Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

sonofmoduless It was hard to hear people talking in the movie and the ending was not all that great. The ending was when the main character kicked the picture and did not have the curse anymore he did not even know that would work he was just mad and kicking the picture.

Richie-67-485852 I like a good story and this is a good story. It has mystery, drama and the supernatural making the viewer bound to the screen to see how it all comes about and what comes next. That's called entertainment. George Sanders does an excellent job as do all supporting players. This is the type of movie that if one spent time and money on the story and directing it would give a good return no problem. The dialog is very sophisticated making one have to pay attention. Back then, a man could devote himself to being what they called a being a gentleman even as a career. Here we see several men doing just that. The point is what do gentleman do? Devote themselves to the arts? Attend dinner parties? Practice high-sounding words to support their chosen field of endeavor? All that is here for you to see it for what it is. It even exists to this day. Rich, famous and powerful people still put on more than one face not having found the one assigned to them. There is a scene where the scripture "what does it profit a man to gain the whole world but to lose his soul" and this is submitted to the viewer to ponder but without the religious under and over tones. Ask yourself the purpose of having excess of everything but enjoying nothing and the folly of it and see if it doesn't speak to you and to people you know. Whoever you are and whatever you do, enjoy it and make sense out of it for you will not be back this way again. That means there is something to this journey that needs to be discovered. This picture might add to that mystery. I ate breakfast while watching. A bowl of fresh Farina with nuts, blueberries, chia seeds and cinnamon which satisfied and filled me up. Vitamins to follow. Enjoy this well-done classic. I did

JLRMovieReviews Oscar Wilde's bizarre story is brought vividly to life in this film of the same name, "The Picture of Dorian Gray." Hurd Hatfield is the man in question who wishes to retain his young looks while his portrait ages. While making his wish in the artist's house, a small statue of an ancient Egyptian cat with supposed supernatural powers close by him grants his wish. The forthcoming plot shows how Hurd goes through life affecting those around him negatively and how it changes his inner soul, all the while it is being reflected in the portrait. George Sanders is an acquaintance of Dorian's and the artist and is there while the wish is granted. George is all the time making generalizations about life, love, and women (witticisms when George Sanders say them) and in doing so displays his brusque cynicism; in short, he's a cad, and Sanders is in his element, stealing all the scenes he's in. But this film is exquisite in style, storytelling, and in capturing the time and place. Angela Lansbury costars and gives a very moving and memorable performance. Peter Lawford and Donna Reed also star, but they are given very little to do. No matter, because this is another example of how they just don't make movies like they used to. Winner of a cinematography Oscar, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is an involved, intricate and intelligent film movie experience. Not to be dismissed as just a horror classic, this is a film classic for all those who enjoy good old-fashioned films.

James Parrish THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (1945) A Review by JP July 20, 2016"Each of us has Heaven & Hell in him." –Oscar Wilde Youth. Pride. Vanity. Morality. Mortality.Each & Every moment spoken in this dark, macabre cautionary tale is quote-worthy, thought-provoking, and piercingly-existential. Adapted from playwright Oscar Wilde's only novel & reminiscent of "The Monkey's Paw", "The Picture of Dorian Gray" weaves the wicked web of a young man inspired to sell his soul to never grow old upon viewing a portrait painted of himself which perfectly-captured the innocence & beauty of his youth. The cliché "be careful what you wish for" would be an understatement in this story, which still holds significance today as we are still a vain, self-damning species.Hurd Hatfield (El Cid, King of Kings) plays Dorian Gray with steely eyes and a level of intensity comparable to Anthony Perkins in "Psycho" (1960). Narrated by the great George Sanders (Rebecca, All About Eve), as Wilde's counterpart Lord Henry Wooten, the pivotal supporting role inadvertently-responsible for the title character's ill-fated decision & subsequent downward spiral – brings a witty cynicism to the bleak, shadowy gloom despite his old-fashioned chauvinistic ways. A cherubic Angela Landsbury (Bedknobs & Broomsticks, Murder, She Wrote), archetypal golden era maiden Donna Reed (It's a Wonderful Life, From Here to Eternity), and, surprisingly-non-Rat Pack Peter Lawford (Ocean's 11, Exodus) add style & grace to this elegantly-crafted, Oscar-winning hidden gem which deserves much more than a mere Warner Archive release (Hint, Hint Criterion).A notable aspect, which I'm sure was quite a feat at the time, was the decision to have the film in black & white with the exception of the portrait twice, once for the initial reveal & last for the most hideous deterioration."Was it true that one could never change? He longed for the unstained purity of his youth, before he had prayed in a monstrous moment of pride & passion that the painting should bear the burden of the years & of his corruptions." – Oscar Wilde