The UK got a terrific release of this film last year...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0007V5XE0/ref=ase_tauspacefantasya/026-0315823-0223628
I'd love to get the same release over here. To be honest, it's region 0, but PAL...so I can view it on my PC. IOW, I'll be picking this one up soon. ;)
Do you know which version of this film on DVD is the best transfer here in the US? I got the first release years ago and it sucks. They have since released 3 DVD versions since and I'm not sure which one one is the best quality. All have different covers. Amazon is no help.
Anyone?
I believe most versions share the same lame transfer with horrible image and sound. Although, I bought this version when it was released...
http://www.amazon.com/Alices-Adventures-Wonderland-Fiona-Fullerton/dp/B0003JAOFY/ref=imdbpov_dvd_0/104-8767240-1171914
and it has a slightly better image quality, mainly more color. It's probably just on par with the VHS. The sound is less hissy, but it has a very warped sound that negatively effects the beautiful scoring. Still, it's better than the other choices by far. I've watched it about 5 times in this release and I'm satisfied until something else comes along. I do plan to pick up the UK version sometime in '07 if we don't get a US release.
The Australian DVD which was released YEARS Ago was in Widescreen too. But the video picture was average.
shareAverage would be pretty good compared to the versions I own now, the Platnum and the Screen Gems versions.
The recently released UK version might be better for region 1 viewers since it's coded in region 0 and it's in PAL, which I believe is viewable on a PC or a player that converts the PAL to NTSC.
I own the Digiview version (50 cents), and it's barely watchable, but then at that price, what was I expecting?. I have a multiregion player, so I'll definitely be getting the UK release.
shareI've watched this UK version 3 time already. The sound is pretty good for a film this old. The picture is very colorful. But the sharpness leaves something to be desired. There's lots of flickering in the straight lines. Very distracting, like the image in is low resolution or something. I was disappointed in that. Still, it's certainly the best version I've seen yet. Hopefully it'll get a release here in the states similar, and perhaps a more carefully done transfer to avoid that flicker effect.
shareThis is being shown on Channel 5 (UK) now. The picture is mostly pretty good, clean and widescreen, though to me doesn't look remastered as there are occasional bits of dirt and scratches appearing which can easily be removed in the process.
The sound is not great and not up to the standard of many 70s films. I'm hoping the budget wasn't cut at that point due to the appearance of so many top actors. I would have expected it to be recorded in stereo at the time with such a hefty musical theme, though not sure if this was actually the case. In 1972 music in general had been recorded multitrack and downmixed into stereo for many years, so hoping the producer's would have given this a hi-fi stereo soundtrack, not the scratchy, mono and slightly muffled one I'm hearing now on this TV version. There are many films in this genre before this was made which look and sound great (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, or the more similarly creepy Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory), so perhaps this need the full revamp. It deserves it, as it's well-made with a brilliant cast- plus, the Alice growing/shrinking effects still look really good!
I agree Martinjames, the shrinking effects do still kind of work. I love all the scenes in the long hallway. I don't believe that has ever been done better in a Alice movie, even that Hallmark one with with lavish cgi effects.
Nice writeup, btw.
I saw this at kids matinee in the '70s & still think it's the best Alice ever put on film. I bought a DVD copy on eBay thinking it was a remastered version of the cheapie VHS I picked up a few years earlier & it was the same crappy print as before with what looked like an even worse transfer onto DVD.
Several reviews of this widescreen UK release say it still leaves a lot to be desired picture & sound-wise. I've waited this long, I can wait until a definitive, restored from the master negative & original soundtracks version is released - until then I'll just keep watching my current copy & remember what it looked like at that matinee
jlstreich, I think you're making the right decision. I'm really thinking it's just a matter of time before we can all pick this up in restored version on a bluray. It has a ton of fans and there is money to be made.
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