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Dom Robinson reviews

Wilde

"We are all in the gutter,
but some of us are looking at the stars."

Distributed by

Cat.no: 056 432 2
Cert: 15
Running time: 112 minutes
Year: 1997
Pressing: 1999
Region(s): 2 (UK PAL)
Chapters: 18 plus extras
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Languages: English
Subtitles: English
Widescreen: 2.35:1
16:9-enhanced: No
Macrovision: Yes
Disc Format: DVD 5
Price: £17.99
Extras : Scene index, Featurette: "Simply Wilde".

Director:

Brian Gilbert

Producers:

Marc and Peter Samuelson

Screenplay:

Julian Mitchell

"Oscar Wilde"

Richard Ellmann

Music:

Debbie Wiseman

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 places 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 :

18 chapters - the usual amount for Universal DVDs, from a company previously known as Polygram, but a few more wouldn't go amiss. There is no theatrical trailer.

Languages & Subtitles :

English in Dolby Digital 5.1 and subtitles in the same language for the deaf and hard of hearing are the only such options on this disc.

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 which is chapterless even though it runs for nearly 90 minutes.

Menu :

A simple, static shot of Stephen Fry from the DVD's front cover with options to start the film, select a scene, toggle the subtitles on/off or watch the featurette.

Overall :

When it comes down to it, not everyone is a fan of period dramas where all the females wear tight-fitting corsets and children call their Dad "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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