On 23 May the BFI presents legendary Czech surrealist Jan Švankmajer's award-winning feature Alice (Neco z Alenky) (1988) in a Dual Format Edition (DVD and Blu-ray discs in one box) with a host of bonus extras.
Švankmajer's Alice is a distinctly disturbing and creepy interpretation of Lewis Carroll's perennial literary classic, yet it is perhaps the closest to the original work.
Combining a live-action Alice (Kristýna Kohoutová) with a stop-motion Wonderland filled with threatening, bizarre characters, Švankmajer's deliberately crude style of animation, use of close-ups and rich design work lend the film a pervading sense of unease and a menacing dream-logic which marries a sly visual wit with piercing psychological insight.
Presented here fully uncut and in its original Czech-language version for the very first time, this comprehensive release also gathers together a selection of rare and fascinating Alice-related short films including Alice in Wonderland (1903), the first screen adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic (and a big YouTube hit!) and Elsie and the Brown Bunny (1921), an early advertising film for Cadbury Bros. Ltd.
