Alice in Wonderland (1966)

Alice in Wonderland 1966 is a British television play, distributed by BBC, shot on film, based on Lewis Carroll’s 1865 book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It was adapted, produced and directed by Jonathan Miller, then best known for his appearance in the satirical revue Beyond the Fringe. Miller’s production is unique among live-action Alice films in that he consciously avoided the standard Tenniel-inspired costume design and “florid“ production values. Most of the Wonderland characters are played by actors in standard Victorian dress, with a real cat used to represent the Cheshire Cat. Miller justified his approach as an attempt to return to what he perceived as the essence of the story: “Once you take the animal heads off, you begin to see what it’s all about. A small child, surrounded by hurrying, worried people, thinking ’Is that what being grown up is like?“ Directed by Jonathan Miller Written by Jonathan Miller Based on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Produced by Jonathan Miller Starring: Anne-Marie Mallik as Alice John Gielgud Peter Cook Leo McKern Peter Sellers Michael Redgrave Cinematography Dick Bush Edited by Pam Bosworth Music by Ravi Shankar Distributed by BBC Release date 28 December 1966