Genres

Visitors Review

Sperry23 2012-05-22 00:15:32

Not your typical Alice

Warning: Contains possible spoilers for anyone not familiar with LewisCarroll's book Alice Through the Looking Glass. (Are there suchpeople?)This is one of the best, if not THE best versions of Through theLooking Glass I've ever seen. Far truer to the story than most, itisn't the usual mish-mash of both books that so many portrayals are. Itwas, however, disappointing that so little of the book was included.Still one must take what one is given.Visually beautiful, the scenery draws the viewer in. The film presentsin a more dreamlike, even psychedelic, manner than the other versions.Much more in keeping with the book.Well-acted by everyone involved, especially Kate Beckinsale (Alice) andSean Phillips (Red Queen). The venerable actors Geoffry Palmer (WhiteKing), and Sir Ian Holm (White Knight) provide touching and amusingperformances, and all provide splendid and new interpretations of theircharacters.Speaking of the Red Queen, her costume, though a great departure fromthe standard interpretation was amazing, as were all the costumes. Iespecially liked the way Alice's clothing changed throughout, enhancingthe surreal feel of the film.One might wish to quibble with the choice of having Alice as the motherdrifted off to sleep while reading the story to her daughter. But Ifind it a refreshing change and quite in keeping with the spirit of thebook. As adults, who wouldn't like to re-live the wonder and amazementof being a 7-year-old first being introduced to Carroll's Wonderland.All in all, a film worth seeing again, especially with older children.

hugmedonkey 2012-05-22 08:22:06

A wonderful Alice movie for the older crowd

I remember loving this extra surreal and abstract version of thealready wacky Alice in Wonderland book when i was a lot younger. But Ihad a small problem with the fact that it is Alices mother who gets tostar in the movie and play Alice, though i always thought that KateBeckinsale did a great job of portraying the character. However nowthat i am older i would definitely say that this is the best version ofAlice in Wonderland that i have ever come across. Alice is perfect. Sheis thoughtful and a little crazy but in a mature way (but not so matureas to ruin the fact that Alice is a little girl). The queens areexcellent, Tweedledum and Tweedledee are great, and the rendition of'The Walrus and the Carpenter' is superb . I would recommend this toeveryone who loves the Alice books, especially adults.

Strutter9 2012-05-20 05:30:06

A unique treat, done in a subtle way for thoughtful people

The film has beautiful scenes. A movie for intelligent adults rather thanchildren, the performances are subtle and allow for the nuances of meaningthat the mathematician author placed into his book. With more obviousacting, the movie would have become clichéd. I found Kate Beckinsale'sportrayal of Alice to be intriguing, particularly her insouciance in theface of insults. Ian Holm, as usual, was masterful, playing the WhiteKnightin a way I had not thought possible. The movie is unique, a treat forwatching many times.

johnstonjames 2012-05-18 15:37:40

Hip And Smart, Inspired Telling.

