Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Wilde Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson November 17, 2022

In an introduction to the illustrated screenplay/movie companion book, Wilde (Dove Books, 1997), Stephen Fry recalls filming Peter's Friends (1992) during which he and director Kenneth Branagh discussed the possibility of collaborating on a film about Oscar Wilde. They apparently were considering adapting Richard Ellmann's 600-page biography on Wilde, which was first published in 1987 and won the Pulitzer Prize. Fry had received a "very charming letter" from Lucy Ellmann, Richard's daughter, who wrote that she imagined Fry as the primary actor to portray Wilde and inquired if he had any plans to do so. Fry went on to play Wilde in an episode on the 1993 TV series, Ned Blessing: The Story of My Life and Times. When Branagh became involved in various productions on stage and screen, he passed on a potential Wilde project. Fry recollects while sitting in a bar of the Savoy Hotel, film producer Marc Samuelson and director Brian Gilbert paid him a visit. They also sent him a screenplay by Julian Mitchell, which Fry loved. After discussions with the producer and director, Fry met Jude Law in Samuelson's house. Fry knew Law would be his co-star: "[T]here is no question that he would be perfect for Lord Alfred Douglas. He is only twenty-three but knows more about films than most people twice his age" (p. 20).

Due to the changing times and archival material previously unavailable about Wilde's life, Gilbert's Wilde (1997) is a markedly different film than Ratoff's Oscar Wilde (1960) and Hughes's The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960). Unlike those two features, Gilbert's picture begins well before the premiere of Lady Windermere's Fan. It starts rather unexpectedly in Leadville, Colorado where Wilde visits a group of miners. Gilbert's script and the film also give greater exposition to Wilde's family and friends prior to Lady Windermere's Fan and in subsequent scenes. While not an all-encompassing biopic of Wilde's life, the narrative is kind of an epic, spanning the years 1882–1898.

The most conspicuous difference between this Wilde and the two 1960 productions is that the filmmakers unapologetically don't hold back in their depiction of male sexuality and same-sex desire. Wilde and his close friend/confidante Robbie Ross (Michael Sheen) make love. If the title character is the martyr in Wilde, then Robbie has to be the story's other hero. He sticks by Oscar through his three trials and tribulations. Robbie possesses an undying kindness. Contrast that with Oscar's unhealthy affair with Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas (Jude Law). Oscar loves Bosie for his charm and physical beauty but not much else. Bosie is enamored with Oscar's beautiful mind but he selfishly exploits him for money and personal favors. Bosie is a bright, aspiring poet whose growth is stymied by his ultra-rigid father, the Marquess of Queensberry (Tom Wilkinson). Queensberry is pretty much anti everything, including allowing his son to consort with Oscar (which he forbids). The reason Bosie mistreats Oscar is largely because of the way his father raised and spoiled him. And yet, Wilkinson is such a great actor that he imbues Queensberry with subtle shades of grey, unlike other actors who have portrayed him. For example, Mitchell scripts an outstanding scene between the Marquess and Oscar when they discuss Christianity over lunch. The two find they have more in common than either anticipated.

Author Robert Tanitch writes in his book Oscar Wilde on Stage and Screen that "Mitchell paid more attention to Wilde in his role as a loving and caring father than most screenwriters had in the past" (p. 72). Indeed, the audience sees Oscar spending more time with his sons than it does in the other movies. Jennifer Ehle does a remarkable job of playing Oscar's wife, Constance Wilde, in a thankless role. She never becomes bitter about her husband's actions and earns the audience's full sympathy. Tanitch gripes that Fry doesn't have "the emotional range as an actor to manage the hubris at the end. He toned Wilde down. There was no flamboyance, no energy, no sparkle" (pp. 72-73). I disagree because Fry exhibits those qualities when he's around the people he loves and when he's promoting perhaps his greatest success, The Importance of Being Earnest.

