Adaptations of The Picture of Dorian Gray
Encyclopedia
Oscar Wilde
's The Picture of Dorian Gray
(1890) has inspired many cinematic, literary, and artistic adaptations.
order of release.
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde, appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890, printed as the July 1890 issue of this magazine...
(1890) has inspired many cinematic, literary, and artistic adaptations.
Film
Listed in chronologicalChronology
Chronology is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time, such as the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the determination of the actual temporal sequence of past events".Chronology is part of periodization...
order of release.
- Dorian Grays Portræt (1910)
- Directed by Axel Strøm
- StarringMovie starA movie star is a celebrity who is well-known, or famous, for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. The term may also apply to an actor or actress who is recognized as a marketable commodity and whose name is used to promote a movie in trailers and posters...
Valdemar Psilander as Dorian Gray
- The Picture of Dorian Gray (1913)
- Directed by Phillips SmalleyPhillips SmalleyWendell Phillips Smalley was a prolific American silent film director and actor.Born in Brooklyn, New York, Smalley began his career in vaudeville and acted in more than 200 films between 1910 until his death in 1939...
- Starring Wallace ReidWallace ReidWallace Reid was an actor in silent film referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover".-Early life:Born William Wallace Reid in St...
as Dorian Gray; and Lois WeberLois WeberLois Weber was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, producer, and director, who is considered "the most important female director the American film industry has known", and "one of the most important and important and prolific film directors in the era of silent films". Film historian...
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- Directed by Phillips Smalley
- The Picture of Dorian Gray (1916)
- Directed by Fred W Durrant; screenplayScreenplayA screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Rowland Talbot - Starring Henry Victor as Dorian Gray; Sydney Bland as Basil Hallward; Jack Jordan as Henry Wotton; Pat O'Malley as Sibyl Vane
- Directed by Fred W Durrant; screenplay
- Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray (1917)
- Directed by Richard OswaldRichard OswaldRichard Oswald was an Austrian director, producer, and screenwriter.Richard Oswald, born in Vienna as Richard W. Ornstein, began his career as an actor on the Viennese stage. He made his film directorial debut at age 34 with Das Eiserne Kreuz...
; screenplay by Richard Oswald - Starring Bernd Aldor as Dorian Gray; Ernst Ludwig as Basil Hallward; Ernst Pittschau as Henry Wotton; Lea Lara as Sibyl Vane
- Directed by Richard Oswald
- Az Élet királyaThe Picture of Dorian Gray (1918 film)The Picture of Dorian Gray is a 1918 Hungarian drama film directed by Alfréd Deésy and featuring Béla Lugosi. It is based on Oscar Wilde's novel of the same name.-Cast:* Norbert Dán - Dorian Gray* Béla Lugosi - Lord Henry Wotton...
(1918)- Directed by Alfréd Deésy; screenplay by József Pakots
- Starring Norbert Dán as Dorian Gray; Gusztáv Turán as Basil Hallward; Bela LugosiBéla LugosiBéla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
(credited as Arisztid Olt) as Henry Wotton; Ila Lóth as Sibyl Vane
- The Picture of Dorian GrayThe Picture of Dorian Gray (1945 film)The Picture of Dorian Gray is an American horror-drama film based on Oscar Wilde's 1891 novel of the same name. Released in March 1945 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film is directed by Albert Lewin and stars George Sanders as Lord Henry Wotton and Hurd Hatfield as Dorian Gray...
(1945)- Directed by Albert LewinAlbert LewinAlbert Lewin was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter.He was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 23, 1894 and raised in Newark, New Jersey. He earned a Master's degree at Harvard and taught English at the University of Missouri...
