TrueHello
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
Motompa
Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.
Hadrina
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Spondonman
First time I saw this was on December 28th 1966 which was its first broadcast on BBC1, the next time was exactly 42 years later on a pristine BFI DVD. I was worried my childhood memories might be shattered by discovering it was simply a trippy '60's cop-out, but I needn't have been. Sure, it's a product of its time same as everything is, but it was and remains a unique filming of the classic tale by Lewis Carroll and imho the best version made so far.Young Alice is transported by dream one sunny summer day to Wonderland where many adventures befall her. Whether Carroll was attracted or not to little girls ("I like all children, except boys") and whether that explains why his diaries had some ripped out pages at key moments is something we'll never know for sure now - I think he was merely a repressed idealist – but he created a timeless story for children of all ages. His 90 page painstakingly hand written original edition which he gave to Alice in 1864 as "a Christmas gift to a dear child in memory of a summer day" is currently online from the British Museum and well worth a read.Jonathan Miller's erudite sharp focus black and white production assumed that it was really meant for satirical adults, however it still managed to impress this particular 7 year old and especially his 5 year old wife to be and their counterparts 42 years later. Favourite bits: Michael Redgrave as the Caterpillar and John Geilgud as the Mock Turtle; Alice's walk with Duchess Leo McKern down the path through the woods followed by the camera crew weaving in and out of the trees and forward and backward; almost every scene has something of note though. Maybe I could have done with a bit more of Ravi Shankar's exceptional tunes but no worries. It's a pity John Bird's and Peter Sellers' post Goon Show improvisations were left in - it's no good Miller saying it was in the spirit of Carroll when their obvious inspiration was Spike Milligan, just one eg from 1954's Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler Of Bexhill On Sea: "Suddenly! Nothing happened! But it happened suddenly mark you!" And I still wonder how much the production influenced the Beatles with their image for 1967? Apparently the finished film was considered too long by the BBC and 30 minutes were chopped off. Off with their heads - all those potential Pinteresque moments lost!This is something to treasure: an arty BBC film that was genuinely arty, entertaining and still eminently watchable generations later. It almost managed to capture the illusive illusionary qualities of dreams and those seemingly beautifully languid sunny days of the '60's – both 19th and 20th century.
Steven Capsuto
This is an experimental TV-movie from the BBC's "Wednesday Play" anthology. That series was always willing to risk trying something different, and this ambitious, low-budget "Alice" is certainly different. I don't exactly *enjoy* this film, but it's certainly fascinating.I appreciate it as an experiment in what television could do. I admire the cast of iconic and talented Britons who wouldn't normally coincide in the same project: Peter Sellers, John Gielgud, Leo McKern (in drag as the Duchess), Michael Redgrave, Peter Cook, Wilfrid Brambell, Alan Bennett, Malcolm Muggeridge, etc.I also admire the creativity it took to imagine this quintessentially British tale accompanied by Ravi Shankar music.Some viewers may find the film too creepy and surreal, but the original book is pretty disturbing to begin with. This film is fairly incoherent, but then so is the book, which follows the ever-shifting logic of a dream.The biggest problem (aside from pacing that now seems too leisurely) is that Miller's production assumes you already know what's going on. For instance, it assumes you know that the two men dressed as... um... men are actually the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle.In other words, this is an "Alice" for people who are already overdosed on adaptations of "Alice," and who might appreciate a weirdly different take on the familiar story. Or to narrow that audience a bit, people age 12 and up who might appreciate a different take on the story.
P. H.
I'm just writing to disagree with previous comment which complained about Alice's dialogue /expressions not matching upto accepted conversational practices. I think it's obvious that the whole mesmeric quality of this version was intended to portray how things disjointedly happen when you are actually dreaming. Sometimes, you are just observing the bizarre things going on around you (when dreaming)and your thoughts may contact other figures who are there even if your mouth isn't actually doing anything.Basically, when dreaming anything can happen, so to knock this adaptation because it wasn't made like any other prog' following conventional methods is pretty crass.If you want a pretty accurate portrayal of what a dream 'could' look like on the screen then this is a very good attempt. Also, to get all these seasoned players together in one film is a fine achievement-Peter Cook steels the show for me!
jeremiahclayton-1
There have been several films that attempted to bring the viewer into the dream of Lewis Carroll's Alice.. but none have succeeded like Jonathan Miller's 1966 BBC Alice in Wonderland. A legendary cast.. without costumes.. improvises Lewis Carroll's work with an unsettling brilliance. The result is a film that casts a new light.. or shadow.. on a story beloved by millions. A dark environment both in aesthetics and passion.. Jonathan Miller recreates Alice's dream into a nightmare. One that doesn't allow the viewer to get comfortable unless they can accept the evil undercurrent that moves the story forward.. or backwards. The film is cast with many legends of the screen and stage.. all of whom provide performances worthy of the legend accolade. The character of Alice is represented differently than in traditional adaptations. She seems almost removed from the "reality" taking place before her.. even at times when she is involved in the "reality" as much as the characters of her dream-world. Jonathan Miller's Alice in Wonderland for BBC television is a must-see for anyone who enjoyed Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass or anyone who enjoys low budget films that are improvised into timeless masterpieces.
