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Dorian Gray in the Mirror of the Yellow Press

Directed by Ulrike Ottinger1984West Germany150 mins

In Ulrike Ottinger’s contemporary reinvention of Oscar Wilde’s famous morality tale, fin-de-siècle dandy Gray is reimagined as a drag role, played without comment on the switch by Veruschka von Lehndorff. Ottinger collides Wilde with Fritz Lang, featuring a splendidly sinister Delphine Seyrig as one Dr. Mabuse, the head of a sinister multinational newspaper agency that conspires to create, control, and ultimately destroy Gray. An odyssey through eye-popping tableaux — Mabuse’s vast, chilly board room and an unforgettable trip to the underworld are particular standouts — peopled by characters extravagantly coiffured and costumed by designer Gisela Storch, with regular Fassbinder collaborator Peer Raben contributing a characteristically entrancing score.

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Original Language Title
Dorian Gray im Spiegel der Boulevardpresse
Director
Ulrike Ottinger
Year
1984
Country
West Germany
Running Time
150 mins
Language
English, German, & French
Cast/Participants
Veruschka von Lehndorff, Delphine Seyrig, Tabea Blumenschein, Toyo Tanaka, Irm Hermann, Magdalena Montezuma, Barbara Valentin, Luc Alexander, Hanno Jochimsen
Program Note Writer
Film Forum