What with Tim Burton's film of Alice coming out in 2010, perhaps we'll see this film printed onto dvd?
Added 6/17/2009
So many people here have written reviews of this film, that surely shows that there is a demand for it after all this time. My reasons for having such affection for this film are obvious to all who know me, The Jim Henson people made and puppeteered the puppets.
The puppets brought to life Lewis Carroll's world perfectly and only confirms to me that this was a wonderful production, one which is truly inspiring because of how puppetry was used to communicate the more sinister aspects of human nature but also the most beautifully touching ones as well. It was a film which explored the imagination of a gifted man and as unusual as Carroll's story is, unusual in the sense that a man should be so devoted in his affections to one so young, is made understandable given the nature of the man at that time, adults did have this odd view of wanting to preserve innocence, as they were a very puritanical society obsessed with the lose of innocence and probably Carroll's love for Alice was partly tied up with those notions, notions which were inspired out of love, genuine love but the history of their lives, Lewis and Alice, are as much a fantasy as the work which has immortalised them both; we cannot get to the real truth without the books and this film does attempt to tell part of their story while staying true to the books and it does this very well.
This film should be released even if it for a short time, as the puppetry is very captivating and Henson's were making some wonderful creatures during this period, which still impress the eye even now and the cast is the finest, what with a puppet voice cast from Alan Bennett, Fulton Mackay and Julie Walters, I can't help but think that this title should be released, at least during the new Burton film release.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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An odd experience
Added 1/18/2009
This is a very odd film about the relationship between Lewis Carroll and the child who inspired Alice. The movie moves back and forth between Alice's childhood and old age, as she remembers the past, but then it also moves into fantasies which feature the creations from Jim Henson. BTW, these are not cute little muppets. Some of the Henson creatures are characters from Alice in Wonderland, others are dark characters from Alice's fantasies. The problem is, the film sidesteps the questions about Dodgson's relationships with young girls and is mostly fiction. There is a passable subplot about a romance between Alice's assistant and a reporter.
This is not a movie I will probably ever want to watch again, and I'm sorry that I bought it.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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An Unsual Take
Added 8/11/2008
The centenary of Lewis Carroll's death is fast approaching, and the inspiration for Alice (Coral Browne) is coming to America for the festivities. She is a proper old woman with a sharp tongue and with very little interest in revisiting her childhood memories. It is only when an out of work reporter (David Gallagher) enters the picture that she decides to open up, and then only because she is paid for it. The memories are painful because of the strange fascination that Carroll (Ian Holm) had for her (Amelia Shankley), but upon reflection she is able to come to terms with it.
An interesting take on the story of Alice in Wonderland, much the same way that Hook was a new slant on Peter Pan, Dreamchild alternates between childlike fantasy and very mature themes. It opens with Jim Henson's puppets and automatically one assumes the story will be juvenile, but first impressions are decieving. Most of the puppets are rather menacing, evidenced especially in the scene with the Mad Hatter. He looks like he has been decaying for years with his green skin and pinkish eyes. The March Hare is equally terrifying because of his threatening behaviour, matted fur, and large teeth. The scene is very telling of Alice's fear of her past and how much she has neglected it.
The story is set in the 30s and the sets and costumes are done very well. Nothing seems overtly showy and the actors seem comfortable in their surroundings. In the scenes of Alice's childhood, the outdoors are illuminated brightly and beautifully so as to convey a sense of happiness.
The most memorable part of this movie is the ending. It is an emotional close to an unusual story acted brilliantly by Holm, Shankley, and alternately Browne, and credit is due to director Gavin Millar for bringing it together so well.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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A dissertation on childhood memory suppression
Added 1/17/2008
I'm surprised to read some of the reviews here; I saw this movie when it came out, and it struck me as one of the most elegant and clever treatises on molestation-survivor memory suppression. Perhaps I imbued the film with a darker agenda than it actually had, but I don't think so.
The way it unfolded for me, older Alice's increasing anxiety as she nears New York City and the Lewis Carroll tribute is caused by the fact that she is forced to reminisce about her childhood relationship with Carroll more extensively than she has ever allowed herself to. Her rejection of the value of the book he wrote (and of fantasy in general) seemed to me to be a perfect way to show her displaced anger.
So even though the inappropriate relationship was left off-camera, so to speak, I thought the film explored the idea with masterful taste and psychological insight.
I think if you approach the film with the idea in mind that it might be investigating molestation, suppression and denial issues in a creative and artistic way, using a most famous man-and-girl relationship, you may find it rich with added layers of meaning. If this is an area that interests you, you may appreciate Greg Araki's "Mysterious Skin" from 2004. A harsher, less rarified or elegant film, it explores the way the devastating impact of molestation by the same perpetrator on two boys manifests in very different ways years later.
