The Sins of Dorian Gray (1983)

I have always admired the work of Oscar Wilde, and 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' has been one of my favourite examples of his work, since I read it at about aged 12.It has been made into films a few times, with varying degrees of success.The earlier 1945 film version with Hurd Hatfield and George Sanders was the epitome, in my opinion, and has yet to be equalled.This 1980's TV-movie version is another attempt, and is certainly off-beat. It moves the tale up into the (late) 20th century, and this poses some stretching of the imagination when it comes to the characters, although it would have made location shooting a lot simpler....In this version, the most obvious deviation was the choice of making Dorian a female, played quite well by the gorgeous Belinda Bauer, who we had seen earlier, in 'Archer, Fugitive of the Empire'.In this case, the 'picture' of Dorian is a film screen test on celluloid that she makes at the beginning, and after she makes her wish for eternal youth and beauty, she feels that she must secrete this film away, and protect it, so that no ill will happen to her.After this, she goes off and seduces whomever she fancies, drinks and parties just as she wishes, while the cine film slowly assumes the ageing and the scars of her debauchery. Meanwhile, all her friends and colleagues around her age at their natural paces, and they cannot believe that Dorian is still young and beautiful.Occasionally, she sets up the projector, and in the privacy of her own home, plays the screen test. In each subsequent re-playing, her image is noticeably older and more depraved looking. Towards the end, the image is almost unbelievably ugly and dishevelled, and this of course, brings things to a head, as expected.I found the film to be completely likable, and the characters were good to watch, although a little contrived. Never mind, this IS a B-grade TV movie.Anthony Perkins plays Anthony Perkins to a tee in this one....you just sit there, waiting for the Norman Bates character to appear, but it doesn't. It's one of his 'goodie' roles.....I still have this on Beta (Say What?) tape, and I haven't watched it for about 15 years, so tonight, I'll open a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, and run that film just one more time.......for the buzz.And for Belinda..."The Opener of the Way is Waiting"

I Know. Oscar Wilde did not deserve this but here are some clues that may help us in judging this film more nicely. First of all, I think it was a good idea to make Dorian Gray a woman in the eighties as an aspiring actress-turned-to-be top model. Did you know that for the 1945 Lewin's version, Greta Garbo wanted the leading role dearly? Secondly, it is not so ridiculous to use a "film" instead of a picture or a "portrait". We have to remember that here we are in Los Angeles at the moment when the VHS exploded. This adaptation only reflects the epoch in which it was made. Could you imagine a girl snubbing a movie role for a modeling career instead nowadays? Finally, I liked the song. It summarizes the real story, it is seductive and tries to tell us the causes and consequences of the sins Dorian supposedly committed (but which of course we don't see). Unhappily, these elements alone do not make a good adaptation. I would have started by a better written script and a better casting. Anthony Perkins as Henry Lord (instead of Lord Henry Wotton, not so clever after all) is really alone in this one.

Though this movie's pretty obscure, this little review still contains a slight spoiler."The Sins of Dorian Gray" is one of Rankin/Bass's odd live-action efforts, which sees Oscar Wilde's novel updated to the present and given a sex change - Anthony Perkins notwithstanding, Belinda Bauer plays Dorian, a young woman whose screen test (instead of a portrait) plucks her from obscurity to fame and fortune. But as the years go by and she becomes more twisted and hideous inside while her screen test shows the effects of the years, she resorts to more and more dangerous measures to keep her secret (with particularly unfortunate results for photographer Michael Ironside).Shot in Canada, this isn't nearly as creepy as Dan Curtis's earlier TV adaptation of the novel (which was a more traditional take on the yarn), and the attempt to bring a new take on the ending doesn't quite work.WHICH BRINGS US TO OUR SPOILER.Just as Dorian in the novel brought the spell and his life to an end by stabbing the painting, so Dorian in this movie is driven to stabbing her screen image and killing it and her, but it's less direct and a bit senseless (wouldn't burning the actual reel have been more effective? Although we would have been denied the final shot of the decrepit Dorian lying dead next to the image of how she once was, while the eerie title song plays).END OF SPOILER.Anthony Perkins did, however, make worse movies in his career. And since Heather Locklear doesn't seem to have aged that much since her days on "T.J. Hooker," it makes you wonder...

Dorian Gray (female) started to age just like the real Dorian Gray (male) in Oscar Wild's novel. Disappointingly boring. This flick deserves one out of ten.