Alice Through the Looking Glass

Despite the widely held opinion that the material is unfilmable, Lewis Carroll's fantasy/nonsense classics Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There (1871) have frequently been dramatized for films and television. While few of these productions have successfully translated Carroll's verbal and intellectual experimentation into cinema, several are of superior quality and hold an under-appreciated place in the history of the fantastic film.

Alice's Adventures in Videoland have been uneven in quality; there has been a tendency toward parody and experimentation, and several fine productions have been broadcast.

A particularly literate video "Alice" was produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Alice Through the Looking Glass (1974) was a detailed dramatization of the second "Alice" book which compensated for the heresies of the 1966 American television musical of the same title. The color videotape production combined human actors and puppetry with costumes and backgrounds based on the original Sir John Tenniel illustrations, and while there was some use of camera magic the focus was primarily on text and characterization.

The script was almost verbatim from the book; only a few minor vignettes, such as that with the Fawn in the Wood with No Name, were deleted. Episodes never previously filmed, including the train trip, the Looking Glass Insects, the rowboat ride with the Sheep, and the fight of the Lion and the Unicorn, were represented. The program captured the wit and melancholy mood, the substance and spirit, of the fantasy masterpiece.

The cast, culled from the best of English theatre, were chosen for their suitability for their roles rather than for their names and celebrity: outstanding were Geoffrey Bayldon's sentimental White Knight, Judy Parfitt's snappy Red Queen and Brenda Bruce's befuddled White Queen. Freddie Jones gave an extraordinarily rich on screen reading of Humpty Dumpty, rivaling Cyril Ritchard's famous recording.

Alice was acidly portrayed by little Sarah Sutton, the youngest actress to play Alice on the sound screen thus far, and the closest to the age of the character in the book ("exactly seven and a half"). Sutton grew up to co-star as a companion of "Doctor Who" on the classic science fiction television serial.

This version of "Alice in Wonderland" has rarely been re-broadcast and is deserving (if extant) of a DVD release.

A different, almost twisted, view of the classic story Alice In Wonderland. I haven't seen this film in years, but I remember it clearly. A memorable, chilling film that should be viewed by anyone who enjoyed Lewis Carroll's story.

This is a faithful adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, made by the BBC in 1973. It's low-budget, but the charm of it is that most of it takes place against superimposed backgrounds based on Tenniel's illustrations (also reminiscent of various early 70s prog rock album covers!). Far preferable, IMHO, to the 2016 Tim Burton-produced travesty, or the rather garish 1998 version.

Alice Through the Looking Glass like Alice in Wonderland is a classic book with a fun clever(if episodic) story, memorable scenes- like with the White Knight, the train scene and Tweedledee and Tweedledum- and colourful characters. Both books are not easy to adapt at all, with the way Lewis Carroll wrote and the atmosphere they have. Of the two Through the Looking Glass is probably the more difficult to adapt because of the structure, the even kookier characters and an even weirder atmosphere than Alice in Wonderland. This adaptation does fall down in the dated and crude-looking special effects, especially the Jabberwocky who is laughable even by today's standards, and a couple of occasions of creaky pacing, but it is very nicely done and is very good as well. As with 1986's Alice in Wonderland, also from BBC, the detail and colour in the production and costume design are most admirable, and the adaptation is nicely shot. Humpty Dumpty, the animated flowers with human faces and the costumes for the chess characters stand out in terms of the production value side of things. The music is charming and whimsical which is fitting for the storytelling and the type of story it is. The adaptation is very faithful to the book, the funny and clever word is like Carroll's writing lifted straight from the pages of the book and the storytelling has a weirdness but also a fun and melancholy that was handled very well. Apart from the occasional creakiness, Alice Through the Looking Glass(1973) is better paced than the 1986 Alice in Wonderland. The cast can't be faulted. Sarah Sutton is one of the most age-suitable Alices of any adaptation of both books, and she is a likable lead. The more experienced members shine a little more though, you cannot imagine a better Humpty Dumpty than that of Freddie Jones- look at what he does with the facial expressions and how he uses his voice- while Geoffrey Bayldon's White Knight is sympathetic and touching, Judy Parfitt is regal and menacing and Brenda Bruce is agreed appropriately befuddled, all seem to be enjoying themselves immensely. All in all, very good and well done. 8/10 Bethany Cox