Dorian Gray (1970 film)

Dorian Gray
Theatrical release poster by Ted CoConis
Il dio chiamato Dorian
Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray
Directed byMassimo Dallamano
Screenplay by
  • Marcello Coscia
  • Massimo Dallamano
Based onThe Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde
Produced byHarry Alan Towers
Starring
CinematographyOtello Spila
Edited byNicholas Wentworth
Music by
  • Peppino De Luca
  • Carlos Pes
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 24 April 1970 (1970-04-24) (West Germany)
  • 9 December 1970 (1970-12-09) (US)
Running time
  • 101 minutes (UK)
  • 93 minutes (US)
Countries
  • Italy
  • West Germany
  • United Kingdom
  • Liechtenstein
LanguageEnglish

Dorian Gray (Italian: Il dio chiamato Dorian, lit. 'The God called Dorian'), also known as The Sins of Dorian Gray and The Secret of Dorian Gray, is a 1970 film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray starring Helmut Berger.

Directed by Massimo Dallamano and produced by Harry Alan Towers, the film stresses the decadence and eroticism of the story and changes the setting to early 1970s London. The sexual liberation of the late 1960s and early 1970s provides a fitting backdrop for Dorian's escapades in this version, and also the general clothing and fashion style of the era is extrapolated into a 1970s version of the aesthetic, decadent world of the 1890s novel.

Critical opinion of the film is decidedly mixed. On the one hand, some consider the film trash and sexploitation,[1] while others point out that the film was shot at a unique time in the 20th century when a new openness about sexuality and its depiction on film allowed showing scenes only vaguely hinted at in the novel and earlier (and also later) movie adaptations.[2]

A marked difference between this version and the novel is the final scene. Instead of Dorian slicing the painting with the knife (thereby inadvertently killing himself), he is seen committing suicide with the knife deliberately.

  1. ^ "Fantastic Movie Musings & Ramblings - DORIAN GRAY (1970)". Archived from the original on 7 January 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  2. ^ "C I N e B e a T S :: Massimo Dallamano's Dorian Gray :: April :: 2007". Archived from the original on 26 February 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2010.