The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960) {KL Studio Classics Blu-ray Review}

Reviewed by Jason Lockard

Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright who may be best known for his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray or play The Importance of Being Earnest. His short career spanned the later years of 1800s. 

Oscar Wilde was also known for his 'wild' behavior landing him in hot water, including a prison sentence. In 1960 a film was produced entitled The Man with the Green Carnation or The Trials of Oscar Wilde. Now the good folks at Kino Lorber under the label KL Studio Classics have released this film on Blu-ray.

The popular, flamboyant, witty Irish writer Oscar Wilde (Peter Finch) finds himself in court with the powerful Marquess of Queensberry (Lionel Jeffries), the father of his young companion, Lord Alfred Douglas (John Fraser). While the trial is a libel case, the hearing ends up in Wilde's trial and prosecution for indecency.

This film is a tremendous court room drama, Directed and co-written Ken Hughes (Written with Montgomery Hyde). The film does a great job in telling the account of Oscar Wilde's life without going into explicit details. 

The cast is tremendous to say the least. Peter Finch (Network) shines as Oscar Wilde. This is arguably his greatest performance of his career. But the rest of the cast us such as great. The cast includes, Lionel Jeffries (The Quatermass Xperiment), John Fraser (Isadora), Yvonne Mitchell (The Queen of Spades), James Mason (The Man Between), Nigel Patrick (The Sound Barrier), Maxine Audley (Anna Karenina), Ian Fleming (The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes), Laurence Naismith (Scrooge) and  James Booth (Zulu).




The film has been transferred in 1080p in 2.35:1 aspect ratio. With the soundtrack is a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. There is also English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing. The film looks pretty nice in HD. The colors are gorgeous and the picture is crisp, with just minor specks of dirt. So minor are these most would miss them completely. The audio is as clear as a bell. This transfer is very nice.

As for bonus features Kino Lorber added a gallery of movie trailers. Including is the theatrical trailer of "The Man with the Green Carnation", Room at the Top, The Chalk Garden, Isadora, He Who Must Die, The Queen of Spades, Murder by Decree and The Internecine Project.

I love cinema of the 1960s and The Trails of Oscar Wilde is now on my list as another great film. I am so glad I had the opportunity to watch this film in HD from Kino Lorber. They never cease to amaze me with the quality of the prints they use.

If you love courtroom dramas or are a fan of Oscar Wilde this new Blu-ray would make a tremendous addition to your Blu-ray collection. Head over to Amazon and order your copy today.

Out of 4 film reels (4 being the best) KL Studio Classics Blu-ray release of The Trails of Oscar Wilde receives...