Product Details

• Released on: 2002-10-01
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: NTSC, Import
• Original language: English
• Running time: 90 minutes

From Amazon.com
This gorgeously designed theater production of Lewis Carroll's world-famous fantasy, based on a famous production from the 1930s, features an astonishing array of notable actors. Richard Burton is quietly touching as the doddering White Knight; Eve Arden spits out commands as the bloodthirsty Queen of Hearts; Donald O'Connor plays the woeful Mock Turtle as a jaunty standup comedian; and such varied talents as Colleen Dewhurst, Nathan Lane, Maureen Stapleton, James Coco, Andre Gregory, and Geoffrey Holder fill out Carroll's phantasmagoria as Kate Burton (Richard's daughter) plays the title character in the classic blue-and-white dress and blond tresses. All the sets and costumes are meticulously based on the illustrations from the original books (the story line is a mix of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass), capturing artist John Tenniel's elaborate creations with zest. Though the story lacks dramatic action, the wordplay and visuals are delightful. --Bret Fetzer

Video Details
From the elaborate Broadway revival of the 1932 Eva Le Gallienne/Florida Friebus production comes a whimsical retelling of the Lewis Carroll classic. In director Kirk Browning's enchanting adaptation, Alice's adventure in the land of fantasy is presented within a contemporary framework. An all-star ensemble cast--including Richard Burton and his daughter Kate--makes this a stellar version of a truly timeless tale and a great theatre treat for young and old alike.

On the DVD
Performer and film credits
Broadway theater previews
Title archive
Historical liner notes

Customer Reviews

Everyone walked through this abbreviated quasi-musical.
The play is based on two books by Lewis Carroll "Alice's Adventures Underground" and "Through the Looking-glass." There have been several presentations, each with it own strength or weakness. This is a 1993 TV presentation of which you can see that lots of time and energy went in to it,

We go through the story at light speed only to slow down for a few badly placed songs. This presentation should be an embarrassment to everyone involved. However if you did not know any better a log of Lewis Carroll's humor and way with words comes through. There is a little television trickery that actually helps the presentation.

You would think with such a great cast that it could not fail:
Kate Burton as Alice (at 26 years old)
Austin Pendleton as White Rabbit
Richard Burton as White Knight
James Coco as King of Hearts
Tony Cummings as Knave of Hearts
Alan Weeks as Tweedledee
André De Shields as Tweedledum
Eve Arden as Queen of Hearts
Maureen Stapleton as White Queen
Colleen Dewhurst as Red Queen
Andre Gregory as Mad Hatter
Geoffrey Holder as Cheshire Cat
Zeljko Ivanek as March Hare
Nathan Lane as Mouse
Donald O'Connor as Mock Turtle
Swen Swenson as Gryphon
Fritz Weaver as Caterpillar
Richard Woods as Humpty-Dumpty

Bottom line this presentation takes an effort to get trough.

It's a bad sign when the sets are better than the actors.
This particular "Alice" has a long history. It started as a hit play in the early '40s, was resurrected in the late '70s with Kate Burton in the title role, and then ported to Great Performances on PBS - the latter of which is what we have here on DVD. Presumably it worked a little better on stage, and probably a little better in the '40s, too. Sadly, it runs through both "Alice" stories in a breakneck 90 minutes' time, and much of the acting is truly lamentable - some of the actors are so bad, I actually thought that might be an intentional joke, as with Austin Pendleton's monotonistic White Rabbit! Probably the best of them are Donald O'Connor - the only one of the lot who can actually sing! - as the Mock Turtle, Geoffrey Holder as the Cheshire Cat, and Richard Burton as the White Knight. The tea party crew is fairly good as well. The rest...well, the sooner forgotten about, the better.

Despite the acting, the sets and costumes are gorgeous - they're mostly made (with the exception of the Cat) to look like Tenniel woodcuts. That makes it quite a visual treat, if nothing else. This isn't the worst "Alice" I've seen, but it's not very high on my list. Still, it has enough good points it's probably worth a rental on a rainy week...just don't expect anything too incredible.

Great Find
I remember watching this on PBS when I was a kid and I was so excited to see this on DVD. It's a great production with a great cast. I like that the play features both Alice in Wonderland AND Through the Looking Glass. As a Lewis Carroll fan I was happy to see how closely the play follows the books.