Alice in Wonderland

Timed to coincide with the release of the Tim Burton 3-D adaptation, this rarely seen 1966 BBC production from Jonathan Miller takes a radically different approach to the Lewis Carroll classic, reinventing Wonderland as a warped parallel universe to Victorian England rather than a fanciful sphere of gabby animals (only the Cheshire Cat remains on four legs). Here, the story unfolds amid drawing rooms and hallways of genteel shabby mansions, while the novel's zoomorphic characters are portrayed as the Victorians that Carroll was satirizing. Alice herself has also undergone a serious personality change—Anne-Marie Mallik portrays her as a surly observer who greets her bizarre adventures with an air of studied indifference. While much of the original text has been jettisoned to accommodate a tight running time, the surreal style of this eccentric interpretation offers compensation with deep-focus b&w cinematography by Dick Bush and a wonderfully incongruous sitar-heavy score by Ravi Shankar. Amusing star cameos include Leo McKern in drag as the Duchess, John Gielgud dancing at the seashore as the nostalgic Mock Turtle, and Peter Cook as the daffy Mad Hatter, although Peter Sellers is given little to do as the doddering King of Hearts. DVD extras include Cecil Hepworth's 1903 one-reel version of Alice in Wonderland, Dennis Potter's 1965 biopic Alice (on Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for the title character), and a featurette on Shankar's score. Highly recommended. (P. Hall)