Alice in Wonderland (1903)

The first-ever film version of Lewis Carroll's tale has recently been restored by the BFI National Archive from severely damaged materials. Made just 37 years after Lewis Carroll wrote his novel and eight years after the birth of cinema, the adaptation was directed by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow, and was based on Sir John Tenniel's original illustrations. In an act that was to echo more than 100 years later, Hepworth cast his wife as the Red Queen, and he himself appears as the Frog Footman. Even the Cheshire cat is played by a family pet.

With a running time of just 12 minutes (8 of which survive), Alice in Wonderland was the longest film produced in England at that time. Film archivists have been able to restore the film's original colours for the first time in over 100 years.

Music: 'Jill in the Box', composed and performed by Wendy Hiscocks.

This restoration was supported by The Headley Trust and The Pilgrim Trust.

To find out more about the film, visit http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/i...

All titles on the BFI Films channel are preserved in the vast collections of the BFI National Archive. To find out more about the Archive visit http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collect...

• Category

  Film & Animation

[Drwhofanindatardis]

Still better than Tim Burton's version

[spitzbubezumquadrat]

weird to think about the fact that everybody in this movie is dead now even the children would be way over 110 years old now

[cinemaman222]

great film for it's time and had a great shrinking and growing affect. 3 stars for 1903

[OutThere2017]

well they are alive and well for us to remember in this antique work of art.

[OutThere2017]

So then Disney's is the closest version? :) Good to know cuz' I love it. Only I don't know how old Alice is supposed to be in the original story.

[OutThere2017]

One must appreciate how filmography started to fully appreciate how far its come up. Good for the people who made this film. They left doors open to us.

[Liam Baillargeon]

but it's still fun to watch.

[Katistic1]

I've just finished watching the 1970 Alice, I love how its almost exactly the same story as this original. Brilliant.

[ZASIFI CAM]

Humm .. boring

[Joey Rupchock]

Better rabbit movie than hop

[Drwhofanindatardis]

If you look at it really closely you can see it isn't anything like the original story, and doesn't do it justice even though of it's guest stars and pretty CGI. It's just tripe.

[Liam Baillargeon]

what was wrong with Tim Burton's version?