Dorian Gray (1970)

Original title

Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray

Directed by

Massimo Dallamano

Genre

drama film, fantasy film, horror film, LGBTQ-related film

Country

Germany, United Kingdom, Italy

Runtime

1h 33m

Rated

16

Rating

5.1 of 10 from 41 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A handsome young man in 1970s London remains youthful while a portrait of him ages and shows his moral decay. His pursuit of pleasure and beauty leads to destructive behavior.

decadenteroticstylishmelancholiccampyunsettlingatmosphericslow-burn

What happens

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, 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. 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. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Performance (1970)
• The Conformist (1970)
• Dial Love for Murder (1970)
• The Vampire Lovers (1970)
• Die Weibchen (1970)
• Whirlpool (1970)
• Dropout (1970)
• Death in Venice (1971)