Wilde [1997] [DVD]

WILDE [1997 / 2015] [Blu-ray] Loved For Being Unique! Hated For being Different! A Towering Achievement!Author, play write and poet, Oscar Wilde [Stephen Fry] returns from a successful 1882 lecture tour of America to wed Constance Lloyd Wilde [Jennifer Ehle]. However, having accepted that he is in fact attracted to men, Oscar Wilde embarks on a long, passionate and tempestuous affair with Lord Alfred Douglas [Jude Law], known as “Bosie.” Although winning great critical and public success with the works as “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” Oscar Wilde’s homosexuality is at odds with a repressive Victorian society and sets him on the path to a very public, brutal fall from grace.Featuring Stephen Fry in a role he was born to play and a stellar British supporting cast which includes subtle supporting performances from Vanessa Redgrave, Michael Sheen, Tom Wilkinson and Zoë Wanamaker. ‘WILDE’ celebrates one of English literature’s greatest, most flamboyant and tragic figures.FILM FACT: Awards and Nominations: Golden Globes® Award: Nominated: Stephen Fry for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama. BAFTA® Awards: Nominated: Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Jennifer Ehle. Nominated: Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Zoë Wanamaker. Evening Standard British Film Award: Nominated: Most Promising Newcomer for Jude Law. Evening Standard British Film Award: Nominated: Best Technical/Artistic Achievement for Maria Djurkovic. Ivor Novello Award: Win: Best Score for Debbie Wiseman.Cast: Stephen Fry, Jude Law, Vanessa Redgrave, Jennifer Ehle, Gemma Jones, Judy Parfitt, Michael Sheen, Zoë Wanamaker, Tom Wilkinson, Ioan Gruffudd, Matthew Mills, Jason Morell, Peter Barkworth, Robert Lang, Philip Locke, David Westhead, Jack Knight, Jackson Leach, Laurence Owen, Benedict Sandiford, Mark Letheren, Michael Fitzgerald, Orlando Bloom, Bob Sessions, Adam Garcia, Joseph May, Jamie Lee, James D'Arcy, Orlando Wells, Robin Kermode, Avril Elgar, Jean Ainslie, Andrew Havill, Biddy Hodson, Judi Maynard, Hugh Munro, Michael Simkins, James Vaughan, Richard Cubison, Christine Moore, John Bleasdale, Peter Forbes, Peter Harding, Edward Laurie, Geoffrey Leesley, Colin MacLachlan, Simon Molloy, Hywel Simons, Albert Welling, Arthur Whybrow, Sacha Bennett (uncredited), Kenneth W Caravan (uncredited), Harry Fielder (uncredited), Anthony Maddalena (uncredited) and Royston Munt (uncredited)Director: Brian GilbertProducers: Alan Howden, Alex Graham, Deborah Raffin, Marc Samuelson, Michael Viner, Michiyo Yoshizaki, Nick O'Hagan, Peter Samuelson and Rachel CupermanScreenplay: Julian Mitchell and Richard Ellmann (book)Composer: Debbie WisemanCinematography: Martin FuhrerVideo Resolution: 1080pAspect Ratio: 2.35:1Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo AudioSubtitles: English SDHRunning Time: 112 minutesRegion: Region B/2Number of discs: 1Studio: Altitude Film DistributionAndrew’s Blu-ray Review: I’m almost surprised the 1997 film ‘WILDE’ has only just been released in the UK on this superb Blu-ray disc before and well over due, but now it has arrived, giving us an 1080p HD look at the biopic of legendary writer and wit Oscar Wilde, as played by Stephen Fry. At the beginning of the film Oscar Wilde is already well-known and meets the pretty young Constance Lloyd Wilde [Jennifer Ehle], whom he marries.However, there is another side of him, initially brought out by Robbie Ross [Michael Sheen] that seeks the emotional and physical intimacy of men. Oscar begins to see it rather like the Greek ideal, where he is the older man, passing down knowledge to his ‘boys,’ as well as sleeping with them. Then he meets the beautiful Lord Alfred Douglas [Jude Law], known as “Bosie” and if you’ve ever seen pics of the real Bosie, he was very good looking and they both fall for one another.As Oscar Wilde’s career flourishes, he and Bosie find ways to be together, with many beginning to wonder whether the relationship is more than just platonic. That includes Bosie’s brutish father, the Marquess Of Queensberry [Tom Wilkinson], who his son loathes. After the Marquess Of Queensberry begins to make it his mission to let people know he thinks Oscar Wilde is a homosexual who has corrupted his son, Oscar Wilde is convinced by Bosie that this is their chance to take him down by suing him for libel. However, this proves disastrous when it allows the Marquess Of Queensberry to produce evidence against Oscar Wilde, which could lead to his incarceration.