Really there was no need to make another version of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" other than the Hurd Hatfield one. This is a marvellous story from a brilliant writer - Oscar Wilde - and it doesn't need updating to another century. The much darker and more mysterious Hurd Hatfield version keeps you watching all the time. Here, I'm afraid, the frequency of some actions becomes rather boring and tiresome. That said, Helmut Berger does convey the image of beauty that causes the character to try and hold on to it. The degeneration of the painting attempts to convey the debauched life that he realises he can lead, but the painting in the Hurd Hatfield version really provides a vision of extreme moral degradation.
It was a good idea to try and update the story, but it doesn't really work here. The characters are too light and inconsequential. As a vehicle for Helmut Berger, who made a batch of much better films in the early 1970s, it doesn't fully work. Worth seeing in the development of an actor's career, but not satisfying enough to do justice to Oscar Wilde's idea.
It was a good idea to try and update the story, but it doesn't really work here. The characters are too light and inconsequential. As a vehicle for Helmut Berger, who made a batch of much better films in the early 1970s, it doesn't fully work. Worth seeing in the development of an actor's career, but not satisfying enough to do justice to Oscar Wilde's idea.