wow. brilliant. definitely love this adaptation. not only is it veryfaithful to Carroll's original text, but it's wildly inspired and veryhipster funny. not to mention Kate Beckinsale is outstanding and a verynatural Alice.everybody always does 'Wonderland' and throws in elements of 'LookingGlass', there have been very few versions of a true 'Looking Glass'adapted. there was the excellent TV special with Judi Rollin's and theSmothers Twins, but that wasn't very faithful to the story. i mean ithad the wicked witch from 'Hansel and Gretel' in it. there was acartoon with Janet(judy jetson)Waldo and Mr.T. i think the casting inthat speaks for itself.this version of 'Looking Glass' is not only very faithful, it actuallygoes as far as to include the poem of 'The Wasp and the Wig' whichCarroll wrote, but edited out of his original version.this also has one of the funniest recitations of 'The Walrus and theCarpenter' i have ever seen or heard.with everything about this version being so absolutely perfect, i thinkit's really notable that one of the very best things about it is KateBeckinsale's Alice. her interpretation is outstanding. one of the verybest and most personalized. I've never seen a 'Alice' film orentertainment i didn't like (easy to please i guess), and one of thestrangest mystique about the 'Alice' films, i believe, is that evenwhen the adaptations can have some flaws or short comings ( the SteveAllen version for instance), the actresses that play Alice are alwaysexcellent casting. from Henry, Marsh, to Rollins, Fullerton andGregory, ALL the Alices i have seen have been just perfect. and KateBecinsale is no exception. Beckinsale is not "practically perfect".she's perfect.this is a interesting approach too. whereas sometimes Alice is playedby a older actress playing a little girl, the 'Alice' here is actuallyAlice's mother imagining herself in the little girl's adventure. theapproach is inspired and unique and it works beautifully. as a adult, ireally relate to Beckinsale's Alice most of all sometimes, because sheis actually a adult reflecting upon childhood. as a adult who lovesthis story, i can really relate to this approach profoundly. iespecially love the closing moment when Beckinsale's mother looks backat the mirror with a confused, somewhat disturbed and reflective lookon her face. i love the book, but let's face it, it's somewhat of aenigma and confounding.purist will probably quibble with this version, like they do with mostevery version, since supposedly 'Alice' is un-filmable. supposedly.they really shouldn't. i mean what other version would be knowledgeableenough to give us the 'Wasp and the Wig'.enough is enough concerning 'Alice'. i think it's time to give creditto the wondrous legacy of imagination this great story has inspired inentertainment. i feel sorry for those quibbling purist. they don't knowwhat they're missing. i've loved all the versions, i even enjoyed thelackluster Tim Burton dud ( i mean Depp was just terrific).'Wonderland' is one of my favorite places to escape to, and thisversion is great fun. it's intellectualized, lofty and cerebral,without being at all pretentious. it's just the opposite. it's funnyand fanciful.

Robert 2012-05-18 08:49:19

Embarrassingly bad. Really.

One might think that with a stellar cast (Sian Phillips, IanRichardson, et al) and such rich source material, "Alice Through theLooking Glass" would do justice to the beloved book. Alas, it is farfrom the case here.Kate Beckinsale is one of the films biggest liabilities. News to anyproducer or director of any future version of either of Carroll's two"Alice" books: the "Alice" in the stories is between 7-1/2 and 9 yearsof age; NOT in her 20s! The story is absolutely absurd with an "Alice"that old. The internal logic of both stories depend entirely upon Alicebeing mystified by the world of adults. How can this work when SHEHERSELF is an adult?! It just makes her look like an adult with themind of a child.Problem #2: the production values are laughably amateurish, and not ina charming, inventive "Doctor Who" way. The "special effects", such asthey are, are the sort that come as handy plug-ins in Adobe Premiere;"liquid mirror", "tunnel vision", and the like. Also, green-screeningabounds, in its crudest form. Editing is likewise god-awful, with harshcuts, bad segues, lost continuity, etc.Problem #3: the music. It really does sound as if the director got hishands on a CD of "Generic Library Music for Fairy Tales", and simplyplugged the background music in, and as often as possible. There isnone of the creative scoring of great earlier versions of "Alice..."Problem #4: the pacing is glacial. Carroll's wordplay should delightthe ears and enliven the plot. Nothing could be further from the truthhere. It is a stultifyingly boring production, with long passages ofnothing worth paying attention to. There are, thankfully, tworecitations that are *almost* magical (by the "Wasp" and the "WhiteKnight"), but those rely more upon those actors' verbal skills than onthe images they accompany, which are a potpourri of low-tech gimmicks(stop-motion animation, grain effects, etc.)Surely, someone out there could make a worthwhile version of "AliceThrough the Looking Glass". Great cast (well, most of them)notwithstanding, his one is about as far from it as could be imagined.Carroll fans should give it a wide berth.

rls0812 2012-05-14 18:19:56

OK Book Adaptation

Once I started to watch this movie, it immediately became apparent thatthe director assumed the audience read the book first. I would thinkany one who never read the lesser known classic, would be totally lost.The film, for the most part, did good job sticking to the books storyline, though they dropped some stuff, and added others.The weirdest part was casting an adult actor to play the role of achild ... "I am 7 and 6 months old", said the 20+ year old .The interactions never seem right with a "childish" adult.For the most part, the looking glass world looks about what I imaginedit to be from the book, though things were changed around a bit.The oddest part was, one of the Tweedles looking like the guy from AClockwork Orange. Over all, it's an all right movie ( if the watcher first read the book), geared more for younger folks.Definitely worth a watch.

r.w.storm 2012-05-08 14:37:28

Best adaptation I've seen of the book

Clear yet subtle, funny and sophisticated in its apparent simplicity: anexcellent rendition of Carroll's own quirky humor, and vastlyentertaining.A fine cast, appropriate staging, and a literary pace combine to make thisan outstanding film. Would that it were available on DVD!

gluebben 2012-05-05 10:59:56

A 'wonderful' little interpretation...

