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Ishtar
(May, 1987)
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (OOP)
(Ross, 1976)
The Devils
(Russell, 1974)
The Pirates of Penzance
(Papp/Leach, 1983)
The Fortune
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-30-
(Webb, 1959)
Betrayal
(Jones, 1983)
Play It As It Lays
(Perry, 1972)
The Outfit
(Flynn, 1973)
Alex in Wonderland
(Mazursky, 1969)
The Legend of Lylah Clare
(Aldrich, 1968)
In The Cool of the Day
(Stevens, 1963)
That Cold Day in the Park
(Altman, 1969)
Thumb Trippin'
(Masters, 1972)
Midas Run
(Kjellin, 1969)
At Long Last Love
(Bogdanovich, 1973)
Brewster McCloud
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Outcast of the Islands
(Reed, 1951)

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1930's-1950's
The Moon's Our Home
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Sh! The Octopus
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Bad for Each Other
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The Phenix City Story
(Karlson, 1955)
Run of the Arrow
(Fuller, 1956)
House of Secrets
(Green, 1956)
Saint Joan
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Macabre
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The Fiend Who Walked the West
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Five Gates to Hell
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1960's
Key Witness
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Summer and Smoke
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The Chapman Report
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Bachelor Flat
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The L Shaped Room
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The Chalk Garden
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A Thousand Clowns
(Coe, 1965)
You're a Big Boy Now
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The Whisperers
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Dark of the Sun
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Skidoo
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Last Summer
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The Comic
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1970-1974
The Revolutionary
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The Landlord
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Diary of a Mad Housewife
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Tropic of Cancer
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I Never Sang for My Father
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Sometimes a Great Notion
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Marriage of a Young Stockbroker
(Turman, 1971)
The Music Lovers
(Russell, 1971)
Drive, He Said
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The Steagle
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The Last Movie
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Made For Each Other
(Bean, 1971)
The Day the Clown Cried
(Lewis, 1972)
Hickey & Boggs (OOP)
(Culp, 1972)
The Carey Treatment
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Pete 'n' Tillie
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Slither
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Man on a Swing
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Open Season
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The Tamarind Seed
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Law and Disorder
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Homebodies
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Stardust
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Celine and Julie Go Boating
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1975-1979
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins
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At Long Last Love
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Hearts of the West
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Welcome to L.A.
(Rudolph, 1976)
W.C. Fields and Me
(Hiller, 1976)
Citizens Band
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Twilight's Last Gleaming
(Aldrich, 1977)
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
(Brooks, 1977)
Girlfriends
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Movie Movie
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The Medusa Touch
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American Hot Wax
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Hot Stuff
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Scavenger Hunt
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Players
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Rich Kids
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Nightwing
(Hiller, 1979)
Screams of a Winter's Night
(Wilson, 1979
When You Comin' Back Red Ryder?
(Katselas, 1979
1980's
Resurrection
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The Awakening
(Newell, 1980)
Simon
(Brickman, 1980)
God's Angry Man
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Fast-Walking
(Harris, 1982)
Twice Upon a Time
(Korty & Swenson, 1983)
Trouble in Mind
(Rudolph, 1985)
When the Wind Blows
(Murikami, 1986)
Housekeeping
(Forsyth, 1987)
The Glass Menagerie
(Newman, 1987)
Patty Hearst
(Schrader, 1988)
Drowning by Numbers
(Greenaway, 1988)
Haunted Summer
(Passer, 1988)
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
(Spheeris, 1988)
1990's
Old Times
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Prospero's Books
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City of Hope
(Sayles, 1991)
The Baby of Macon
(Greenaway, 1993)
King of the Hill
(Soderbergh, 1993)
Dadetown
(Hexter, 1995)
SubUrbia
(Linklater, 1997)

Upcoming

January 8

Bitch Slap

Waiting for Armageddon

Wonderful World

Youth in Revolt

January 15

January 22

Drool

Extraordinary Measures

The Girl on the Train

Stoned in Wonderland

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It would appear that Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland is rooted in the mid 19th Century (i.e., 1865) , when Lewis Carroll published the original book. (Which was followed by an 1871 sequel, "Through The Looking Glass.") Hence the all-Anglo cast and lack of minorities, not to mention the possible absence of any political points or metaphors as they might apply to the present. But I don't have the script.

