Alice in Wonderland (1966)

4 / 5 Jul '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Jonathan Miller
Written by: Lewis Carroll
Actors include: Anne-Marie Malik, Michael Redgrave, Peter Sellers
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Length: 71 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is a pretty fascinatingly surreal and psychedelic version of the Alice in Wonderland story. It's shot in black and white in a gothic style, and the cinematography is quite lovely. It features music by Ravi Shankar and a fantastic cast, particularly Anne-Marie Malik in the role of Alice. It was filmed as a TV play of all things, and it's surprisingly well made. What I found so unusual was the character of Alice who yes is a rather inquisitive but here she is stern and extremely flip...moreso than in any other version I've seen. She seems downright pissed off at the wacky people in wonderland and irritated by everything around her. At the same time the contrast makes the story and characters seem even more absurd which is pretty cool. I'm not completely sure how this qualifies as a horror film, but perhaps some of the imagery is a bit grotesque and it is maybe a tad creepy. Just the same a very interesting version of the classic story that really should be seen by any fan of the story, or for those who like unusual '60s flicks.

Availability:  on DVD

Whistle, And I'll Come To You (1968)

4 / 5 Mar '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Jonathan Miller
Written by: M.R. James, Jonathan Miller
Actors include: Michael Hordern, Ambrose Coghill, George Woodbridge
Genre: Horror
Length: 42 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Considering this has one of the most irritating characters on earth in it (Professor Parkins), it's surprisingly refreshing. It's based upon an old ghost story from M.R. James and it's supposedly his darkest (according to our narrator). I actually came across it on some list of the scariest moments in film and television and well I can kinda see why it made their list. Professor Parkins is a stuffy smug irritating fellow who mumbles to himself and only believes what is in his books. The subject of ghosts comes up in a conversation and he explained that he cannot believe in that sort of thing the way one would believe in say Australia. Professor Parkins loves his walks around the seaside and one day he stumbles upon an old whistle that he blows. From there everything he knows is turned on it's head as he meets something he never expected. It's a short story coming in at under 45 minutes and it's an effective one, it's just a shame we have to put up with that irritating fools mumbling for much of the film. Still definitely worth it, beautiful cinematography (the shots on the seaside are lovely) and a good story.

Availability:  On DVD