Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2434 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-04-27
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen, Colour, Subtitled
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 112 minutes

Customer Reviews

It's a wild Wilde life -- and a fascinating film
I have somewhat conflicting opinions about this film, just as I have conflicting opinions about Oscar Wilde himself. No one can dispute the fact that Wilde was a literary genius; ample proof of this is found in the successful rehabilitation of his work in reputation long before the aspects of his infamous lifestyle became acceptable to even a minor fraction of society. If, as hardly seems possible, you aren't aware of the scandal associated with Wilde's downfall, this film spares the viewer few of the most intimate of details (in other words, there is male nudity - and plenty of it). It's a brave film, featuring a most accomplished class of actors and actresses turning in terrific performances, but it doesn't feel perfectly complete to me. Rather than delivering a flamboyant Oscar Wilde who truly reveled in his own audacity, this Oscar Wilde seemed subdued and sometimes even haunted by the lifestyle he led. While his wit is demonstrated quite often, this didn't quite seem like the young man who became the toast of London before he met with his first literary success and reveled in the danger inherent in his forays into the London underworld of homosexuality. Maybe it's just impossible to capture the true spirit of this most singular of men, but I just felt as if this film tried to cast Wilde as something of a victim led astray by all these pretty young boys and a man doomed by his own nature, and I don't completely buy into that.

I was also somewhat disappointed by the fact that Wilde's writing played only an incidental role in this story. We don't get a very good sense of the shocking nature of The Picture of Dorian Gray to Victorian society, apart from the comments of young Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas (Jude Law) upon his introduction to the author, and Wilde's successful plays provide little more than short moments in the sun for Wilde to receive the cheers of appreciative audiences on opening nights. There's basically no commentary on the relationship between Wilde's writing and his life.

I don't want to sound too negative, however, as I think this is a wonderful film. Stephen Fry makes for a wonderful, albeit subdued, Oscar Wilde, but Jude Law turns in a much more memorable performance as Bosie. With his flamboyant nature, sudden mood swings between devil-may-care flamboyance and taciturn childishness, and natural coquettishness, he dominates one scene after another. Wilde, in fact, becomes something of a pathetic creature at times, a helpless instrument in the hands of a young seducer whom he must suspect will ultimately lead to his downfall and disgrace. Certainly, there was little chance of keeping this extended dalliance a protected secret, but one cannot blame Bosie's father - evil brute that he was - from seeking Wilde's destruction. The irony, of course, is that Wilde engineered his own downfall, as it was his decision to sue the Marquess of Queensberry for libel (and to thereby perjure himself in court) that led to his arrest for gross indecency.

I certainly can't admire anything about Oscar Wilde's personal life beyond his brave determination to be nothing less than who he truly was, even when that meant facing two back-breaking years of manual labor in prison. I do admire his genius, however, and I don't think there's any doubt that his exploits influenced the society of his day and age.
He helped define one era and ushered in the dawn of a new one. Most of all, he was just bloody fascinating. Any movie about his life would be noteworthy, and this one is certainly that.

Great man - Great film ??
I came to watch this film, after reading a few books on Wilde. He is a hero of mine and any chance to learn more about this great man, I'll jump at!
I was excited to see Stephen Fry protray Wilde - a role he said himself was " born to play " There is no doubt in that, he gets the look and persona down to an art.
The films flaw in my opinon, is how it jumps from Wildes tour of America, to his first homosexual encounters, all within the first 5 minutes.
I'm not denying this side of his life, it made up a huge part of who he was and was what caused his ultimate demise. I just personally didn't feel the need for so many sex scenes, in such a short space of time.
I can't fault any of the performances... Fry and Jude Law are great. Look out for a cameo from Orlando Bloom, in what must of been one of his first film roles!

Excellent Acting By Jude Law
I kept watching this film as I found it extremely fascinating. All the actors were noteworthy, but Jude Law as Bosie was easily the star of it. I especially liked the sulky, spoilt attitude he depicted when Bosie declared he was bored of living in the country and later when Oscar was ill in bed!
Jude Law is superb and he is truly Britain's finest export as an international actor. Surely he has cupboards full of statuettes after this film's main character's namesake?
I think there are many ways one could portray Oscar Wilde. Instead of focusing solely on his famous `wit', this film allowed his personal life to be the area of interest and it worked brilliantly.
We rarely get to witness raw maleness in the media; that emphasis in my humble opinion, lands far too much on women. As a woman myself it gets nauseating but this was a bit of a breath of fresh air.
I don't know where the setting was but the movie had a very colonial feel which heightened the British aristocracy angle.
The not so subtle attack on Christians was unnecessary when Boise's dad met Wilde but a dogmatic person was right for the film as such people existed, (and still do), believing they were delivering society from `evils' as Oscar Wilde.

Buy this DVD and enjoy.