Johnny Depp as Mad Hatter, Anne Hathaway as White Queen, and Helena Bonham Carter as Red Queen in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, due spring 2010 from Disney.

For any half-literate person who's ever turned on, Alice in Wonderland isn't just a surrealist political satire but the ultimate hallucinogenic fantasy. For boomers and older GenXers it's always been stoner central, Owsley/Sandoz ground zero, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" in 19th Century garb, a Grace Slick anthem, etc. All of which is anathema, of course, to Disney and their antiseptic family demo. "Mommy, did grandma or grandpa ever eat mushrooms?"

Obviously not pictured above are Michael Sheen (the White Rabbit), Alan Rickman (the Caterpillar), Christopher Lee (the Jabberwock), Stephen Fry (the Cheshire Cat), Crispin Glover (the Knave of Hearts), Timothy Spall (the Bloodhound), etc.

It is little remembered that Cary Grant played the Mock Turtle in Norman Z. McLeod's 1933 version, or that Cary Cooper played the White Knight.

If You're Kidding...<< previous | next >>Tarkovsky and Telluride

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 22, 2009 at 7:10 AM

comment #1

Edward says ...

Disney's animated Alice is pretty trippy. I love the books and am very curious about this film. Can't wait to see some footage.

Posted by Edward at June 22, 2009 7:57 AM

comment #2

BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey says ...

There are a few set design things on the article those pictures came from. You can zoom in and whatnot. Looks good.

My only worry is that the article made it seem like some sort of sequel to the original story - something like the story of how Alice comes back to Wonderland after forgetting all about the first time she went there. "Return to Oz" type shit. Hopefully it'll still be good and they won't add any pointless father figure characters for the Mad Hatter like they did with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Depp looks like Madonna with the gap in his teeth.

Posted by BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey at June 22, 2009 8:06 AM

comment #3

BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey says ...

Here it is: http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2009-06-21-alice-in-wonderland_N.htm

"The traditional tale has been freshened with a blast of girl power, courtesy of writer Linda Woolverton (Beauty and the Beast). Alice, 17, attends a party at a Victorian estate only to find she is about to be proposed to in front of hundreds of snooty society types. Off she runs, following a white rabbit into a hole and ending up in Wonderland, a place she visited 10 years before yet doesn't remember."

Posted by BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey at June 22, 2009 8:15 AM

comment #4

DavidF says ...

I think Tim Burton is talented but I'm not sure why he has reverted to churning out one Burtonesque take on established material, one after another.

When's the last time he did something original? Big Fish, I guess? Edward Scissorhands?

We get it, dude. You have a unique, cool, dark aesthetic. I don't need to see it applied to the entire Western canon. What's next? Tim Burton's 10 Commandments with Helena Bonham Carter as Nefertiti and Johnny Depp as Ramses?

Posted by DavidF at June 22, 2009 8:22 AM

comment #5

Carl LaFong says ...

I just hope that we aren't treated to another of Depp's lazy character interpretations based on aping a celebrity (Richards/Jack & Jackson/Wonka). The guy is talented enough to create his own take on a character without having to resort to imitation.

Cooper was amazing in the 1933 version! Must have fallen off his horse 20 times in a five minute scene with no apparent use of a stunt double. Who'd a thunk that a guy who's total emotive range was the word "yup" could pull off a slapstick piece like that?

Still, the most challenging and surreal version of the story remains Jonathan Miller's (1966) version for the BBC Wednesday Play, although am told that Jan Svankmajer's nightmarish Alice (1988) may be the best done...

