The novel became a classic of English literature and was adapted into a number of films, most notably a version that was directed by Albert Lewin. We welcome suggested improvements to any of our articles.
You can make it easier for us to review and, hopefully, publish your contribution by keeping a few points in mind. Your contribution may be further edited by our staff, and its publication is subject to our final approval.
Unfortunately, our editorial approach may not be able to accommodate all contributions. Our editors will review what you've submitted, and if it meets our criteria, we'll add it to the article. Please note that our editors may make some formatting changes or correct spelling or grammatical errors, and may also contact you if any clarifications are needed. Dec 10, See Article History. Learn More in these related Britannica articles: It was the most notorious novel of its time. He exchanges his soul for youth that never fades.
Fantasy , imaginative fiction dependent for effect on strangeness of setting such as other worlds or times and of characters such as supernatural or unnatural beings. Novel , an invented prose narrative of considerable length and a certain complexity that deals imaginatively with human experience, usually through a connected sequence of events involving a group of persons in a specific setting.
Within its broad framework, the genre of the novel has encompassed an extensive range of types…. Help us improve this article! Contact our editors with your feedback. The Picture of Dorian Gray. You may find it helpful to search within the site to see how similar or related subjects are covered. Any text you add should be original, not copied from other sources. Level 2 Gothic Films- Suggestions.
Share this Rating Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray 4. Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Best of Both Worlds: Photos Add Image Add an image Do you have any images for this title?
Learn more More Like This. The Picture of Dorian Gray I A contemporary adaptation of Oscar Wilde classic tale of vanity. Pact with the Devil Edit Cast Credited cast: Dorian Gray Branden Waugh Harry Wotton Rainer Judd Basil Ward Darby Stanchfield Sybil Vane Brian Durkin James Vane Julie Amos Laura Wotton Rest of cast listed alphabetically: Wilde tips his hat not only to Disraeli's Sybil , but also to Vivian Grey , his first novel.
There was something about the literary alter ego that held a peculiar fascination for late Victorians. Under the malign influence of Lord Henry — "the only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it", is one of many Wildean epigrams scattered through the text — Dorian Gray plunges into a decadent and sinister milieu, becoming a slave to drugs and debauchery.
His fatal love affair with the actress Sybil Vane alerts him to the secret of his eternal youth: Eventually despairing, the young man blames the artist Hallward for his fate, and murders him. But Dorian Gray can never "be at peace".
Finally, in a horrifying climax, he takes a knife to his own portrait. When his servants find him, the picture depicts their youthful master as they had once known him. The corpse next to it is as "withered, wrinkled and loathsome of visage" as the portrait had been. Art and life are back in harmony, as Wilde intended, and his brilliantly allusive moral tale is complete. When the magazine version of Dorian Gray was published, there were howls of protest. Some reviewers declared that, far from exposing immorality, Wilde wanted to promote it.
Elsewhere, the story was greeted with outrage by British reviewers, some of whom suggested that Wilde should be prosecuted on moral grounds, leading Wilde to defend his novel in letters to the press. One reviewer for a newspaper which declared that Lippincott's should be "ashamed to circulate" such filth, refused to describe the contents of the novel because he did not wish to "advertise the developments of an esoteric prurience".
As I see it, one important element is missing from David Rosenbaum's lavish production of the Oscar Wilde morality story and that is Oscar Wilde himself. His writing is always clear and to the point. Ultimately, he even blamed the picture, and sought to destroy it as the only true evidence of his black soul. I think there is a meaning of not pretending, not to be a hedonist and not to follow others blindly. I would highly recommend first watching the movie Wilde starring the wonderful Stephen Fry , it is a film which takes the audience on a journey through the life of the tormented w "The sitter is merely the accident, the occasion. Dorian Gray presents an interesting adaptation in which Art is the Devil and one of the characters, Lord Henry Wotton, who, like Wilde, loves to pronounce epigrams, plays a sort Mephistophelian role as the messenger or instigator. The rest of this review has been moved to my website.