I really enjoyed this adaptation. It was far and above better thanDisney'sattempt to turn what is already a children's book into a 'kiddie' film. Itwas, with very few exceptions, very true to the book, despite thedifficulties associated with converting Carroll's unique style to ascreenplay.Something I've always felt critical to adapting both Alice stories is herprecocious nature. There is truly no way a child actor could handle thescope of Alice in any film. I thought moving the story to an older Alicewas wonderful. And Kate Beckinsale's performance in that capacity wasoutstanding. She brought to life the very childlike innocence and naiveteof Alice while dealing so very well with interpreting Alice's veryopinionated, stubborn and whimsical personality. And visually, she fit therole perfectly. :-)The quirky nature and self-interpretation in this film is a wonderful waytointroduce children to a complex and bizarre children's story. I can onlyhope that it will be available on DVD someday.

Abadeo 2012-05-02 08:24:18

best film version I've seen

This is the best film version of the Lewis Carroll story that I've seen.Other versions usually employ comedians as actors and their performancesarealways way over-the-top. This version is really amusing because thedialogsare so deadpan serious. Sort of Pythonesque. I think that is how LewisCarroll intended it to be done; that is how I read the books. I love thedialog between Alice (Kate Beckinsale) and the White Knight (Ian Holm).Theyare both so intense and sincere about discussing such very silly topicsandthat is what makes it so amusing. Kate's reactions to many of the inanethings that happen is so subdued. It's perfect.

tedg 2012-04-29 01:39:48

Homeopathic Seduction

In 1871, A deacon logician at Oxford published a sequel to hissurprisingly popular children's story. In that original, he had dabbledin the mix of logic and mysticism that he thought respectable.Fortunately for him, it was characterized as the sort of nonsense genrecreated by Edward Lear. But he was deeply disturbed in the years thatfollowed as the Church and what came to be called spiritualismdiverged. So to make amends to his God, and to deflate the Kabbalisticorigin of the first work, he formulated something with much the samestructure and tone, but without the magic.This work was based on conundrums created by the symmetries in theworld. It became as popular as the first. His later works tried harderto distance himself from divination and became tepid Christianallegories. "Through the Looking-glass" was so successful that it andthe original Alice are often merged as if they were seamless. Thesymmetries in the later work are easier to quote, so the looking-glasssymbology and structure is re-used and quoted far more than thedangerous and slippery original Alice.In 1979, auteur Raoul Ruiz made "The Hypothesis of the StolenPainting," a remarkable film, using the Alice structure as a templatefor narrative folding and a painting as the conflation of both book andmirror.Based on this, cinematic novelist Arturo Pérez-Reverte, wrote a rathercomplex and ambitious novel. "The Flanders Panel" published in 1990. In 1994, filmmaker Jim McBride continued on of his two film careers,the one where he starts with extremely ambitious material, making amainstream film based on Pérez-Reverte's novel. While the novel wasinherently cinematic, McBride added an extra dimension: the folds ofinner narrative, of dreams and fantasies were mapped onto the body ofthe on screen detective, with insight conflated with nudity. Toaccomplish this insofar as he could, he found a quite beautiful andintuitively talented young actress. Like Nastassja Kinski and AsiaArgento before her, she grew up in an acting family and genuinely knewhow to map narrative on her body, unafraid to be as sexually complex aspossible. Together, Kate Beckinsale and McBride made an interesting ifnot profoundly successful film.Like Kinski and Jovovich, Beckinsale would go on to make films directedby lovers, films that would shamelessly exploit this talent. But inbetween her First Alice and her leathered vampire phase, she was Alicein a literal film version of the book. Well, it is not quite literal inthat we have to explain why a redheaded sexual being is in thislooking-glass world, and plot accommodations are made based on thePérez-Reverte model.This film is a disaster, an utter disaster if you take it as it comes.It has none of the magic of the book, though the language and imagesare used exactly. It has none of engagement that other experiments havewith whatever mix of mystery and sex they use. And though itexperiments with cinematic inner visions, the devices used are fromTerry Gilliam and all utterly fail.But if you see it in this greater context of Kate's mother, the LewisCarroll cover-up and deliberately obfuscated magic; if you see it asovertly sexual but with the sex completely hidden: homeopathicseduction, then it works amazingly well. Alice as a redhead!Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

