CHICAGO – There is no better time to take in a stage play that is based in U.S. history, depicting the battle between fact and religion. The old theater chestnut – first mounted in 1955 – is “Inherit the Wind,” now at the Goodman Theatre, completing it’s short run through October 20th. For tickets and more information, click INHERIT.
Blu-Ray Review: Disney Releases Another Timeless Classic in Beautiful ‘Alice in Wonderland’
CHICAGO – Last week, Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” notched a couple of Academy Award nominations. Do me a favor. Don’t allow your children to only know Johnny Depp’s portrayal of the Mad Hatter when it comes to Lewis Carroll’s timeless tale. Of course, they should read the actual book (or have it read to them) but don’t let them miss the great Disney classic, now available in another stunning Blu-ray release from the company currently doing this kind of thing better than anyone else.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
As you can learn through the spectacular special features on this release, “Alice in Wonderland” started as a series of stories to a young girl named Alice. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (who would later take the pseudonym Lewis Carroll) created the world of Wonderland for the middle daughter of Henry Liddell and was eventually begged to write them down for her. The imaginative tales became a perfect fit for fiction and inspired generations of children when it was published in 1865.
Alice in Wonderland: 60th Anniversary Edition will be released on Blu-Ray and DVD combo pack on February 1st, 2011
Photo credit: Disney Home Video
Eighty-six years later, Walt Disney was about to begin a phase of adaptations of some of the most important fiction of the British Empire, adapting “The Sword in the Stone,” “The Jungle Book,” “Robin Hood,” and more. In between 1950’s “Cinderella” and 1953’s “Peter Pan,” “Alice in Wonderland” is now recognized as one of the Disney canon’s most lovely and enjoyable films but it was widely panned at the time of release, mostly by critics who somehow thought it diverted too much from the source. It essentially bombed at the box office and was never re-released in Disney’s lifetime. It wasn’t until the late ’60s, when the film caught on with the growing drug culture, that it was reappraised.
Alice in Wonderland: 60th Anniversary Edition will be released on Blu-Ray and DVD combo pack on February 1st, 2011 Photo credit: Disney Home Video |
Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland” contains some of my favorite imagery in the Disney canon, making it a perfect fit for HD. This is the sixth classic Disney film (the pre-Pixar era) to hit HD (after “Sleeping Beauty,” “Pinocchio,” “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Fantasia”) and it’s another stunner. These films look brand new in HD and all six of them are simply must-owns purely for the quality of the animation that pops off the screen with audio to match.
Not only is the film stunning, but you can basically take a history lesson in both the story behind the source and Disney’s interpretation of it with a great series of special features, the most interesting of which are playable alongside the film itself. So, while the movie unfolds, you can hear historians of both literature and film dissecting both Carroll’s intentions and Disney’s. It’s fascinating stuff.
The collection of special features once again offers something for every generation. The little ones probably won’t be interested in the historical information, but there’s an interactive Blu-ray exclusive game for them along with a “Virtual Wonderland Party.” Disney is simply doing this kind of release better than anyone right now. Walt and Lewis would be proud.
Special Features:
o Through the Keyhole: A Companion’s Guide to Wonderland
o Painting the Roses Red Interactive Game
o DisneyView — Enhanced Viewing Experience
o Walt Disney Color TV Introduction (1959)
o Reference Footage: Alice and the Doorknob
o Pencil Tests: Alice Shrinks
o Reflections on Alice
o Operation Wonderland
o Deleted Scene: Pig and Pepper
o Vitual Wonderland Party
o DVD Version
By BRIAN TALLERICO |