Alice in Wonderland Double Feature

I have, probably, an unhealthy relationship with Alice in Wonderland. I've read the book more times than I should have, and I collect all the adaptations to film that I am able to get my hands on. I love the story and I love to see what people do with it. It's a shame modern interpretations are often so poor, but that's another thing altogether.The films on this DVD are fascinating.The first is the 1915 silent film- which came out only 12 years after the very first Alice in Wonderland film. While I'm not usually a big fan of silent films, because I don't believe they do very well at pacing (because they have to break up the film with title cards to give you some perspective on what's happening), and I think a lot is lost with the acting, and ambiance, if there is no sound. Anyway, I won't meander on that, but I really thought the silent, 1915, Alice in Wonderland film on this DVD is actually the better of the two films. It both has ambition (they didn't do a whole lot with special effects, but the costumes in particular are actually very ambitious), and it hits the notes of Alice in Wonderland as well as you could expect for a silent movie that came out before the Disney film that inspired every other Alice film after it for a very long time.It could just be that I love Alice in general, and I'm usually fine with any interpretation of it, and how safe they actually played the silent film in narrative is maybe why I'm biased to say it's my favorite of the two, but the actual film stock quality of the silent film is also easier to watch.The 1931 film, however (while I still like it too- for different reasons), is much harder to watch. At times it made me wonder if anyone working on the film had actually read the book or if they were winging it. Again, remember, this film is before the Disney film (as well as the much higher quality 1933 film which starred several famous actors and still sports much better film making quality over all) so they weren't inspired by much. It is possible the 1931 film makers saw the silent films, as there are times it seems they copied it (and I think one flash back shot used as stock footage from the 1915 silent film).In the 1931 Alice film the acting is probably the worst acting I've seen in an Alice in Wonderland film ever. I've seen a lot of versions of it, from the one where a lot of British actors wanted to perform extended monologues, to the more famous Disney film which takes pieces from both Alice books and melds them together. Again, though, I have no issue with interpretations. Acting in Alice films has never been a focus because the story is so surreal on it's own the acting doesn't entirely matter. It just needs to fit. However, the actors in the 1931 film are either not used to film acting or they are not used to acting in a film with sound. It's so broad and there are constant times when actors will forget to look forward and you see them intentionally turn towards the cameras to deliver their lines. It's really a marvel, and I love that this was saved forever. It really shows how far film has come. Even if these ideas were more prevalent in the 1930s than I know, it still time capsules an era of film making that cannot exist anymore because we're now grown to just know certain things about film making even if we don't make films.Last, film (DVD) wise the silent film is surprisingly the easier of the two to watch. There could be a lot of reasons for this, one of those being a single person could have had the film stock for the 1915 film for years and kept it preserved quite well, and the film from 1931 was just not taken care of so the transfer can only be so good. I don't know, but the 1931 film, at times, is really hard to watch because it breaks up a lot. I recall this happening the most around the beginning of the film, but the quality of the film never gets better per say. It's still often blurry. I don't get the impression, at any rate, that there was a lot of money to make the 1931 film. It's even possible it was miserable making it, but I am only speculating that based on how the film looks and the type of acting that is presented.Anyway, all in all I really enjoyed this and am glad to have purchased it. It's a fascinating look back at a time in film that no longer exists, but also both of these are interesting takes on the story- even if they are both mostly playing it safe.

This is a must have for collectors like myself. If you are not a collector of Alice in Wonderland films, I do not recommend.The 1915 silent film is absolutely wonderful. The costumes are amazing, and the film was done beautifully. The 1931 film on the other hand, is completely terrible! The conversations are choppy, the scenes are done terribly and have no proper transitioning, and the costumes are hideously horrible! But I loved it just the same. Fellow collectors will understand.

If you know nothing about Wonderland you are better off reading the books, or watching the Disney cartoon. If you are like me and can’t get enough Wonderland, or you love the style of silent movies, I think this is worth checking out.As far as the movies are concerned, the 1915 version is probably 4/5 stars for me. The 1931 version, I have to give a 1/5, unfortunately it’s not a good movie, but I’ve definitely seen worse. In my eyes the 1915 version is the pinnacle of silent era costumes, they look otherworldly, and the 1931 version contains trick or treat costumes at best.As far as the release itself is concerned, I do have some problems with it. The picture quality, is okay in 1915, but it looks pretty mediocre for the 1931 version. Although the 1931 version has sound, it is some of the worst sound quality I’ve ever heard. I was only able to make out about half of what they were saying, and I only made out that much, because they used quotes from the book, my brother who I watched it with could only make out 1 or 2 sentences in the entire movie. And unfortunately subtitles aren’t an option.These movies are also public domain. They exist both in higher quality on YouTube. I like having physical copies of my movies, so this DVD is good for me, but these aren’t even the best versions of the movies. I don’t feel right to criticize the seller for making a low quality DVD in an era where the internet was more primitive, in a time where it was either his copy, or no copy at all, but this product, alongside having issues of its own, hasn’t aged well.As a fan of physical media, I’m glad I bought it, but I don’t recommend it if you don’t care about that. But if you are a die hard Wonderland geek, or interested in silent movies, be sure to check out the 1915 version in one form or another.

This disc offers two early versions of Alice in Wonderland. The first, a silent film, does a passable job. There are just about no special effects by modern standards (some double-exposure opticals), but the fantasy elements all come from elaborate costuming. That was as good as any since then, and the Alice story came through quite well within the silent idiom. It's just not an idiom I enjoy all that much.The second was an early talkie. Maybe because film technology then couldn't capture delicate contrasts, maybe because of closeness to the silent era, this still relied on exaggerated makeup to convey facial expressions. And, unfortunately, the cheery and chipper Alice in this rendering missed the restrained bafflement I find so central to the Victorian girl's mien. (In that respect, it brings to mind an  unfortunate  later version.)So, neither is the worst I've seen, but I didn't find them at all memorable, either. Interesting to the Alice completist, perhaps, but I see no need for a second viewing.-- wiredweird

Both of these versions of 'Alice in Wonderland' are worth watching if only for academic comparison. I believe I've seen every filmed incarnation of Lewis Carroll's bizarre, nonsensically cerebral parable (none of them, even Disney's hilarious romp, up to the source material). But kudos to those who keep trying to do the story justice- clearly it's been a bee in the bonnet of Icarian producers for a more than a century now. Video quality is surprisingly decent by Alpha standards. A solid 3 1/2-star experience.

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Un regalo para mi esposa le cautivo tanto que la conserva aún en su colección