Oh, look. It's the old ‘play within a play’ device, but turned slightly off kilter - a play surrounding a play, as it were. I remembered seeing this movie when it was first released on VHS, and was very happy to see it here, although the commercial interruptions will definitely break the mood for you if it’s your first viewing. Picture seeing Hamlet, or Richard III, with periodic pauses to tout birth control pills. Although if something must be hawked, one could argue that the product is well chosen; John the Baptist might have fared better if Herodias had indulged. Come to think of it, so might have England and Denmark.But back to the movie... Presumably you read these reviews to determine whether the movie is worth a few hours of your time. This one is a beautiful gem that will appeal if you like theater. You are watching a dramatist watch a performance of his own play. If you liked, oh, Saint Joan, the 1957 movie based on Shaw’s play about Joan of Arc, the film that introduced Jean Seberg, you would probably enjoy this. The language is the language of the theater, not of everyday life. It is definitely not a comedy, although there are plenty of comedic elements. (After all, it is a performance of a play by Oscar Wilde.) The staging and costuming are magnificently period, it is an otherworldly, artificial place we are shown. Visually it’s like being set down in the middle of a decadent Erte water color. Definitely an eleven on the eye candy scale. And instead of detracting from the play, the activities surrounding it (Wilde himself, ensconced in a brothel, watching a performance staged privately by his friends because his play has been banned for its decadence) only add to it. If you’re on the fence, click play and judge for yourself. If you like it at all, you will love it. If you don’t like it, well, see the man in the back and he'll refund double the price of your admission. Oh, and please, buyer do beware - this is Oscar Wilde we're talking about. And Ken Russell. If you dislike the human form, or if a bit of decadence makes you queasy, this film is NOT for you.Just one note. If you do like/love it, it’s worth getting yourself a clean copy and watching it uncut and uninterrupted. It’s like falling down the rabbit hole into another world for an hour or so. Ta to Hulu for getting this film back on the radar!

Remember this one, but never got to watch it all the way through, until now. The greatest distraction in the whole movie, bodacious Michael Van Wijk.

Unless you are the type of person that can sit through even the boringest of plays, you better skip this one. I'm sure it has an artistic quality that may appeal to the more inept of film viewers, but this one is just to "corny."Painful to watch. A root canal at a dentist school without novacaine would be less painful.

A deliciously wonderful movie!
Beautifully smooth, angled with purpose, sexually charged, and visually compelling!
Bravo!!!

If you want to see a great portrayal of Oscar himself, see Stephen Fry in 1997's "Wilde." No disrespect to Grace, but his Wilde can't touch Fry's.

Ken Russell is truly the perfect director for this lurid and over-the-top of Oscar Wilde (lurid in a fantastic way, that is) material written from the nethermost bowels of the decadent yellow nineties. The staging is spare, yet gaudy enough for its intended purposes. The actress playing the character of Salome is an absolute delight, indeed a revelation! Glenda Jackson is still as wonderful and professional as when I first saw her in 'Marat / Sade'. The invented back-story for the staging of the play is subtle as it is ingenious. Well done !