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,
The Picture of Dorian Gray corrupted soul (antithesis of the beautiful soul) is imbalanced and disordered, and, in itself, is undesirable, regardless of any advantage derived from acting unjustly. The picture of Dorian Gray is the means by which other people, such as his friend Basil Hallward, may see Dorian's distorted soul. Dorian attends a performance of "Tannhäuser", by Richard Wagner, and the narrative identifies him with the protagonist of the opera. Disruptive beauty is the thematic resemblance between the opera and "The Picture of Dorian Gray". Based upon a medieval historical figure, Tannhäuser is a singer whose art is so beautiful that Venus becomes