Dom Robinson reviews
Wilde "We are all in the gutter,
Distributed by
Producers:
Screenplay:
(based on "Oscar Wilde" written by Richard Ellmann )
Music:
(The Clampers - yes, the docusoap !)
Cast:
Oscar Wilde: Stephen Fry (A Civil Action, Peter's Friends, Spiceworld: The Movie, TV: Black Adder, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Jeeves and Wooster, The Thin Blue Line )
Lord Alfred (Bosie) Douglas: Jude Law (The Final Cut, Gattaca, Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil, Shopping, The Wisdom Of Crocodiles, TV: "Children's Ward" )
Speranza, Wilde's Mother: Vanessa Redgrave (Camelot, Deep Impact, The Devils, Howard's End )
Constance Lloyd: Jennifer Ehle (Bedrooms and Hallways, Paradise Road, This Year's Love, TV: The Camomile Lawn, Melissa, Pride and Prejudice, Young Indiana Jones Chronicles )
Ada: Zoe Wanamaker (TV: Dance to the Music of Time, Inspector Morse, Love Hurts, Othello, Prime Suspect )
Marquess of Queensberry: Tom Wilkinson (The Full Monty, Priest, Rush Hour, Sense and Sensibility, TV: Martin Chuzzlewit, Prime Suspect )
John Gray: Ioan Gruffudd (TV: Great Expectations, Hornblower )
Wilde Stephen Fry in the title role as the man who in 1883 returned to London
from America full of talent, passion and himself. A master of wit and repartee he is
respected by all in society. His professional and personal life is expected to soar as
he mixes in all the right circles, marries Constance Lloyd (Jennifer Ehle ) and
has two sons.
If Oscar Wilde has a failing though, it's his tendancy to have affairs - with men;
relationships that are more acceptable in today's society but were definitely frowned
upon in the Victoria era. Having confronted his homosexual feelings which began from when
he was at private school, particularly when he takes up with a young man affectionately
known to his friends as "Bosie" (Jude Law ), it seeks to have serious repercussions
on everything in life he's built so far and threatens to destroy himself and his family.
This is the sort of part that Stephen Fry excels in. Apart from making himself sound posh
to play an upper-class Irishman (albeit not sounding in the least bit Irish), he too
is clever when it comes to word-play so it often looks like Fry's just being himself.
Jude Law is a versatile actor who takes to his part well, playing on his boyish looks
in a bid to melt Wilde's heart.
Have Universal stopped releasing anamorphic DVDs ? While many early Universal releases
were brought out with an anamorphic widescreen picture, during the times when they were
still known as Polygram, this one is not, so the brilliant set-design and locations
lose their sheen after zooming in on a widescreen TV and sacrificing picture resolution.
No artifacts make themselves known though so that's one plus.
The average bitrate is a fairly low 4.33Mb/s, briefly peaking just over 8Mb/s and
the film is presented in its original widescreen ratio of 2.35:1. According to the back
cover it indicates a "full frame" 4:3 version is also included on the disc but it isn't.
Such claims made by Columbia TriStar's Stepmom led to that disc being recalled as it
was emblazoned on the front, so how come the VPRC (Video Packaging Review Committee) missed
it ?
The sound is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and English only. The score is fine but typical
of that made for a period film and I have no complaints with the ambience, but
the dialogue sounds a little stilted in a couple of parts - when Wilde chats
with Bosie's father (Tom Wilkinson ) and later on after Wilde has appeared
in court for the first time. None of the sound will have the neighbours beating
down your door whatever the volume its played at though.
Extras :
Chapters :
Languages & Subtitles :
Featurette : "Simply Wilde" is a 24-minute featurette about the film including chat from cast and
crew including, of course, the film's lead actor Stephen Fry. It is also subtitled and has
four chapters breaking the running time up, unlike
12 Monkeys
Menu :
Overall : "Pa-paaaaa" . Add to this a
predominantly gay storyline and it reduces the audience further, but those who buy into
"Wilde's World" may well enjoy it.
As far as I know, there isn't a Region 1 release out yet, so if you want to see this film
with the best picture possible and a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, this disc is for you.
FILM : **
PICTURE QUALITY : ****
SOUND QUALITY : ***
EXTRAS : *
-------------------------------
OVERALL : **½
Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1999.
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