# Coolest "Alice in Wonderland" ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 4, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826 "2003-12-04T00:15:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/1 "2003-12-04T00:15:22Z")
Woo hoo! Jonathan Miller’s 1966 BBC production of _Alice in Wonderland_ is finally out on DVD!..after never, as far as I know, having been available on videotape! Here’s a few of the casting highlights, so’s you can see why I’m so manic and free with the exclamation points: **John Gielgud** as the Mock Turtle! **Peter Cook** as the Mad Hatter! **Michael Redgrave** as the Caterpillar! **Wilfrid Brambell** as the White Rabbit! **Leo McKern** as the Duchess! **Peter Sellers** as the King of Hearts! **Malcolm Muggeridge** as the Gryphon! **Eric Idle** and **Angelo Muscat** in Uncredited Roles! No make-up or animal suits or huge playing-card costumes…Miller dressed his characters like Victorian ladies and gentlemen. It’s been called an “Alice” for grown-ups, as well as a fine depiction of what it must have been like to be incarcerated in a Victorian madhouse! According to the _DVD Verdict_ website, it “has the creepy, perverse, hyperreal atmosphere of a dream. The deep-focus, black and white photography is excellent, as is Ravi Shankar’s sitar music (which Miller chose because it reminded him of the droning quality of insects on a hot summer’s day). In fact, the film looks and sounds like an un-psychedelic, '60s-era head-trip. What little comedy there is relies more on Lewis Carroll’s illogical riddles and puns than on character or shtick.” I’ve been hearing about this version for years, and the DVD better by God show up in my Christmas stocking. Anyone here seen it? Am I going to be as pleased as I think I am? ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/2 "2003-12-04T00:34:39Z")
I saw the thread title and thought, “B. Toklas”? Sorry, I have no real opinion on the DVD. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/3 "2003-12-04T01:15:19Z")
I saw the thread title and immediately thought about the sitcom Alice. And my response to that would have been that the coolest episode was when Vera became a late-night radio host and Mel fell in love with her voice and on-air persona, not knowing who she really was. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/4 "2003-12-04T01:29:49Z")
. . . and I thought “Roosevelt Longworth . . .” Everyone else hates it, but I enjoyed the 1933 Paramount version. It’s . . . well, it’s _creepy_. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/5 "2003-12-04T01:44:53Z")
Ten cue veddy much. Just added _Alice_ to my Netflix queue. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/6 "2003-12-04T02:06:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*. . . and I thought “Roosevelt Longworth . . .” > > Everyone else hates it, but I enjoyed the 1933 Paramount version. It’s . . . well, it’s _creepy_. \*\* I always think of the Mad Hatter as Edward Everett Horton, and vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/7 "2003-12-04T02:15:22Z")
My first thought was “Well, the chick who owned the restaurant, of course.” ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/8 "2003-12-04T02:36:44Z")
Okay, youse wise guys. One thread-title change coming up. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/9 "2003-12-04T04:16:32Z")
Well, . . . I may seek it out, but I don’t think it’s possible to do a decent dramatic version of Alice. It’s too much a literary word and doesn’t translate well. In addition, Walt Disney hit the nail on the head when he said, “Alice has no heart.” She is not really a character. The only half-decent one I saw was the one in the 80s starring Richard Burton’s daughter, and that worked because they added a frame tale. Both the Alice books are truly great, but they just don’t work on the screen. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/10 "2003-12-04T04:27:02Z")
There have been a lot of Alice’s. I haven’t seen them all, but I’ve seen quite a few. Most are too full of themselves, too boring, or too strange. I’m going to go the unpopular route (or mayb the too popular route) and champion Disney’s version from 1951. Yep, Disney. I realize that they trashed Tenniel’s illustrations and “Disnreyfied” everything, and they switched around the story. But fer cryin’ out loud, _every_ version changes the story! And Disney’s version was entertaining, retained a siurprising number of Carroll’s original poems and songs (watch it again, and pay attention), indulged in Carrollian wordplay (“The Two did it!” “The Deuce, you say!”), and was genuinely entertaining without freaking out the kids. And it’s never boring. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/11 "2003-12-04T04:37:10Z")
