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Alice Through the Looking Glass (TV)
R2 - United Kingdom - Second Sight Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (25th October 2011). |
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The Film
 "Alice Through the Looking Glass" is based upon literary legend Lewis Carroll's story "Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There", a follow on from "Alice in Wonderland". In cinemaland, the first story has of course been famous for many years by way of both the 1951 Disney animated feature, and more recently in Tim Burton's 2010 effort (also from Disney) starring Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter and Anne Hathaway, among others. "Alice Through the Looking Glass" is less well-known however mainly sticking to television adaptations like 1974's BBC effort and this, Channel Four's effort from 1998. Second Sight's synopsis reads: This magical live-action adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic tale features an all-star cast headed by Kate Beckinsale, Steve Coogan, Ian Holm and Geoffrey Palmer. Alice returns to the strange world of Wonderland where she joins the Red Queen in a giant game of chess and once again encounters all the weird and wonderful characters: the odd-ball twins Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the White Queen, the Red and White Knights, Humpty Dumpty, and the scary Jabberwocky. As she continues her adventure things become curiouser and curiouser. This adaptation sticks to the original story reasonably well although some creative license has been used, mainly at the start. In the original story, Alice is playing with a couple of kittens when she wonders what the world is like in the mirror's reflection. In this version, Kate Beckinsale's Alice goes to the mirror when reading a bedtime story to her young daughter, Little Alice, played by Charlotte Curley. Whilst "Alice in Wonderland" uses size to tell the the story (getting smaller/bigger), "Alice Through the Looking Glass" uses sense of direction and time, and that has come across here quite well. The cast included here, is what makes this adaptation worth watching. We have Kate Beckinsale in the lead, before she hit it big, and her talent shines through showing she would go places. For me though, it's the supporting cast I really enjoyed. Tweedledee and Tweedledum are hilariously played by Marc Warren (TV's "Hustle) and Gary Olsen (TV's "2point4children"). They play off each other extremely well and are easily the highlight of the casting for me. Next up, we have Steve Coogan as Gnat, another good comedy actor who plays his role well. For those after more 'classic' actors, the exquisite Geoffrey Palmer and Penelope Wilton play the White King and Queen. Unfortunately, where this feature falls, is in its production. Dialogue is sometimes clunky and the music selected, not always the best. The worst thing however is the set and costume design which looks as though it has been done by GCSE art students on work experience at Projector Productions. Filmed in a wooded area, sometimes the level of design is down to just a few colourful plastic/wooden flowers, and for such an imaginative film, it's quite disappointing that the surreal world hasn't been well created. Still, the story and cast help the viewer surpass these shortcomings, and this is worth a viewing.
Video
Presented anamorphically at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, the picture is quite good, though unspectacular. Although not completely blemish free, due to some slight grain and artefacting, the clarity comes through nicely and in general, the picture is reasonably sharp.
Audio
A single English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo option is available here and like the picture, it's good if unspectacular. Dialogue is clear throughout, volume levels are consistent and background hiss is minimal, but seperation is almost non-existant. I didn't hear any damage to the audio track. No subtitles have been included.
Extras
Nothing. A background on the literary classic would've been nice, or even just some cheap to produce text features, like cast biographies/filmographies would've been a welcome addition.
Overall
Despite poor set design and low production values, the cast and story still make this worth your time for a viewing. This extras-free release from Second Sight comes with good picture and sound.
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