Wilde Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sony Pictures Classics released Wilde over the summer on an MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50 (disc size: 42 GB). This is a true 24fps 1080p transfer, unlike UK-based Altitude Film's Blu-ray, which delivers the movie in 1080i 50hz with a speed of 25fps. Arthaus/Studio Canal also released Wilde on Blu-ray in Germany. I haven't seen that transfer but reports are that the video quality is subpar. The film's Metrocolor was developed using bleach bypass, thereby retaining the silver and color dyes on the emulsion. Sony's HD transfer delivers a faithful rendition of this process. The image is light years ahead of Columbia TriStar's 2002 "Special Edition." I've consolidated several identical screen captures between the DVD and BD so you can see how much clearer and sharper the latter is. There's edge enhancement on the R1 DVD which has been corrected on the BD. The two transfers are possibly taken from different prints because the Blu-ray ironically has a few minor blemishes pop up in the frame during the courtroom scenes that the SD doesn't have. Sony has encoded the feature at an average video bitrate of 25217 kbps. My video score on Sony's BD is 4.25/5.00.

Screenshots 1-20, 22, 24, 26, 28, & 30 = Sony Pictures Classics 2022 BD-50
Screenshots 21, 23, 25, 27, & 29 = Columbia TriStar 2002 DVD-9

Sony includes thirteen chapters, which are accessible only via remote. (There's no option on the popup menu.) The DVD has twenty-eight scene selections.

Wilde Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sony has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (2091 kbps, 24-bit) as the lone sound track. While the R1 only has an option for 2.0 audio, some of the European DVDs of Wilde have a Dolby Digital 5.1 option. The back cover on Sony's region-all Blu-ray incorrectly lists an English 5.1 DTS-HD MA track, which would have been a great addition. Still, the lossless audio on the 2.0 mix sounds clear and crisp. Julian Mitchell's beautifully written dialogue is delivered with aplomb by the British cast. Composer Debbie Wiseman wrote a lovely score full of lush melodies. She employs the theme-and-variation method throughout her score but it never sounds overly repetitive.

English SHD is the only subtitle option Sony provides for the feature.

Wilde Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Sony has recycled all the extras from its DVD sans the leaflet of production notes.

• Audio Commentary with Director Brian Gilbert, Screenwriter Julian Mitchell, Producer Marc Samuelson, and Actor Stephen Fry - This feature-length track was recorded in the early 2000s. It is largely carried by remarks from Gilbert and Mitchell, with occasional comments by Samuelson. The filmmakers discuss the historical Wilde, the people he knew, and how they interpreted them for the film. They delve in especially to Oscar's real-life relationship with Bosie. Stephen Fry is only heard on the track when he talks about delivering his lines in the courtroom scenes. In English, not subtitled.

• Still Wild about Wilde (55:43, upconverted to 1080i) - a nearly hour-long studio documentary about the making of Wilde. It features interviews with Gilbert, Fry, Mitchell, Marc Samuelson, costume designer Nic Ede, and cinematographer Martin Fuhrer. Clips and still photos from the movie are incorporated in the program with these six interviewees. They're all presented in 1.33:1. In English, not subtitled.

• Simply Wilde (24:37, upconverted to 1080i) - Stephen Fry is seated on a stage where he chats about playing the title role in the film. Brian Gilbert also contributes comments about the production. Excerpts from Wilde are intercut with the interviews. They're all displayed in 1.33:1. In English, not subtitled.

• Photo Gallery (10:08, 1080i) - a compilation of color and black-and-white photographs from the production of Wilde as well as one photo of the real Wilde. The camera zooms and pans around the stills while excerpts from Wiseman's score play.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:42, upconverted to 1080p) - Sony's original trailer for Wilde is taken from the studio's DVD and is presented in full frame. It sports a decent image with a smattering of grain and some film artifacts.

Wilde Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Brian Gilbert's great film Wilde (1997) has finally been given a respectable HD transfer on BD. I've been longing for a solid Blu-ray of Wilde since the format's inception. Sony has ported over all the bonus features from the R1 except for printed production notes. A VERY STRONG RECOMMENDATION for the movie and this BD-50.