I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
View MoreAmazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
View MoreExcellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.
View MoreThrough painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
View MoreThis early feature-length adaptation of the children's classic canters briskly through Lewis Carroll's book, progressing episode by episode from one well-remembered tableau to another and sticking satisfactorily faithfully to the events, imagery and strangeness of the original (the latter two elements through skillful costume design and by making liberal use of verbatim passages of Carroll's dialogue on the title cards).A.A.Young's direction occasionally threatens to be more visually inventive that it ever actually proves to be, and he rather loses control during the croquet game, when he plainly didn't know how to visually organise all those extras milling about the screen for its duration. Although there are a few special effects, the decision to film most of the action out of doors in attractive rural settings and on the coast greatly enhances the charm of the piece. The more fantastic elements of the original are conveyed with the help of imaginatively designed settings and props like the oversized signpost to Wonderland and the enormous mushrooms among which we find the caterpillar smoking his hookah. It's to whoever designed the costumes that the greatest kudos are undoubtedly due. The costumes for the actors portraying the Duchess and the Mock Turtle deserve particular mention; while the lobsters emerging from the ocean to dance the Lobster Quadrille resemble something from a sixties sci-fi movie.Rangy fifteen year-old Viola Savoy's Alice ambles through the far-fetched proceedings with appropriately nonchalant good humour.
View MoreIt takes some time getting used to silent movies. There's not a lot of text in this film, so the "over acting" according to today's standards, require some patience of the viewer. However, this is a well thought out version of the story, the scenes are played out with trick effects such as perspective, and remembering the year of production, it's very well made. The only thing that really bothered me was the treatment of animals, both real, such as the garden rabbit, and the (I assume) fake, such as the flamingo and hedgehog. Otherwise, a movie well worth watching, especially if you're a Lewis Carroll/Alice-fan. Time well spent.
View MoreAs the longhaired must know by now, this German Count has a likeness for the non-conventional (for example, my dearest German fat heiresses) and a particular and aristocratic taste for bizarre beauty. With this in mind, then you even can comprehend why this Teutonic aristocrat loves this film so much; it's one of the most remarkable silent discoveries from the last visit to the Schloss cinema.The film is "Alice In Wonderland", a beautiful (always at the top of this aristocrat's criteria ) and astounding film adaptation of the well-know oeuvre by Herr Lewis Carroll. This film was the third film adaptation of that novel and was directed by W. W. Young. For this German count, it is among the best that he has watched with or without a monocle in his eyes.The film, starred by the youngster Viola Savoy, is a continuous show of incredible and amazing costumes (which would be perfect for an aristocratic fancy-dress ball ). The pageantry enhances the fantastic spirit of the novel and displays a marvelous, bizarre and unique world full of fantasy and imagination that can be enjoyed by youngsters or even serious aristocrats.The film has not completely survived until modern days (and it's a shame, certainly). In spite of this, the audience will enjoy the animal characters depicted in the film, which include a bizarre Cheshire cat, an astounding caterpillar or a funny Queen Of Hearts. This last one, as it happens with many of the aristocracy, has a special hobby. Namely it's to cut off their subject's heads (this German Count doesn't understand why some of you are shocked when this aristocrat merely whips his servants ). There's a special gallery of characters from dreamland.The film has few special or optical effects. But in this case they are not necessary. Thanks to the craftsmanship provided by the art designer that's shown in the film, we have proof that in those silent days that imagination and originality is the only thing that counts in order to achieve marvelous results.Thanks to its imagination, costume designer, boldness and skillfulness Herr W. W. Young film direction, "Alice In Wonderland" it is, for this German Count, the best film adaptation of the Herr Carroll's novel. It's a special delicacy: an early silent film masterpiece that every silent film fan shouldn't miss.And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count has an appointment with that foolish heart Queen.Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/
View MoreFinding a recorded copy may be hard to do, but not impossible. There are at least two versions that have survived from the original, both lasting approximately forty minutes. The original was a six-reeler, or about an hour long, which may also have included scenes from the "Through the Looking Glass" story. Minimally, what has survived is missing the defining scene early in the story where Alice grows very big and than small, then later the Mad Hatter scene. We know that these scenes were originally included because Grosset & Dunlap published a book version in 1916, illustrated with pictures from this film. This shows that in addition there was also an Oyster, Humpty Dumpty, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, chess room, and a Queen Alice Banquet scene, but whether as part of this film or another is not clear.Viola Savoy was fifteen years old at the time, and a well known child actress for having toured the nation for several years in the road-show version of "The Littlest Rebel." Whether she was the first to perform the role of Virgie in that play, or not, clearly she was the most popular, which fact contributed to her being cast as Alice in this film. As interviewed in 1912 she had been acting since infancy in over one hundred and twenty different productions. After the "Alice" film, however, she appeared in no more than one or two more films before disappearing from the pages of history.Attempting to evaluate the quality of a circa 1915 "photoplay" rather assumes too much. The industry was yet very young. The notion of "close-up" photography was only beginning to be experimented with and hence, more often, the camera just cranked away from a fixed position, rather like someone sitting in the audience of a typical stage play. While plenty of creativity went into the costuming and set design for this film, the camera remains conspicuous for its lack of imagination. Everything is shot from a distance, and as a result, often there is too much going on to keep track of, and the more subtle features cannot be seen. The nuances of facial expression, therefore, have a forced and exaggerated quality which does nothing to flatter the actress. Additionally, the restricted camera position forces her to be upstaged in all too many scenes. Even so, it is a hauntingly captivating film, delightful to see.
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