; screenplay by Albert Lewin - Starring Hurd HatfieldHurd HatfieldWilliam Rukard Hurd Hatfield was an American actor.-Biography:The son of William Henry Hatfield , an attorney who served as deputy attorney general for New York, and his wife, the former Adele Steele, Hatfield was born in New York City, and was educated at Columbia University before travelling to...
as Dorian Gray; Lowell Gilmore as Basil Hallward; George SandersGeorge SandersGeorge Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
as Henry Wotton; Angela LansburyAngela LansburyAngela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
as Sibyl Vane. Lansbury was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
. Considered by many to be the best version, although a love interest not found in the novel appears; Basil Hallward's niece played by Donna ReedDonna ReedDonna Reed was an American film and television actress.With appearances in over 40 films, Reed received the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the tramp Lorene in the war drama From Here to Eternity. She is also noted for her role in the perennial Christmas...
. The film won the Academy Award for Best CinematographyAcademy Award for Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
, and is remarkable for its crisp black-and-whiteBlack-and-whiteBlack-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
photography, and a handful of technicolorTechnicolorTechnicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
shots of the portrait, which was painted originally by Henrique MedinaHenrique MedinaHenrique Medina de Barros was a Portuguese painter, the son of a Portuguese mother and a Spanish father...
. Ivan le Lorraine AlbrightIvan AlbrightIvan Le Lorraine Albright was an American magic realist painter and artist, most renowned for his self-portraits, character studies, and still lifes.-Youth:...
made the changes during the production. The picture took Albright a year to finish and currently hangs at the Art Institute of ChicagoArt Institute of ChicagoThe School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
.
- Directed by Albert Lewin
- El Retrato de Dorian Gray (1969). Telenovela produced by Televisa.
- Directed and Produced by Ernesto Alonso
- Starring Enrique Alvarez Felix as Dorian Gray
- Dorian GrayDorian Gray (1970 film)Dorian Gray is a 1970 movie adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray starring Helmut Berger. Directed by Massimo Dallamano, the film stresses the decadence and eroticism of the story and changes the setting to early 1970s London...
, also known as The Evils of Dorian Gray or The Secret of Dorian Gray (1970)- Directed by Massimo Dallamano; screenplay by Marcello Coscia; Massimo Dallamano and Günter Ebert
- Starring Helmut BergerHelmut BergerHelmut Berger is an Austrian-born German film and television actor. He is most famous for his work with Luchino Visconti, particularly in his performance as King Ludwig II of Bavaria in Ludwig, for which he received a special David di Donatello award.He appears primarily in European cinema, but...
as Dorian Gray; Richard ToddRichard ToddRichard Todd OBE was an Irish-born British stage and film actor and soldier.-Early life:Richard Todd was born as Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Andrew William Palethorpe Todd, was an Irish physician and an international Irish rugby player who gained three caps for...
as Basil Hallward; Herbert LomHerbert LomHerbert Lom is a Czech film actor, best known for his role as former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in the Pink Panther movie series.-Life and career:...
as Henry Wotton; Marie LiljedahlMarie LiljedahlMarie Liljedahl is a Swedish actress who had a short-lived film career in the late-1960s and early-1970s, in the films of Joseph W. Sarno and Jesus Franco.-Biography:...
as Sibyl Vane
- The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973) (made-for-television)
- Directed by Glenn Jordan; screenplay by John Tomerlin
- Starring Shane Briant as Dorian Gray; Charles Aidman as Basil Hallward; Nigel Davenport as Henry Wotton; Vanessa Howard as Sibyl Vane
- The Picture of Dorian Gray (1976) (made-for-television)
- Directed by John Gorrie; screenplay by John OsborneJohn OsborneJohn James Osborne was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of the Establishment. The success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre....
