Dorian Gray - beauty for ever

Hello, Mandy. I studied English Literature as a mature student for BA and MA, so I've read most of the classics. Some of the film adaptations are excellent, while others take too many liberties. I'd say it's always better to read the book first, because that's the primary source, if you like, and you can put your own interpretation on the story rather than having the screenwriter's take on it. In addition, you can let your imagination work its magic, whereas if you've seen the film first, you're going to superimpose the film actors as you read, which may interfere with your own interpretation of the characters. Mind you, it's no bad thing imagining Colin Firth as anybody at all. He could have his wicked way with me if he played his cards right - or even if he didn't, for that matter! I must tell you this story about when I was doing my degree. We were studying 'Emma' by Jane Austen for an exam, and our lecturer told us about one of the previous year's students. She'd obviously taken a short cut and watched the movie with Gwyneth Paltrow, rather than reading the book, because when she answered a question on the book, she devoted about four paragraphs to the significance of the archery scene to the character of Emma. Of course, this scene never appeared in the book. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!

I really enjoyed this film too, I though that it was more a black comedy than a tragic gothic-horror,but it still got across Wilde’s moralistic twist well. It is absolutely years since I read the book so I wasn't comparing the two either, but I don't usually like watching films of favourite books - they usually disappoint me!!