zagato 2012-04-27 20:44:30

Visually stunning

Gorgeous little film. I'm not sure how accurate to the book it was, butI'venever believed that to be too important, two different mediums.Beautiful scenery plus the added benefits of the not-unattractive KateBeckinsale and the impressive acting of Sir Ian Holm.9/10

kitkuri 2012-04-25 01:22:06

Spoiler!!!!!1

A. The Jabberwock was terribly translated to screen. Granted none of itfollowed Tenniel, but the Jabberwock was poorly done and could havebeen scarier if it were somewhat like in the book.B. I was looking forward to a Lion and the Unicorn scene to make up forwhat the show lacked and was disappointed to see just a brief mentionof it on a newspaper page. Instead they made up for the time to do theWasp. To give some background on the Wasp for those that have seen it anddon't understand, Tenniel gave his advice to Carroll to ditch thatentire part. Tenniel couldn't translate him into a picture and said itwas a waste of time. Though it is in a very old issue of TheSmithsonian.So why did they replace the best part of Alice with that?Overall, I'm disappointed and though, yes, the colors and the sceneryand even the film variations were well done, it was a terribletranslation.

Oaksox2 2012-04-23 15:08:52

Worst movie ever

We have been watching the movie for an hour, and right now we arecontemplating suicide... we also rented a ratty horror movie aboutschool girls using chainsaws, and we can't freaking wait to put thaton. This was the worst experience of my life, and we arefast-forwarding it to the end... send me four dollars instead ofrenting this. Do I seriously need 10 lines of text to post?? There isnothing else to say about the worst experience of my life... if youwant to see Alice Through the Looking Glass, rent the 1985 version, itis actually good and scary... Kate Beckinsale, what are you doing withyour life?? I want to make your babies...

Foux_du_Fafa 2012-04-16 12:32:56

Obviously a love-or-hate production, but I like it

I am a long-time fan of Lewis Carroll and "Alice in Wonderland" andwill gladly watch many of the adaptations of the stories - as good oras bad as they may be! I have not actually seen this version of "AliceThrough the Looking Glass" in quite a while, so I can't call myself anauthority on it, but from what I remember, it was very good. Werecorded it when it was broadcast for the first time (and as far as Iam aware, the last) on Channel 4 one Boxing Day, and myten-and-a-half-year old self watched it quite a bit. Of the two books,this one is the hardest to adapt to the screen in terms of structureand theme; this is perhaps the reason why simply a few of its bestepisodes are relocated to Wonderland in numerous adaptations. Despitethese short-comings, this version succeeds quite well. The film uses anadult Alice (played by Kate Becknisale) imagining/dreaming herselfpassing into the mirror realm as she reads the tale to her daughter onebedtime. Using fancy costumes and simple yet whimsical effectsreminiscent of Jean Cocteau, Alice embarks on a journey through achessboard-cum-forest and meets many wonderful characters: TweedleDumand TweedleDee, Humpty Dumpty and numerous chess pieces. This versionis hard to find; I unfortunately taped over this by accident (withEastEnders, of all the embarrassing things!) and pre-recorded copiesare hard to track down as well. Needless to say, if you can, have anosey at this.

davidrulesyou 2012-04-15 20:54:02

Good version of Lewis Carroll's book

As an Alice in Wonderland fan, I thought this was a good interpretationof the sequel Through the Looking Glass.I thought this film definitely had the atmosphere of the originalnovel. And although she is too old, Kate Beckinsale, I think, lookedgood as Alice and I thought she acted the character very well.It follows the book mostly well, except they skipped "The Lion and theUnicorn" chapter in this film and just moved onto the "It's My OwnInvention" chapter after Alice was talking to both the White King andhis messenger Haigha. In the scene when Alice goes into the dark shopbefore she meets Humpty Dumpty, the White Queen didn't turn into asheep, although there were shots in that scene of a sheep.If you want to look for a good adaptation of Through the Looking Glass,here is one to watch. As a fan myself, I rate it 10 out of 10.

