Based on the best-selling biography by Richard Ellman, this unconventional biopic traces the brilliant, witty, and tragic life of Oscar Wilde from his rise to fame as a much-in-demand author and public speaker to his downfall and ultimate imprisonment for homosexuality. Irish-born and homosexual, Wilde (Stephen Fry, in a critically lauded performance) nevertheless takes a loving wife (Jennifer Ehle), with whom he has children. While married, he becomes aware of his true sexual identity after a chance encounter with an aggressive house guest. This leads to a very public affair with vain, rebellious young Lord Alfred Douglas (Jude Law), the son of the Marquess of Queensbury (Tom Wilkinson, IN THE BEDROOM). Despite an astoundingly successful writing career, Wilde's private life lands him in prison for "gross indecency," a synonym for homosexual behavior, which was illegal in England at the time.

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Special Edition
Letterbox - 1.85
Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital 2.0 - English
Additional Release Material:
Trailers
Audio Commentary: Cast & Crew
Featurette:
1. STILL WILD ABOUT WILDE
2. SIMPLY WILE
Interactive Features:
Scene Selection
Interactive Menus
Text/Photo Galleries:
Production Notes
Filmographies
Photo Montage
DVD-ROM Features:
Complete Content of the Official WILDE Website

Stephen Fry: British Comedian/Actor
Jude Law: British Actor, WILDE (1997)
Vanessa Redgrave: British actress
Jennifer Ehle: British TV/Film Actress
John Ehle: NOVELIST
Gemma Jones: British Actress

Brian Gilbert: Director

"...Restrained, sober, decorous..." -- Rating: B
"...Director Gilbert displays all of Wilde's facets in this elegant film..."
"...Brit comedian Stephen Fry is tall, elegant, and whimsical, and wears fin-de-siecle clothes as if born in them....His performance is a perfect center for others to whirl around..."
"...[An] effectively intimate portrait....Stephen Fry looks uncannily like Wilde and presents a mixture of superciliousness and vulnerability....[His] warmly sympathetic performance finds the gentleness beneath the wit..."
"...Deeply moving....WILDE is a lustrous period piece with a high degree of authenticity in décor and costume....A work of superior craftsmanship..."