- Starring Peter FirthPeter FirthPeter Firth is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC show Spooks, of which he is the only actor to have starred in every episode of the show's 10 series lifespan...
as Dorian Gray; Jeremy BrettJeremy BrettJeremy Brett , born Peter Jeremy William Huggins, was an English actor, most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in four Granada TV series.-Early life:...
as Basil Hallward; John GielgudJohn GielgudSir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
as Henry Wotton; Judi Bowker as Sibyl Vane
- Directed by John Gorrie; screenplay by John Osborne
- Le Portrait de Dorian Gray (1977)
- Directed by Pierre Boutron; screenplay by Pierre Boutron
- Starring Patrice Alexsandre as Dorian Gray; Denis Manuel as Basil Hallward; Raymond Gérôme as Henry Wotton; Marie-Hélène Breillat as Sibyl
- The Sins of Dorian Gray (1983) (made-for-television)
- Directed by Tony Maylam; screenplay by Ken August and Peter Lawrence
- Starring Belinda Bauer as a female Dorian Gray; Anthony PerkinsAnthony PerkinsAnthony Perkins was an American actor, best known for his Oscar-nominated role in Friendly Persuasion and as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho , and its three sequels.-Early life:...
as Henry Lord
- Dorian, also known as Pact with the Devil (2001)
- Directed by Allan A Goldstein; screenplay by Peter Jobin and Ron Raley
- Starring Ethan EricksonEthan Erickson-Career:Born Ethan Skip Erickson in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Erickson once played the recurring role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as jock Percy West, that actress Alyson Hannigan's character Willow Rosenberg tutors. He appeared in both season 3 and season 4 as the same character...
as Louis/Dorian; Malcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
as Henry Wotton; Amy Sloan as Sibyl
- The League of Extraordinary GentlemenThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a 2003 superhero film adaptation loosely based on characters from the comic book limited series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore, who is also famous for Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell. It was released on July 11, 2003, in the...
(2003)- Directed by Stephen Norrington
- Written by James Dale Robinson
- Starring Stuart TownsendStuart TownsendStuart Townsend is an Irish actor and director. His most notable portrayals are of the characters Lestat de Lioncourt in the 2002 film adaptation of Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned, and Dorian Gray in the 2003 film adaptation of Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.-Early life and...
as Dorian Gray
- Dorian (2004)
- Written and Directed by Brendan Dougherty Russo
- Starring Andrew Vanette as Dorian Gray; Stephen Fontana as Basil Hallward; Michael Multari as Henry; Danielle Matarese as Sibyl Vane
- The Picture of Dorian Gray (2004)
- Directed by David Rosenbaum; screenplay by David Rosenbaum
- Starring Josh DuhamelJosh DuhamelJoshua David "Josh" Duhamel is an American actor and former fashion model. He first achieved acting success in 1999 as Leo du Pres on ABC's All My Children and later as the chief of security, Danny McCoy, on NBC's Las Vegas...
as Dorian Gray; Rainer Judd as Basil Ward; Branden Waugh as Harry Wotton (Lord Wotton is referred to as Harry and Henry in the novel); Darby Stanchfield as Sibyl Vane; Brian Durkin as James Vane
- The Picture of Dorian Gray (2006)
- Directed by Duncan Roy; screenplay by Duncan Roy
- Starring David GallagherDavid GallagherDavid Lee Gallagher is an American actor. Beginning a prolific career as a child actor and model at the age of two, Gallagher is a five-time Young Artist Award nominee and Teen Choice Award winner, best known for his role as Simon Camden on the long running television series 7th Heaven, as well as...
as Dorian Gray
- The Picture of Dorian Gray (2007)
- Directed by Jon Cunningham; screenplay by Jon Cunningham and Deborah Warner
- The Picture (of Dorian Gray) (2009)
- Directed by Jonathan Courtemanche; script by Neal Utterback
- Starring Hanna Dillon, Lawrence Evans, and Miles Heymann
- Dorian Gray (2009)
- Directed by Oliver ParkerOliver ParkerOliver Parker is an English film director.-Biography:Parker was born in London, the son of Jillian, Lady Parker, a writer and GP , and Sir Peter Parker, formerly Chief executive of British Rail...