Brad Lacey 2012-04-15 05:06:51

So so so so so so so bad

Are there redeeming features here? Because I can't find them. This filmis horrible on just so many levels.The set design is shoddy to the point that it looks like a high schoolperformance for the most part (despite the assembly of a great cast ofEnglish character actors - Ian Holm, Steve Coogan, Kate Beckinsale asAlice - we know where the money went then).The cinematography is awful, constantly leaving the viewer secondguessing the possible motivation for the camera changes - Blair Witchstyle hand-held becomes a staple for some reason, but why? Are we meantto be scared? I mean, hey, I was...but not for the right reasons.The script is not so bad, but then how could it fail, coming from sucha magnificent text to begin with. Rather, the problem is the pacing andlack of action - how often do we need to sit, bored and restless, asthe actors and camera sit statically in front of us, reading slab afterslab of text? This is supposed to be a film, a dynamic movement - forthe love of God give me some movement.There is just so much bad to be said about this film that it's notworth going on. Oh, in case you haven't quite figured it out yet, don'tsee this film. Go rent the Disney animated version of the originalAlice instead, or, better yet - read the book.

Darragh O' Donoghue 2012-04-13 18:58:16

A missed opportunity that could probably never be taken.

Without infringing on the IMDb guidelines, can I just suggest that thisfilmis a disappointing visualisation of the greatest book ever written? LewisCarroll's masterpiece is too mercurial to depict - taken out of itsliterarycontext, its ideas, incidents and characters simply don't make sense. Itshumour and traumas are literary and philosophical. The filmmakers fail toadapt forms, instead relying on swathes of dialogue.Different film styles are used to try and disrupt normality, a laCarroll,but the incoherent script, uncertain acting and muffled diction onlygrate.There is no sense of narrative momentum (even if only to be subverted),andtargets are missed because it is unclear what they are. Changing thebook'sview from that of a child to a woman renders the whole exerciseredundant.Graver still is the unwillingness to trust the audience - thedream/realityambiguity, crucial to the book's meaning, is too clearcut. The coloursandset design can be extremely beautiful though.

moviefan2003va 2012-04-10 07:47:32

interesting

This is apparently a made for TV movie that was broadcast on British TVin the late 1990's. It is just now being sold on DVD in the US. It isinteresting for fans of Kate Beckinsale to see some of her work beforeshe became a household name in the US. The dialogue between thecharacters and the set design and costumes are the strengths here. Ablond Beckinsale, who appears to have been in the early stages of herreal life pregnancy, makes an inquisitive Alice as she meets more andmore interesting characters. Beckinsale conveys the impudence andinnocence of her character well. The movie is further enhanced by a topnotch British supporting cast.

JulietV 2012-04-10 04:01:44

Great introduction to the book

I taped this for my four year old daughter, who is obsessed with the Disneyversion and was watching it twice a day if I let her. This was a charming,wonderful change. The actress playing Alice is fantastic, she is reallylike the character, even though she is an adult. I was shocked that shewasalso Darlene in "Brokedown Palace" ...she really can play a wide range.This movie is very aesthetically beautiful to watch. It's fun watchinghumans play the animals and picking out who is whom.

tvce 2012-04-08 19:05:04

Kate Beckinsale makes it worth seeing

I only had a passing familiarity with the works of Lewis Carroll, (I had achildren's book of Alice in Wonderland and gave a reading of Jabberwockyformy tenth grade English class) so I couldn't comment very authoritatively onthe literary significance of this movie. I can say I thought some of thereadings were very good...Humpty-Dumpty and the White Knight for instance.But I especially liked Kate Beckinsale's performance. She is very beautifuland talented, and by herself would make the picture worthwatching.