Alice in Wonderland

Stars and sets make this "Alice" shine, despite problems with this DVD release
I have vague memories (I think) of seeing this on TV as a kid. It's something of a holy grail to nostalgia buffs of course given that nearly every Paramount star who was anybody in 1933 - including most famously Cary Grant, W.C. Fields and Gary Cooper - appears in it, and it's never been on video before. Its reputation isn't all that great though, and the film was shorn of about 15 minutes on reissues which apparently (see below) have been lost for good. So it was with a bit of trepidation that I, inveterate Alice-lover, took a gander.

I needn't have worried. Sure, this suffers from all of the defects one would expect of such a lavish star-vehicle from the day - too much rushing through scenes (even at its original 90 minutes, trying to shunt together big hunks of both "Alice" and "Through the Looking Glass" is going to feel thin), an Alice (Charlotte Henry) who is both too old and just not expressive enough for the part, a director (Norman Z. McLeod) sometimes content...

Universal is cheap!!
I am tired of Universal putting out these crappy versions of releases. UCLA has an entirely RESTORED print of this film in their library and it could easily have been used as a resource for this dvd release. This so-called restoration per other review sites, lists this dvd release's picture as minimal with crack and speckles on the film. As for the 90 minute version, I can tell you for a FACT the original film was 90 mins. The missing scenes involved Alice's sister and the Reverend and his concern about Alice's strange behavior. I saw it on television back in the late 1970's in Baltimore. There was a man who had the entire print who lived in DC and he allowed the local station to use it to show. What happened to the man's print, I don't know, but UCLA also has a complete audio soundtrack on tape for this film and also a separate sound effects and music track which could EASILY have been used on this DVD as an extra and very well may have the extra minutes.They are just trying to make...

EDITED version, totally BARE BONES packaging.
other reviewers have mentioned it; i'll second them: THIS IS THE EDITED 77-minute version (single disc, universal release, upc# 025195053563, just so we're all clear on that); NOT the full 90 minute original.

transfer quality and sound are both 'okay.' not great, not poor - just okay.

single disc, extremely bare bones packaging. NO special features whatsoever. yet another missed opportunity in the mishandling of a classic film.

if you LOVE this version of the story, buy it. if you're a die-hard alice/carroll fan, buy it. if you absolutely NEED everything cary grant, gary cooper or w.c. fields (or even edward everett horton, baby leroy, or sterling holloway) ever attached their names to, buy it. or you could wait until a miracle occurs and a studio somewhere starts to take pride in its back catalogue, releasing films uncut, unedited (hays code cuts are still in effect, really? in THIS day and age?!), with at least SOME minimal effort put into...

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