The Picture of Dorian Gray (1976 TV) The Picture of Dorian Gray (1976 TV) The Picture of Dorian Gray is a 1976 BBC video-taped production which formed part of the "Play of the Month" anthology series. It stars Peter Firth, Jeremy Brett, and John Gielgud. A 100-minute adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by John Osborne, it was first broadcast on 19 September 1976. This production was a critical success at the time of its first screening. In 2009 "The Times" called it the "most Wildean" adaptation of the novel, boasting "perhaps the best Dorian" and mentioning that John Gielgud "steals the show,
Dorian Gray (character) Dorian wonders if his new-found goodness has reverted the corruption in the picture, but when he looks, he sees only an even uglier image of himself. From that, Dorian understands that his true motives for moral reformation were, in fact, immoral, due to their being merely a means to a selfish end. Deciding that only full confession will absolve him of his wrongdoing, Dorian decides to destroy the only piece of evidence remaining of his crimes – the picture. In a rage, he takes the knife with which he murdered Basil and stabs the picture. The servants of the house