A Gimlet Production for Channel Four
In
May, 1895, Oscar Wilde was found guilty of homosexual crimes and was sentenced
to two years hard labor. Contrasting the treatment that Wilde suffered with
that of contemporary gay sex offenders, this documentary, through readings,
reconstruction and filming, reveals one of the most dramatic courtroom sagas
ever.
From being the most famous and celebrated writer and wit of the Victorian age, Wilde was vilified and his name became a byword for depravity and perversion. Released in May, 1897, Wilde was shunned by society and his plays universally condemned. Eventually he settled in France were he died on November 30, 1900. Typically however, he retained his wit to the very end, declaring on his deathbed, "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go."
Nearly one hundred years later Oscar Wilde is one of the most celebrated playwrights ever; he has never been more popular. Nonetheless, as this documentary highlights, homosexuals are still being arrested for many of the same offenses and lives are still being ruined in the prosecution of these victimless "crimes."
54 min. Video or DVD. Sale $195. Video rental $75.
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