Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde (2005)

October 2004 marked the 150th anniversary of Ireland’s most famous literary genius. During his lifetime, Oscar Wilde was adored for the wit and wisdom of his plays, poetry and essays by a society who would later sentence and imprison him. In celebration of his life and works Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde presents over 150 of his best quotes, delivered by 150 of today’s leading artists of stage, screen and music including: Bono, Annie Lennox, Martin Sheen, Tyne Daly, Rosie Perez, Allison Janney, Eric Stolz, Julianna Margulies, Edward Asner, Larry Mullen, Gabriel Byrne, Frank McCourt, Ken Loach, Gavin Friday, Estelle Parsons, Geoffrey Rush, Stewart Copeland, Brian Cox, Harvey Fierstein, Jim Sheridan, Joan Rivers, Lee Grant, James Cromwell, Stephanie Beacham, Lily Tomlin, Fionnula Flanagan and Liam Neeson.

NOT THE BEST REPRESENTATION OF THIS GREAT MAN

I LOVE ANYTHING "WILDE", especially Oscar Wilde. I may be in the minority here among the reviewers but I have to stay true to the game - this is the WORST representation of the famed Victorian literary master that I have ever seen! All it is a bunch of famous(?) people quoting the acerbic and witty Oscar. It really tells nothing about the man. And the choice of people to appear is all over the place. What does Rosie Perez have to do with anything!? She did manage to lose that usually overdone "NuYoRican" accent long enough to give the great man his due; maybe director Bill Hughes managed to convince her that the viewer would not be able to appreciate Wilde's barbed quotations if they couldn't understand what she was saying!

There are other films that I enjoyed better, like "Wilde" (1997) or "Forbidden Passion" (1986), the latter of which focuses on his homosexuality and the morals case against him. People can't seem to get past that minor part of this great man's life when it comes to portraying him on the screen. To its credit, this movies does focus more on the man but only in a "tribute" way, telling us nothing about the person himself. Once you've read his bio on Wikipedia.org or someplace like that, the best way to get a feel for the genius that was Oscar Wilde is to watch or read his works. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is as light and entertaining as "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" is dark and frightening. And then he has everything in between, prose, poetry, plays,: "An Ideal Husband", "The Canterville Ghost", "Lady Windermere's Fan", "A Woman Of No Importance", "Salomé", etc. - there was nothing that this man couldn't do. And no one did it better.

Save your money on this one. Go out and buy a book of his works or rent some of the above-mentioned films. Learn about this literary giant - he was a husband and a father who lost it all due to the prejudices of the time. I might be a little prejudices because I admire this man so much. So maybe you don't drag out a person's dirty laundry at a "birthday party", but he was more than cake and ice cream even without the salacious parts of his life. In the immortal words of the "Men On Movies" duo of television's "In Living Color", the equally witty Blaine Edwards and Antoine Merriweather, "HATED IT!" August 3, 2008

Fantastically entertaining and uplifting

This has become one of my favorite DVD programs. I have viewed it many times with great pleasure, heartfelt resonance and ever increasing respect.
Whether you are a specialist in the works of Oscar Wilde or simply one who appreciates truth and beauty, you will enjoy this program. October 19, 2006

A Moving Tribute to a Brilliant Writer/Wit

Shivers went up my spine as celebrities kissed, bowed, and/or gave heartfelt happy birthday wishes to this Dublin wit. It is easily seen that each line is read with tone and emotion of true effort, evincing all participants definitely wanted to be a part of this and were in some way affected by his genius, making the DVD even more special. Incredibly wonderful DVD. September 11, 2005

Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde

If you are a fan of Oscar Wilde you will love this DVD. Some of the biggest stars of stage, screen and music are part of this celebration of what would have been Oscar's 150th birthday.
I found it very entertaining and educational. Really fun watching and listening to Martin Sheen, Bono, Lily Tomlin etc enjoying the wit of this great writer. August 4, 2005

Oscar Wilde, you have to watch this.

I just watched "Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde". Wow, full of amazing quotes and hilarious one liners from Wilde. There's a quote to suit every mood recited by a Hollywood star to suit every fancy. You get a great sense of his life through the quotes, from his sharp observations of society at the time to his persecution for being a gay man when it was illegal. One moment your laughing, next, you on the verge of tears. Well worth watching, if your not a fan of Oscar Wilde after this... there's no hope for you. July 1, 2005

More reviews at Amazon.com ...