Nah, the coolest one has to be Bill Osco’s 1976 version: It’s X-rated, and it’s a musical–with costumes, and choreographed dance tunes and really catchy music and the corniest jokes imaginable. For some reason, IMDB’s listing for it seems to have vanished. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/12 "2003-12-04T04:39:47Z")
I definitely remember [url=“[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088693/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088693/)”]this one[/'url] from when I was growing up. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/13 "2003-12-04T08:05:57Z")
My vote goes to Jan Svankmajer’s [live action/stop-motion animation version](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095715/). Very bizarre. Which is a somewhat redundant thing to say when Svankmajer is involved. “…said the white rabbit.” ---
**Author:** ![acrossthesea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@acrossthesea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acrossthesea)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/14 "2003-12-04T11:16:44Z")
I want to get that czech one that Anamorphic just mentioned. It sounds like the freakiest one imaginable. I’ve been interested in seeing the 1966 one for awhile, too, so I’m glad to hear it’s out on dvd. My favorite previously was the 1983 Kate Burton one and that always stuck in my head because she was dressed up like Alice and SMOKING, which was very disturbing to me as a 4 year old. Alice in Wonderland is my favorite story and always has been…I was disappointed that the Alice game (where Alice has been in a mental hospital and goes back to save a creep show wonderland) was so much less than I hoped it would be. They’re supposedly going to make a movie of that game but that’s a bad idea in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/15 "2003-12-04T11:27:06Z")
**Hurrah**!!! Thanks **Ike** , haven’t seen that one. **Anamorphic** , yessss!!! Had no idea that was out on DVD (well, had to order it from Canada). Sock monsters and raw slithering meat!! Rusty screws in jars of liquid!!! aaaaaaaaaaaagghhh!!! ---
**Author:** ![BrandyFine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrandyFine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandyFine)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/16 "2003-12-04T13:17:45Z")
I can’t watch Disney butcher poor Alice. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, so if it can’t be done right I’d rather not see it. Best version I’ve ever seen is a British production from the early 70s that I saw as a child in the movies - I’m pretty sure this is the one [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/630428831X/qid=1070543432/sr=1-5/ref=sr\_1\_5/102-0281948-0040936?v=glance&s=video](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/630428831X/qid=1070543432/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/102-0281948-0040936?v=glance&s=video) Looks like Peter Sellers was the March Hare, cool. The first review is exactly what I would have said. No other version has yet come near this close to being what I would call faithful. It will be really neat to see the one mentioned in the first post though. Thanks for the heads up Ike. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/17 "2003-12-04T13:39:04Z")
Leo McKern as the Duchess - that alone is worth the price of admission. Wasn’t Gary Cooper in the Paramount version? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/18 "2003-12-04T17:26:38Z")
Yeah, the only still I’ve seen from this is one of McKern in drag, clutching a baby pig. I’m particularly enthused about seeing Cook as the Hatter…he was SUCH a great Devil in the original _Bedazzled_… and Brambell (Paul’s grandad, the “incredibly clean old man” from _A Hard Day’s Night_) playing the White Rabbit. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/19 "2003-12-04T17:31:42Z")
The original “Bedazzled” was on TCM last week (thank God for a satellite dish). ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826/20 "2003-12-04T17:51:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dijon Warlock \* > \*\*Nah, the coolest one has to be Bill Osco’s 1976 version: > > It’s X-rated, and it’s a musical–with costumes, and choreographed dance tunes and really catchy music and the corniest jokes imaginable. > > For some reason, IMDB’s listing for it seems to have vanished. \*\* IMDB has a way of opting out of showing adult movie titles. I think this one qualifies. DD [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-alice-in-wonderland-ever/216826.md?page=2)