Dorian Gray [DVD] [2009]

I only bought it based on the Amazon suggestion and the trailer I saw. I had hoped for more drama, a more darker personality of Dorian based on the qoute: "I am what you made me!" But turns out... it's more about his female conquests (and male if they get too close to the painting)

Ben Barnes is a bad actor. It seems he can only pose as the cover clearly shows. Notwithstanding the beautiful photography the movie is disappointing.

Yet another example of the recent trend of Hollywood remakes. Are there no original stories worth making into films these days? Try reading the book or watching the original film. This DVD is distinctly average.

Worth watching and a good film, with mediocre sfx but good acting. I remember the original being a lot more creepier. Recommended if you want to watch something that's 'medium'ish' in the ratings scale. Could've been a lot better.

I love this film. In Spain it has been released in May and I went to the cinema. The day after, I bought it here! You must see this film! Great adaptation and great interpretations!!!! Buy it!

I've not read the book and in any case this is about whether this is a film worth watching - it is watchable but ultimately I could've made a better rental selection. I thought Colin Firth was very good, nonetheless the film on the whole wasn't great. The characters didn't feel fleshed out to me and it sometimes felt like a tv movie with a quite decent budget, to be honest despite the sex scenes the best comparison would be to say it was like something for kids tv, or a Sherlock Holmes episode from the late 80s.

A very well made and enjoyable costume drama. Very different from what you might be expecting from Oscar Wilde, very good indeed.

I was quite shocked at how exceptionally bad this film is and how it has got such great reviews, some people actually gave this 5 stars. I am looking at this film from the stand point of a fan of Oscar Wilde. The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of my favourite novels and everything about it that is so great seems to be absent from this drivel. I shall try and keep this short as I feel that I have wasted to much time on this film already. The book is not perverse at all. There is no erotic descriptions, Oscar Wilde said that he leaves it up to the reader to decide for themselves the acts that Dorian gets up to. The film tries to be as shocking as possible showing as much sex as possible. The other main problem is the unnecessary changing of events in the story and having Dorian and Basil actually having sex and the complete change to the end which is just terrible. I can understand this film being entertaining to certain viewers for the attractive male lead and the films effects are pretty good. I have to say my girlfriend enjoyed it at the time until I got here to read the novel and she then agreed how really awful the film actually is. I would like to have given this film 0 stars but unfortunately cant. So to anyone who is truly a fan of Oscar Wilde and is thinking of viewing this, avoid it like the plague

Parochial orphan Dorian (Ben Barnes) inherits a fortune and moves to London, where he proves easy prey to the temptations laid in front of him by Lord Henry Wooton (Colin Firth). Wooton is an arch-libertine and bon viveur who shows his protégé the way to pleasure before reluctantly retiring into family life and leaving Dorian to explore a life of excesses without boundaries. Under the protection of a discreetly-presented spell, our hero falls into a life of hedonism and sin, retaining his youth and looks while his portrait rots away in the attic, a visual representation of the degeneration of his soul... Oliver Parker's third Oscar Wilde adaptation (after An Ideal Husband and The Importance Of Being Earnest) reveals a city full of gothic key-notes; Dorian's London is a gorgeous tableux of grey winter hues and moody weather, its men dandyish and impeccably clothed. This adaptation allows the more homo-erotic elements of the source-novel to shine through, adding to the ambiguity of its protagonist. Yet for all that it's supposed to show a degenerate lifestyle, Dorian Gray is surprisingly coy at times. It's a welcome restraint: scenes of debauchery are shown in small details, close-up and in slow motion, avoiding any prolonged or voyeuristic titillation. A lot is left to the imagination; with so much only hinted at or partially-shown, the viewer is left to imagine the rest. Hopefully this will be enough for spoilt young audiences looking for quick visual thrills. The eagerness with which Dorian allows himself to be sucked into a life of highs, carnal pleasures, murder and immorality is a lttle puzzling: obviously vain, Gray is instantly enamoured by his own likeness in the painting (like everybody else in the movie), but the reason for this propensity to sin is not really explored. Perhaps it's true that if one could get away with it, one 's morals would instantly be forgotten..? There's a lot of looking and fancying, admiring and longing in Dorian Gray. Even the painting gazes back at us, and all this is tragically appropriate for a story which centres upon appearances and an obsession with youth. If there is a point to be made, it seems to regard how our own culture can be so unforgiving of physical imperfection, and how we're willing to forgive the young and beautiful everything - as if physical beauty couldn't possibly hide a wicked soul. Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian in The Narnia Chronicles) pitches Dorian at too low an emotional register sometimes, but perhaps this is exactly the point, as he is supposed to be oblivious to all but his own pleasure. Always beautifully-dressed and groomed, he really looks the part, even if it can be difficult to believe in his later internal conflict of good-versus-evil. Colin Firth is a pleasure as the Mephistophelean Henry Wooton, a scene-stealing dandy with all the best lines. It's a relief to see that Firth has been given a character worthy of his acting chops this time, with not a wet shirt in sight. The excellent cast also includes Ben Chaplin, Emilia Fox and Rebecca Hall, all given small but pivotal parts. It may not be the most faithful adaptation of the Wilde novel, but it's a good ride that's likely to inspire you to pick up the book afterwards.

I was blown away by the film. It's so well done - and even though I knew that Ben Barnes is good - he really shows that he's an absolutely brilliant actor and Colin Firth delivers as always. A wonderfully brilliant film.