0 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Alice in WonderFilm
Added 7/20/2006
A picturesque and thoughtful movie for grownups whose plot shifts effortlessly between three venues: the 1860s when Lewis Carroll introduced the Wonderland tales to young, dark-haired Alice Liddell and her sisters - the 1930s when the aged Alice Liddell Hargreaves visited the U.S. just months before her death - and the surreal story-world of Alice in Wonderland with the characters that Alice meets portrayed by wickedly designed Jim Henson puppets.
Four affecting performances stand out in my memory: Coral Browne as the starchy old Alice - Amelia Shankley as the young self centered Alice - Nicola Cowper as old Alice's timid companion who becomes the love interest to a young American reporter (portrayed by Peter Gallagher) - and, in a small role, Caris Corfman as a wistful newspaper reporter. But those are only a few of many fine British and American actors (fine - except for one brief but noticeable exception).
My only major gripe is Ian Holm's age. Holm was in his early 50s when he portrayed Rev Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll's real name), while the real Dodgson was closer to 30 when he first told Alice the stories. Yes, there were concerns at the time about the purity of his interest in his child friends, such as Alice, who were also his photography subjects. Ian Holm's age and characterization exaggerate that frightful possibility.
On the positive side, this film took great care in evoking the respective time periods with beautiful sets, costumes and photography that compliment the deeply-felt emotional arc of old Alice revisiting her memories of Dodgson. As a result, the movie is itself an exotic journey into other times and places - with Alice, once again, as protagonist.
5 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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What with Tim Burton's film of Alice coming out in 2010, perhaps we'll see this film printed onto dvd?
Added 6/17/2009
So many people here have written reviews of this film, that surely shows that there is a demand for it after all this time. My reasons for having such affection for this film are obvious to all who know me, The Jim Henson people made and puppeteered the puppets.
The puppets brought to life Lewis Carroll's world perfectly and only confirms to me that this was a wonderful production, one which is truly inspiring because of how puppetry was used to communicate the more sinister aspects of human nature but also the most beautifully touching ones as well. It was a film which explored the imagination of a gifted man and as unusual as Carroll's story is, unusual in the sense that a man should be so devoted in his affections to one so young, is made understandable given the nature of the man at that time, adults did have this odd view of wanting to preserve innocence, as they were a very puritanical society obsessed with the lose of innocence and probably Carroll's love for Alice was partly tied up with those notions, notions which were inspired out of love, genuine love but the history of their lives, Lewis and Alice, are as much a fantasy as the work which has immortalised them both; we cannot get to the real truth without the books and this film does attempt to tell part of their story while staying true to the books and it does this very well.
This film should be released even if it for a short time, as the puppetry is very captivating and Henson's were making some wonderful creatures during this period, which still impress the eye even now and the cast is the finest, what with a puppet voice cast from Alan Bennett, Fulton Mackay and Julie Walters, I can't help but think that this title should be released, at least during the new Burton film release.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
|
An odd experience
Added 1/18/2009
This is a very odd film about the relationship between Lewis Carroll and the child who inspired Alice. The movie moves back and forth between Alice's childhood and old age, as she remembers the past, but then it also moves into fantasies which feature the creations from Jim Henson. BTW, these are not cute little muppets. Some of the Henson creatures are characters from Alice in Wonderland, others are dark characters from Alice's fantasies. The problem is, the film sidesteps the questions about Dodgson's relationships with young girls and is mostly fiction. There is a passable subplot about a romance between Alice's assistant and a reporter.
This is not a movie I will probably ever want to watch again, and I'm sorry that I bought it.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
|
An Unsual Take
Added 8/11/2008
The centenary of Lewis Carroll's death is fast approaching, and the inspiration for Alice (Coral Browne) is coming to America for the festivities. She is a proper old woman with a sharp tongue and with very little interest in revisiting her childhood memories. It is only when an out of work reporter (David Gallagher) enters the picture that she decides to open up, and then only because she is paid for it. The memories are painful because of the strange fascination that Carroll (Ian Holm) had for her (Amelia Shankley), but upon reflection she is able to come to terms with it.
An interesting take on the story of Alice in Wonderland, much the same way that Hook was a new slant on Peter Pan, Dreamchild alternates between childlike fantasy and very mature themes. It opens with Jim Henson's puppets and automatically one assumes the story will be juvenile, but first impressions are decieving. Most of the puppets are rather menacing, evidenced especially in the scene with the Mad Hatter. He looks like he has been decaying for years with his green skin and pinkish eyes. The March Hare is equally terrifying because of his threatening behaviour, matted fur, and large teeth. The scene is very telling of Alice's fear of her past and how much she has neglected it.
The story is set in the 30s and the sets and costumes are done very well. Nothing seems overtly showy and the actors seem comfortable in their surroundings. In the scenes of Alice's childhood, the outdoors are illuminated brightly and beautifully so as to convey a sense of happiness.
The most memorable part of this movie is the ending. It is an emotional close to an unusual story acted brilliantly by Holm, Shankley, and alternately Browne, and credit is due to director Gavin Millar for bringing it together so well.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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