; screenplay by Toby Finlay - Starring Ben BarnesBen Barnes (actor)Benjamin Thomas "Ben" Barnes is an English actor, best known for his portrayal of Caspian X in The Chronicles of Narnia films Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Early life and education:...
as Dorian Gray; Colin FirthColin FirthSirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
as Henry Wotton
- Directed by Oliver Parker
Literature
- The Detritus of Dorian Gray appeared in a book of poems with the same title written by Kevin MaxKevin MaxKevin Max Smith is an American singer, songwriter, and poet. He is best known for being a member of the Christian pop group dc Talk...
. - Dorian, an ImitationDorian, an ImitationDorian, an Imitation is a 2002 novel by Will Self. The book is a modern take on Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. Set in the 1980s and 90s, it adheres closely to Wilde's original, even retaining characters names with some alterations...
(2002) is a modern take of the original book, written by Will SelfWill SelfWilliam Woodard "Will" Self is an English novelist and short story writer. His fictional style is known for being satirical, grotesque, and fantastical. He is a prolific commentator on contemporary British life, with regular appearances on Newsnight and Question Time...
. It updates the original by placing events in June 1981, a time according to Self when "Britain was in the process of burning most of its remaining illusions." - A Portrait of Dorian GrayA Portrait of Dorian GrayA Portrait of Dorian Gray is the fashion designer and photographer Karl Lagerfeld's rendition of Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray in photography. The models Larry Scott and Eva Herzigova star as Mr. and Mrs...
(2005) is the fashion designer and photographer Karl Lagerfeld's rendition of the novel in photography. The models Larry Scott and Eva Herzigova star as Mr. and Mrs. Dorian Gray. - Family Portrait (also published as Picture of Evil) is a horror novel by Graham MastertonGraham MastertonGraham Masterton is a British horror author. Originally editor of Mayfair and the British edition of Penthouse, Graham Masterton's first novel The Manitou was released in 1976. This novel was adapted in 1978 for the film The Manitou...
in which he appropriates Wilde's aging portrait to a whole family.
Plays and musicals
- A theatrical production of The Picture of Dorian Gray was staged by John Osborne in the mid 1970s.
- The Hungarian playwright Matyas VarkonyiMatyas VarkonyiMátyás Várkonyi is one of the most renowned musical composers in Hungary. He finished his studies in the academy of Béla Bartók....
wrote a musical of the book. It was premiered in 1990. - The Canadian playwright Ted Dykstra, along with lyricist Steven Mayoff, wrote a musical titled Dorian based upon the book. The musical premiered in 2002 and is set in the late 1900s, with the character of Dorian transformed from a member of the idle rich to an aspiring young model.
- In 2006, a Czech musical based on the novel premiered in Prague.
- In 2007, Australian production house Diatomic Productions commissioned playwrights Greg Eldridge and Liam Suckling to adapt the novel into a 3 act play. The world premiere of this work (held on May 22, 2008) sold out its season before Opening Night and returned to a second season of sell-out shows as part of the 2008 Melbourne Fringe Festival in October.
- Choreographer Matthew BourneMatthew BourneMatthew Bourne OBE is a British classical and contemporary ballet and dance choreographer.-Biography:Matthew Bourne was born in Hackney, London in 1960. He went to William Fitt and Sir George Monoux School in Walthamstow, London...
's contemporary danceContemporary danceContemporary dance is a genre of concert dance that employs compositional philosophy, rather than choreography, to guide unchoreographed movement...
adaptation of the story, titled "Dorian GrayMatthew Bourne's Dorian GrayMatthew Bourne's Dorian Gray is a contemporary dance adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, by choreographer Matthew Bourne. The show made its debut in August 2008 at the Edinburgh International Festival and transferred to Sadler's Wells Theatre in London in September 2008....
