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Alice in Wonderland (1966)

Alice in Wonderland (1966)

Starring: Anne-Marie Mallik , Peter Cook , Sir Michael Redgrave , Sir John Gielgud , Peter Sellers

Directed by: Jonathan Miller

Produced by: Jonathan Miller

Written by: Lewis Carroll

Take a psychedelic look at the incomprehensible world of grown-ups in Lewis Carroll's surreal fantasy, populated by an amazing cast of characters, including Sir Michael Redgrave's Caterpillar, Sir John Gielgud's Mock Turtle, Leo McKern's Duchess and Peter Sellers' King of Hearts. A sumptuous BBC
production, faithful to Carroll's text, with Victorian Gothic bite. Music by Ravi Shankar. Black and white. Extras: Fascinating commentaries; the silent 1903 film.

Item Number: 15506

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Format:
DVD Fullscreen
Region:
1 - More Details
Run time:
About 1 1/4 Hours
Number of Discs:
1
Special Features:

Black & White
English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired
• Director's Commentary
• Cecil Hepworth's 1903 silent film version of Alice in Wonderland
• Dennis Potter's 1965 biopic Alice about the real-life Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Carroll's creation
• Ravi Shankar Plays for Alice - BBC feature about Shankar's score
• Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery

Screen legends Peter Sellers, John Gielgud, Michael Redgrave, Peter Cook and Leo McKern star in this haunting and surreal adaptation of Lewis Carroll's masterpiece directed by Jonathan Miller with a original music by Ravi Shankar.

In this Victorian gothic masterpiece, filmed for the BBC in 1966, an enigmatic young Alice wanders through a Victorian landscape populated by the most bizarre and astonishing characters. She gently questions each one in turn, not so subtly mocking their middle-class English values. Packed with extras from the BBC vault, this Alice in Wonderland is a feast for the imagination!

In the glorious English summer of 1966, Jonathan Miller directed a version of Alice in Wonderland for the BBC that has become legendary - legendary for its cast, which includes John Gielgud, Michael Redgrave, Peter Sellers, Peter Cook, Leo McKern and Alan Bennett, and legendary for its unorthodox approach. There's a Ravi Shankar score (which may have triggered psychedelic associations), but actually the film is slavishly faithful to the book's text. It's just that the fantasy characters we know so well from the book's illustrations have changed back to their Victorian archetypes. So the Queen and King of Hearts (Alison Leggat, Peter Sellers) are now Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and the Knave is one of the less productive members of their large brood. Searching for a suitable face for the Duchess, Miller needed to look no further than Leo McKern. Miller's partners from Beyond the Fringe, Peter Cook and Alan Bennett, show up as the Mad Hatter and the Mouse who tells the dry historical tale, respectively. Michael Redgrave, who balked at the notion of literally impersonating a caterpillar, was delighted to hear that he was to match wits with Alice (Anne-Marie Mallik) while sitting comfortably in Sir John Soane's Museum.

Alice --- Anne-Marie Mallik
Nurse --- Freda Dowie
Alice's Sister --- Jo Maxwell Muller
White Rabbit --- Wilfrid Brambell
Mouse --- Alan Bennett
Dodo --- Finlay Currie
Lory --- Geoffrey Dunn
Duck --- Mark Allington
Eaglet --- Nicholas Evans
Young Crab --- Julian Jebb
Caterpillar --- Michael Redgrave
Frog Footman --- John Bird
Fish Footman / 2nd Gardener --- Anthony Trent
Duchess --- Leo McKern
Peppercook --- Avril Elgar
Mad Hatter --- Peter Cook
March Hare --- Michael Gough
Dormouse --- Wilfrid Lawson
1st Gardener --- Gordon Gostelow
Knave of Hearts --- Peter Eyre
Queen of Hearts --- Alison Leggatt
King of Hearts --- Peter Sellers
Mock Turtle --- John Gielgud
Gryphon --- Malcolm Muggeridge
Executioner --- David Battley
Foreman of the Jury --- Charles Lewsen


Directed by Jonathan Miller
Written by Lewis Carroll
Produced by Jonathan Miller
Original Music by Ravi Shankar
Cinematography by Dick Bush
Film Editing by Pam Bosworth
Costume Design by Kenneth Morey