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Wilde (1998) (Special Edition)

User Reviews: Wilde (1998)

Wilde (1998)
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4 out of 5.0 stars 8 Ratings (4 Reviews)

  • Overall:

    Oscar at his height

    By Yahoo! Shopping User  Nov 12, 2000 | 6 out of 6 found this Wilde (1998) review helpful

    This is a good and beautiful film, but do not approach it thinking that this is the full story of Oscar Wilde's life. It skips his formative years at Oxford, where he had a fascination with Roman Catholicism, art, and ancient history. He particularl...y struggled with two views of "Greek love"--the platonic, idealistic kind and the unashamed sexual kind. It also skips the early years of his career, when Wilde could not easily establish himself as an art critic and was subject to criticism from the press during his American lecture tours.What this film actually covers is Oscar at the height of his fame and then later at the height of his infamy, during his trials and imprisonment. I don't blame the filmmakers for having to skip over some of his life to make a film of practical length, but do keep in mind that the full story is actually in Richard Ellmann's biography of Wilde, on which the film is based. The tale of the "Selfish Giant" is wonderfully used to narrate parts of the film, and Wilde's wit is evident in the many speeches and writings quoted from.The film's sexual scenes may disturb some viewers, but I think it's not worse than the kinds of heterosexual scenes that are shown in R-rated films all the time. It all contrasts very well with the public hypocrisy and masks that is maintained by society.Also, even if Bosie Douglas really is a petulant little spendthrift, this Wilde film does not seem to show that Oscar Wilde himself frequently had trouble living within his means. Wilde shouldn't be thought of as too saintly. This film also claims that Constance Wilde died before Wilde got back together with Bosie; this is not true. Wilde, in a moment of weakness, returned to Bosie while Constance was still alive and hesitating for months on whether she would see him again.Despite such limitations, this is a well-paced and lovely film. Read more Less

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    Be forwarned!

    By Yahoo! Shopping User  Sep 26, 2004 | 2 out of 2 found this Wilde (1998) review helpful

    Pros: Beautiful cinematography, first rate acting

    Cons: Narrow focus of Wilde's life

    This movie had excellent art direction and cinematography, but I longed for more substance in terms of Wilde's writing career and his training at Oxford. By 3/4 through the film, I was anxious to know more than his obsession with young men and se...xual complexities. Speaking of sex, if you are heterosexual, as I am, the explicit manner in which gratuitous lust between two (or more) men is protrayed in the film may shock you. Read more Less

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  • Overall:

    "If Wilde had been alive today ..."

    By Yahoo! Shopping User  Jun 1, 2005

    Pros: lush images/scenery; good acting

    Cons: all-too-brief span of Wilde's life

    One reviewer of this film commented (in essence) that if only Wilde had been alive in today's Gay-tolerant time and world, he would have had a better time of it. Well, with no disrespect intended to the reviewer who said that, that sentiment is m...ore than a little naive. The sad truth of the matter is, that if Wilde were alive today, he would probably be sitting in prison once again--this time for paedophilia, since his attraction to young males definitely crossed the line of what we now (naively) call "age-of-consent"
    ;. (If in doubt, go re-read the magnificent Ellmann biography, for starters.) The same would have held true for Andre Gide, Thomas Mann and Walt Whitman, to name just three others. It is a sad and savage indictment on our pathetic, benighted society that it feels it must lock away to rot men of such stature and worth (not to mention distinction) as Wilde, Mann, Gide or Whitman. (Not that the latter three were ever actually incarcerated--simply that they would be if alive today.) What was called in Wilde's day (or in his instance, at least) "sexual inversion" (or same-sex acts or eroticism), can now only be labelled as "pederasty" (or paedophilia), if we want to really be honest and accurate. Nonetheless, I still consider it something of a minor miracle that a film such as Wilde was even made at all in today's sexophobic and homophobic world--still more that it was actually released here in the United (Fascist) States of Amerika. Is there perhaps some hope still left after all?     Read more Less

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  • Overall:

    A good look at Oscar Wilde's life.

    By Yahoo! Shopping User  Oct 31, 1999 | 0 out of 1 found this Wilde (1998) review helpful

    I was deeply moved by the controversy surrounding his life and the very hidden nature of the gay man's life during that time. Wilde was definitely born in the wrong time period. If only he could see the state of the gay life today. It's certainly mo...re varied and and not nearly as hidden. Read more Less

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