" made its debut at the Edinburgh International FestivalEdinburgh International FestivalThe Edinburgh International Festival is a festival of performing arts that takes place in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, over three weeks from around the middle of August. By invitation from the Festival Director, the International Festival brings top class performers of music , theatre, opera...
in August 2008. - In 2008, Canadian playwright Ian Case adapted the story as a site-specific 90-minute grand-guignolGrand GuignolLe Théâtre du Grand-Guignol — known as the Grand Guignol — was a theatre in the Pigalle area of Paris . From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962 it specialized in naturalistic horror shows...
style production, staged at Robert DunsmuirRobert DunsmuirRobert Dunsmuir was a Scottish-Canadian coal miner, railway developer, industrialist and politician. -Origins in Scotland:...
's Craigdarroch CastleCraigdarroch CastleCraigdarroch Castle in Victoria, British Columbia, is a historic, Victorian-era Scottish Baronial mansion. The mansion was designated a National Historic Site of Canada due to its landmark status in Victoria.-Description:...
in Victoria, B.C., the most recent in a series of HalloweenHalloweenHallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
productions which started in 2000. - A musical adaptation of the book by young theatre company Kangaroo Court ran at the Tabard theatre, ChiswickChiswickChiswick is a large suburb of west London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located on a meander of the River Thames, west of Charing Cross and is one of 35 major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, with...
in 2008. The updated version centres on celebrity obsession and excesses. - In 2000, Dorian, a musical with book, music & lyrics by Richard Gleaves, premiered at the Goodspeed Opera House starring Tom Stuart and Sutton Foster (as the invented character of Sister Claire)
- Dorian the Remarkable Mister Gray: A Portrait in Music, is a new stage musical version of, with music, lyrics, and book by Randy Bowser. The work had its premiere at Pentacle Theatre in Salem, Oregon, in 2008. A Russian version is being produced in Moscow, at The Stas Namin Cente]. The show is represented exclusively by Michael ButlerMichael Butler (producer)Michael Butler is an American theatrical producer best known for bringing the rock musical Hair from the Public Theater to Broadway in 1968. During his time as Hair producer he was dubbed by the press as "the hippie millionaire"...
, the original producer of HairHair (musical)Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
on Broadway. - In January 2009, Dorian GrayDorian GrayDorian Gray is the main character of Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.It may also refer to:* Dorian Gray , an Italian film starring Helmut Berger...
was adapted and directed by Linnie Reedman, with music by Joe Evans. Produced by Ruby In The Dust, the show returned to The Leicester Square theatre with an all-star cast on 26 June 2009, and again re-staged in March 2010 under the title of The Extraordinary Cabaret of Dorian Gray. - An operatic versionThe Picture of Dorian Gray (opera)The Picture of Dorian Gray is an opera in two acts by the American composer Lowell Liebermann, from a libretto by the composer, based on the novel of the same name by Oscar Wilde.-Performance history:...
of The Picture of Dorian Gray was staged by Lowell LiebermannLowell LiebermannLowell Liebermann is an American composer, pianist and conductor.At the age of sixteen, Liebermann performed at Carnegie Hall, playing his Piano Sonata, op. 1...
. Liebermann wanted to base a play on The Picture of Dorian Gray because "the book made an impression on [him] as no other book has yet done". Premiered at the Monte Carlo Opera in 1996. - In January 2010, Dorian GrayDorian GrayDorian Gray is the main character of Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.It may also refer to:* Dorian Gray , an Italian film starring Helmut Berger...
was adapted by Daniel Mitura and directed by Henning Hegland. Music by Michael NymanMichael NymanMichael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...
. The show premiered at the Kirk Theatre on 42nd Street in New York. - On March 7, 2011, Wesley TaylorWesley TaylorWesley Taylor is an American stage actor and writer, probably best known for his roles in the Broadway musicals Rock of Ages and The Addams Family.- Personal life :...
played the title role in a reading for a stage adpatation penned by playwrightPlaywrightA playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
Michael Raver. It was directed by Quinten Gordon and co-starred Lauren MolinaLauren MolinaLauren Molina is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and musician. She made her Broadway debut in the critically acclaimed 2005 revival of Sweeney Todd, playing the role of the Johanna. In this production, Molina played the cello onstage. In 2008, she originated the role of Regina/Candi in...
.