‘WILDE’ is well-made, handsomely mounted that is on a much lower budget than the filmmakers manage to make it seem and offers a fascinating insight into one of Britain’s most famous literary figures. It’s also one of the first truly iconic moments in gay/bisexual history. After all, the word ‘homosexual’ was only about 25 years old when Oscar Wilde met Bosie, and society was only beginning to understand different sexualities as distinct entities and even then, it would be another 80 years until consenting sex between men was decriminalised.However, Oscar Wilde does have its flaws, probably the greatest of which is that there is the air of it being as much a history lesson as a film. It’s a film that wants to stick to the facts as much as possible, even if at times is affects the flow of the story. I can’t help but feel it’s admirable, but the film perhaps could have done with concentrating as much on the depth of the people involved as the events they were involved with.With its characters it does well with the broad strokes, from Bosie’s petulance to Oscar Wilde’s guilt over the effects of his actions on his wife, but it never quite gets under the surface. It also has some difficulty figuring out how the ‘gay’ subculture fits with the wider society. Back then it was undoubtedly very secretive but there’s a bit of a lack of context in the movie. For example, from our perspective it would seem obvious what Oscar Wilde and Bosie were up to as in the film they don’t exactly hide it. The expectations of Victorian society were very different though, allowing them to be more open than we might expect, but the movie never quite figures out how to show this, beyond saying it seemed more suspicious to many that Oscar Wilde associated with lower class young men than that he had a youthful aristocrat living with him.Stephen Fry is the shooting star of the piece in giving a glowing performance that effortlessly reflects the poet’s appealing personality and in a role it would have been easy to take over the top. The film also shows an impressive knack for casting young men who went on to become far better known than they’d been up until that point. Jude Law had made Shopping, but was still to break through in Hollywood. Likewise, Michael Sheen was still a newbie, while Ioan Gruffudd, Adam Garcia, James d’Darcy and Orlando Bloom all made their screen debuts in this film, but the last three actors in truly minuscule roles.I have to admit that while certain aspects of ‘WILDE’ frustrate me slightly; because it is a film that I’ve revisited numerous times. I think it’s because despite never fully getting to the heart of its characters, it is very good at laying the groundwork to bring out the pathos of the tragedy at the heart of Oscar Wilde’s tale and one of Great Britain’s greatest brought down purely because society could not comprehend “the love that dare not speaks its name.” And the fact it is so interested in sticking to the facts means that even things you might think were made up are actually true, including the fact that the judge at Oscar Wilde’s trial really did call it the worst case he’d ever presided over. Oscar Wilde was the first “modern man” he shines by cleverly managing the conflicting sides to his Wilde’s personal life, which he handled with consistent integrity, calm and dignity. Despite all this, Wilde was sadly unable to win over the court and the final scenes are testament to Oscar Wilde’s deep philosophical understanding of the world around him.Blu-ray Video Quality – This Altitude Film Distribution UK Release Blu-ray is faithfully presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio with a competent, technically proficient 1080p encoded image transfer and is a really good stable 1080p encoded image transfer and a serious step up all round. The image itself is spotless, the picture rock solid in frame, the sharpness and picture detail crisp and the colour largely naturalistic. The contrast is punchy throughout and when the lighting is favourable this results in a really pleasing image, but in darker scenes this can result in some of the detail being sucked in to get those solid black levels, though no more so than on the previous inferior DVD. On the whole, this is a very fine job all round. Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.Blu-ray Audio Quality – This Altitude Film Distribution UK Release Blu-ray is presented with a very nice and pleasant 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio. The dialogue is crisp and well prioritised, but there's really no reason it shouldn’t be and again it is paramount to purchase this UK Release from Altitude Film Distribution Blu-ray release, and not sure if there are likely to get a Blu-ray release for the USA market. Again this Altitude Film Distribution Blu-ray release offers a totally rich and rewarding 2.0 LPCM Stereo audio track, as I am very happy and very pleased with this UK Release’s audio presentation. What is also impressive is composer Debbie Wiseman supplied the carefully calibrated score, which traverses the film's complex emotional territory with the composer's characteristic delicacy and the audio sounds are really clean, clear and well