Posted by Carl LaFong at June 22, 2009 8:30 AM

comment #6

SPGormally says ...

It may just be me, but does Helena B-C's Queen look a bit like Ronald McDonald knew Bette Davis' Virgin Queen biblically. Either way, more interested to see this than anything else Burton has done in a bit.

Posted by SPGormally at June 22, 2009 9:21 AM

comment #7

thatmovieguy says ...

I was kind of surprised to find the 1933 "Alice" is not on DVD (or, if it is, I couldn't track it down). It's not a great film -- they tried to pack a lot of story into 70-some minutes -- but it's certainly fascinating to see all those early-1930s stars in disguise. W.C. Fields as Humpty Dumpty, and even Baby LeRoy!

Posted by thatmovieguy at June 22, 2009 9:23 AM

comment #8

SpinDozer says ...

I had no idea that Alice had such a rich cinematic history CF, thanks!

Posted by SpinDozer at June 22, 2009 9:24 AM

comment #9

corey3rd says ...

Depp looks like Elijah Wood's tribute to CarrotTop

Posted by corey3rd at June 22, 2009 10:17 AM

comment #10

MovieBob says ...

Looks good, but also looks depressingly predictable - EXACTLY what everyone is expecting when you hear "Tim Burton is doing Alice in Wonderland," save the coin-toss question of whether he'd go with his creepy proto-goth asthetic from the majority of his stuff or the garish acid-y stuff from "Charlie" (the second one, as it turns out.)

The guy at Chud (Nick?) summed it up precisely for me: I feel like I've already seen this.

Posted by MovieBob at June 22, 2009 10:24 AM

comment #11

Floyd Thursby says ...

My favorite Alice is Dreamchild: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089052. Not on DVD. Very melancholy but beautiful and moving.

Posted by Floyd Thursby at June 22, 2009 10:35 AM

comment #12

LexG says ...

I'll have to see this for Hathaway (I'd like to paint her white, if you know what I mean...)

But, yeah, More Burton Bullshit. Most predictable director ever. Christ, at this point, his Planet of the Apes looks like a masterpiece in retrospect because it at least wasn't short through charcoal with Depp mugging with wah wah wah wah tinkly-zany Elfman music.

Posted by LexG at June 22, 2009 10:50 AM

comment #13

MrTribeca says ...

LexG - Tim Burton, most predictable director ever?

Sir, you do Michael Bay a disservice. That's his title and his alone!

Posted by MrTribeca at June 22, 2009 11:10 AM

comment #14

frankbooth says ...

For a second I thought that Michael SHANNON was playing the White Rabbit. That might have gotten my interest.

I finally saw an actual poster for Where the Wild Things Are, in a theater, with a release date. That's the trippy kid's story I wanna see.

Posted by frankbooth at June 22, 2009 1:47 PM

comment #15

Steven Kar says ...

Corey3rd,

Is this what you mean?

http://www.tmz.com/2009/06/22/elijah-wood-is-the-mad-hatter/

Posted by Steven Kar at June 22, 2009 5:36 PM

comment #16

Chicago48 says ...

I'm with David F. Tim Burton is "regressing" in my mind and he's dragging Johnny Depp with him (why? Johnny why? are you doing another Tim Burton movie????). Burton wouldn't know what the 21st century was if you locked him in....and why do I get the feeling the old-standby actors Helena & Johnny are not being paid for their roles? But taking back-end payment because they can afford to?

Posted by Chicago48 at June 22, 2009 5:42 PM

comment #17

BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey says ...

Maybe Burton wants to do other stuff, but the studios only see him as the go-to guy for weird fantasy stuff.

"I've got a great idea for a '70s-set crime drama in Philadelphia."
"Sounds great Tim, but how about a stop-motion Humpty Dumpty featuring the voice of Johnny Depp?"
"... Okay."

Posted by BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey at June 22, 2009 6:48 PM

comment #18