Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray

In the late 60's in London, the model Dorian Gray (Helmut Berger) meets the aspirant actress Sybil Vane (Marie Liljedahl) and they fall in love for each other. Meanwhile, his friend Basil Hallward (Richard Todd) concludes his painting, and Dorian Gray, fascinated with the picture, proposes the devil to exchange his soul per a permanent youth and beauty. From this moment on, the character and behavior of the former sweet Dorian changes and he becomes a corrupt and amoral man, sex driven and capable of destroying many lives inclusive Sibyl's. While his friends grow older, Dorian remains young never aging, but his painting discloses his innermost ugliness, fruit of his despicable social conduct.

"Dorian Gray" is a good contemporary adaptation of the famous Oscar Wilde's classic novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray", which I believe is one of the books most read, or at least known, worldwide. Everybody is familiarized with this dramatic and evil story. The handsome Helmut Berger fits perfectly to the role and I really liked this underrated movie. Massimo Dallamano's version is original, attractive and has a good international cast. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Retrato de Dorian Gray" ("The Picture of Dorian Gray")

Note: On 14 July 2022, I saw this film again.

The story is familiar - Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray wishes his painting would grow old whilst he remain young. This film version certainly does not equal the production quality of Albert Lewin's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1945), but it is superior in several other ways.

Foremost, the casting of Helmut Berger as Dorian is perfect. Mr. Berger has the "beautiful/handsome" balance necessary to essay the role; he matches his looks with a fine performance, taking Dorian from youth to decadence. Richard Todd (as Basil) and Herbert Lom (as Henry) support Berger well. Dorian's decadent slide is more appropriately depicted in this "modernized" version; however, the sexual situations run on way too long - for a time, the screen is filled with one sexual romp after another; and, the film loses focus. The sexual situations must have been very risqué at the time, but "Dorian Gray" is not "X-rated". The film may remain titillating because there are numerous sexual escapades; and, Mr. Berger and the women are very attractive.

The final "confrontation" between Dorian and Basil is used to effectively begin this version with a flashback; it might have helped to begin the 1945 version in this manner. The passage of time could have been better depicted during the early part (the 1940s-1950s) of this 1970 version, but the 1960s look terrific. The aging of Dorian's portrait is much more realistic in this version, and it somehow seems much truer to the spirit of Oscar Wilde's original work.

******* Dorian Gray (4/24/70) Massimo Dallamano ~ Helmut Berger, Herbert Lom, Richard Todd, Marie Liljedahl

Massimo Dallamano's Dorian Gray is a REALLY kitsch version of Oscar Wilde's classic tale, set in 'swinging' London, with funky music, gaudy fashion, and decadent sexually-liberated characters of all persuasions. Helmut Berger is the beautiful young Gray, who sells his soul so that his portrait will age and decay while he himself stays eternally youthful; Richard Todd is artist Basil, who captures the likeness of Gray so perfectly that his subject becomes obsessed with his own attractiveness; and Herbert Lom is influential art dealer Henry Watton, who leads Gray astray by telling him to make the most of his youth and yield to temptation. Marie Liljedahl plays stage actress Sybil, who falls for Dorian, but finds herself abandoned once Gray gets a taste of the high life.

Dallamano keeps the film moving at a decent pace, and his cast all put in entertaining performances, with Lom being particularly fun as the corruptor of youth, providing the film's funniest moment (unintentionally so) when he pops up in Dorian's shower, bar of soap in hand. Isa Miranda is also a hoot as ageing millionairess Mrs. Ruxton, who Dorian reluctantly treats to a spot of back-door sex in a stable. Perhaps the best thing about the film is the hideous '70s clothing, especially Berger's wardrobe: his blue velvet shirt and shorts two piece is quite the fashion statement, but it pales in comparison to the zebra stripe coat, brown flares, foppish hat and cravat ensemble that he opts for in the final act. Talking of zebra stripes, they must have been popular back then - Dorian's apartment is adorned with zebra pattern curtains, and not one, but two zebra skin rugs. Other animal-based decorations include a lion skin rug (you can never have too many dead animal skins to lounge on) and an elephant tusk picture frame. How tasteful!

7.5/10, rounded up to 8 for Liljedahl, who is gorgeous (and not averse to taking her clothes off), and for the hilarious pair of mincing queens outside the Black Cock nightclub (I kid you not!).

Massimo Dallamano's film of Oscar Wilde's work places the story to the London of the 1960s. Even though many reviews obviously didn't like this and wrote rather negative about the film, I think the story works surprisingly well.

Helmut Berger is excellent and undeniably gorgeous as the (in the end tragic) title character, but also the other actors deliver their best. Especially Herbert Lom as Henry Wotton acts absolutely great, and most of the women are not only very pretty, but also deliver convincing performances.

All in all, "Dorian Gray" surely is the most unusual film version of the writing, it is rather drama than horror, but that's what Oscar Wilde's work is too, isn't it? I guess that Oscar Wilde would have liked this.

Much like other sexploitation films of this period, looking back on them can be quaint. They have plenty of nudity, but it's not as if they ever get into hardcore sex. This adaptation of Dorian Gray promises tons of sex and depravity, but its fairly chaste when all is said and done. What's most surprising about it is that it's not a half bad adaptation of the Oscar Wilde story from which it's based.

Helmut Berger plays Dorian Gray, an impossibly beautiful young man who falls for an actress named Sybil, but as he starts to make it way up through the London society crowd, he no longer has much use for Sybil and after he discards her, she kills herself. This leads Dorian to harden and only rely on his looks until people begin to get suspicious as to why he never seems to age after many years. Perhaps the secret involves a painting hidden away in his attic.

Despite adding in some sex and nudity to spice things up, this version of Dorian Gray plays out, more or less, like the original story. It might dwell in the sexual depravity a bit more than most adaptations, but at least it works for the story it's telling. It's a bit slow at times, but at least it's trying to tell a somewhat interesting story.