography that focuses on the writer's libel suit against the Marquess of Queensberry, and its insinuation of his homosexuality. And speaking of suggested themes: Is it just me, or could you make an argument that Dorian is Jack the Ripper? Maybe it's actually pretty obvious or maybe I'm just interpreting too much into the story, but that's what I got out of it. I'm assuming Dorian "convinces" him to take part in his plans because of some sort past homosexual tryst, but it seemed unfair to bring him in they way he was, have him serve the role he does, and then disappear so quickly without explanation. I suppose my only criticism is toward the end, the story introduced one or two characters without giving them proper context or background (I'm thinking of the Allen Campbell character). The swinging lamp was a nice touch and reminded me of "Psycho"'s finale. The film is shot wonderfully, and Harry Stradling's cinematography gives the East End scenes a dark, atmospheric counter balance to the rather plain and flat interiors of Dorian's home. Her character feels tacked on, and she isn't allowed to do much but look faithful and beautiful. The only one in the cast who really doesn't work is Donna Reed. He made his breakthrough as the character Legolas in The Lord of the Rings film series.He reprised his role in The Hobbit film series. Angela Lansbury is surprisingly sympathetic as the sad and timid singer. Flamboyant, witty and well known, Irish writer Oscar Wilde clashes in court with the powerful Marquis of Queensbury, the father of his young lover. Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Copeland Bloom (born 13 January 1977) is an English actor. George Sanders-from what I've seen-played one character his enter career but played it so well, and his performance in this film is no exception. Hurd Hatfield at first seems miscast and ineffective as the titular character, but somewhere around the one hour mark, his one and only expression begins to grow on you until you feel just as unnerved by his presence as those who come in contact with him in the story. It's hard to say what it is about "The Picture of Dorian Gray" that I enjoyed so much, but I did like it.
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