Alice in Wonderland (1966)

[ziggycat999]

A psychotic Alice ! New...but not entertaining.

[BrxSmith]

@ziggycat999

You clearly don't have much of an understanding of Lewis Carroll's works. 

[ThatHauntFreak]

That executioner guy is from Willy Wonka!!!!!!!!!

[Mrchickenwings1]

why is alice in wonderland set to indian sitar music?

[faridjabba]

@Mrchickenwings1 lsd influenced i think

[destructivedandy]

Still towers supreme over all screen adaptations. Let us not even mention the Tim Burton travesty

[BrickLaneBetty]

Ahem brother!

[StevenLoos]

This film is such a powerful reflection on Dodgson's original bitter satire of society, and honestly is the only film adaptation that acknowledges Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as a satire.

[silviacorsi]

I think that obviously this film IS an interpretation, as any film taken from any book. But Carrol's work is so deep and rich that somenone might find closer to the book a "happy" version like Disney's. I am much more interested in some aspects of Carrol's work: the boredom, the unconfortable state of infancy when everything is out-of-proportion and the adult world seems defined by untold and unintelligent rules...this is what echoes in my mind, and in this film it exixst!

[silviacorsi]

I do agree with all of you. I spent most of my artistic life studying and working on Alice and Carroll's books, and I think that the only films worth existing about Alice are this one and Svankmajer's. The only two who asked themselves what Carrol was alking about and whow Alice enlight infancy!

I will try to get this film!

Bye

[cookmoore]

Get it on 2 of March!

[cstromberger]

how/where if in US?

[PiscelHorse]

I think it also captures the boredom and awkwardness of Victorian social life. I think it's a masterpiece! Truly. Comedian Tony Hancock did a program about an English Sunday (of the 50s) and the boredom was there - up front. Nothing open and nothing that you can do or should do except go to church and that habit was already dying.

[Simbabbad]

Except Alice in Wonderland and Wonderland in particular aren't boring, and Alice doesn't always look totally in another direction than the person she speaks to. In fact, she's rather nice to everybody the whole book and amused a great deal of what she sees, hence the "wonder" part.

It's fine twisting a classic into what you want to make out of it, but this is totally remote from the tone of the book, which is a story told to AMUSE A CHILD. This isn't closer to the book than any other version.

[leoboiko]

Alice is totally not amused at all in any part. Rather shes usually flummoxed and flabbergasted at how things dont make sense and how she cant succeed in doing anything and how NO ONE AT ALL is nice to her, ever, in the entirety of the other-world (except the White Knight in the mirror, who is a plainly Carrol alter-ego).

The real Alice was very much amused at the wonderland, as are other real children. The in-book Alice not so much.

[Simbabbad]

She spends a good deal of her time trying not to laugh at several characters, to keep polite. The White Queen, Humpty Dumpty, the Dodo, even the Queen of Hearts amuse her, she laughs at her right the moment she sees her.

The moments Alice refrains from laughing are legion and plenty of characters are friendly.

I suggest you read the book and don't remember it from the Disney version.

As for your "it's very different from the book and therefore very close" point, well...

[leoboiko]

As for the slow, thoughtful, «boring» pace of this adaptation well, if youre surprised by this and by Alice not looking at people, I take it you never had to deal with drugged or crazy people. Giving the obvious connection of the original work with both insanity and hallucination, its a pretty simple line to draw. By grokking this and also by grokking the sarcastic undercurrent of the original, I agree with OP that this version is very close, exactly BECAUSE the tone is so different.

[lausanne67]

I remember Sundays in the early-1970s being quiet, with most shops closed etc. I miss it now, compared with the vulgar, Americanised, materialistic culture that has replaced it. Now, EVERYTHING is open on Sundays, and all people do is shop, shop, shop. People now don't know how to interact unless it's via a computer or mobile phone or by sharing in the "community" of shoppers. But then, if that's all you've known, then the idea of having one quiet day in the week must indeed be hard to grasp.

[cstromberger]

i remember that too! well said.

[newpdog]

I agree. Sharing small moments and meeting people face-to-face and feeling as if you're lifelong friends after just a few hours- these are qualities hard for younger people to relate to. Something has truly been lost.

[MyNameIsNotHereNow]

aaagggh, I love this version so much! My favourite of all adaptations! It's so different from that tiresome overrated Disney film, it captures the feel of those endless summer days... beautiful.

[FatherMcKenize]

alice looks like david gilmour

[tytyverymuch]

You're right, she totally does! Gorgeous!

[AlexanderBlok]

you can get it on amazon the uk amazon.

it's not expensive at all, just about 10£

it's really worth it. great take on the material

[kwgybo345]

can anybody PLEASE tell me where to get this freaking MASTERPIECE! i used to love the disney version when i was a kid and now i hate it because of the way they treated the characters. dying to know how to get it!

[spectralmusic]

I read in Ravi Shankar's biography that he had to get hold of a really crap copy of it just to see it. That's a bit embarressing really, I don't know what the BBC are playing at. Why do they repeat so much new crap, but leave these gems in the archives?

[moxie96]

same here! I saw this full when I was really young on PBS in the 80's in place of the classic movies for the afternoon or it was on a weekend. All I see of it today is in a short clip from Classic Arts showcase. I wish Acorn could release a US DVD friendly version.

[ummmmheyyyy]

that was amazing. i feel like this is the only scene that got carroll's words right.

[Gayjeffrey28]

I love to watch this movie over and over when im down. I feel like her like im in a strange dream.

[kwgybo345]

by the by, if i may ask, where did you buy it or download it?

[westinghouse]

The executioner was the teacher in the Charlie and the Chocolate factory 1971 Movie I think.

[kwgybo345]

omigod, i think he ISS!

[westinghouse]

I entirely agree with you groppi! I detest disney!

[anastasiafellasleep]

merveilleux! at last someone captured and responded to carolls' absurd eerie british sense. where to find though?

[windrix1]

This is so weird.I really am like the girl in the video.

[joeysn7hvn]

Thanx for the vid. really nice of you

[joeysn7hvn]

Music by Ravi Shankar

[mtigers1981]

By the way, does anyone have the 1974 BBC TV version of Alice Through the Looking Glass? The one with future Dr. Who girl Sarah Sutton as Alice? If so, could you maybe post it onto YouTube?

I'd be very grateful if you did-I've been wanting to see it for some time now!

[TheSteptoeYard]

The guy in the top hat, the White Rabbit, is Wilfrid Brambell, aka Albert Steptoe. Any chance you can upload more of his scenes please? Thanks!

[pgy002]

Why does Alice seem so doom and gloom in this?

[groppi]

Gloomy Alice is not cute actually, but somehow cute in the end. In other words, this version attracts me because of its anti-Disney style; without merrily singing and dancing. I even think it accurately embodies the touch of crazy humor of the novel.

[Genesis28v12]

this version rocks!