balanced throughout. So anyone purchasing this particular Blu-ray UK Release will be very well rewarded.Blu-ray Special Features and Extras: Unfortunately, this Altitude Film Distribution UK Release Blu-ray does not offer any supplemental materials.Finally, the fact that ‘WILDE’ is so interested in sticking to the facts means that even things you might think were made up are actually true, including the fact that the judge at Oscar Wilde’s trial really did call it the worst case he’d ever presided over. You’ll also be pleased to hear that the film looks extremely good on Blu-ray, with a nice crisp picture. Indeed, if anything it’s a little too sharp, as it occasionally reveals the movie’s tricks to make it look like the 19th Century on a fairly low budget, but overall it looks great. I still feel it is THE ‘definitive’ Oscar Wilde biopic yet made, and the fil ‘WILDE’ is a great history lesson and a very entertaining film, even if it sometimes misses the heart of its characters. On this pristine blu-ray re-release, Maria Djukovic’s imaginative production design and Martin Fuhrer’s visuals glisten with jewel-like brilliance and an original score from Wolf Hall’s Debbie Wiseman adds intensity and romance to the narrative depth of Brian Gilbert’s impressively-mounted Victorian moral tragedy. Highly Recommended!Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film FanLe Cinema ParadisoWARE, United Kingdom

I bought this item because of Stephen Fry, whom I very much wanted to see in another role than Mycroft Holmes (because I actually didn't know him before I watched "Sherlock Holmes - A game of shadows" for the first time, and I thought he was absolutely amazing in this movie). And then, as an extra bonus, you get Jude Law as Bosie. Not bad.I love Victorian London, and Oscar Wilde, too, so the odds were enormously against me not liking "Wilde" - but as a matter of fact, it was even better than I could have dreamed of. I've already watched it many times, and I know for sure that I'll be watching it again in the nearest future.It's such a heartfelt, lovely story; beautifully and very modernly done - modern in the sense that it could just as well have been made in 2012.Fry and Law are AMAZING! Just perfect. They both look lovely in this movie, and their performances are outstanding, as usual. Jennifer Ehle is wonderful as well - and she's so pretty!If you enjoy language and poetry, this movie will suit you well, too. Itis beautifully written and packed - in a good way - with lots of symbols and metaphores.And I am sure it is historical correct, too - as much as movies will allow film makers to be, because Stephen Fry is a big, big fan of Oscar Wilde, and I'm sure he wanted to get it as right as possible.I enjoyed it so much! Do buy it! You will not regret it.

First off a word about the DVD I bought Wilde [DVD] [1997]: The aspect ratio is advertised as 16:9 - 2.35:1. However the DVD I received is 4:3 - 2.35:1 (see attached close up photo of aspect ratio description on back of DVD). This means a lot of fiddling around with settings on a modern widescreen TV to avoid distorted proportions. And once adjusted, there are broad black bands on all four sides of the screen, with a comparatively small picture in the middle. Using zoom functions led to marked loss of picture quality. This less than perfect transfer ratio is the main reason I didn't give the five star rating the film itself probably would have warranted.As to the film, it tells the story of Oscar Wilde's adult life starting with his meeting with Constance, the woman who would become his wife, but concentrating on his affairs with men, in particular with the seductive young Oxford student Alfred Douglas aka Bosie. The jealous and manipulalive nature of Bosie leads to Wilde's arrest and, after a sensationalized trial for gross indecency and public disgrace, imprisonment. The last years of Wilde's life, which he spent in France, being an outcast back home in England, are merely touched upon. Wilde's story "The Selfish Giant" is a recurring theme as it is told to his young sons at various stages throughout the film, and it is hard not to draw parallels between the story and the character of Wilde himself.The film is wonderfully cast and everybody turns in great performances, first and foremost Stephen Fry, who is truly amazing in the title role. Jude Law is delicious and suitably pretty and egocentric as Bosie, Michael Sheen is eminently likable as Wilde's faithful friend Robbie Ross, Vanessa Redgrave is rather wonderful in a sadly very small supporting role as Wilde's mother, Jennifer Ehle makes for a delightful Constance. Also worth mentioning are Judy Parfitt, Zoe Wannamaker as Wilde's steadfast supporter 'Sphinx' Leverson and Tom Wilkinson as Bosie's disapproving father Lord Queensberry.Worth watching for fans both of Oscar Wilde and actor Stephen Fry.