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BFI restores first ever film of Alice in Wonderland

News release 26/02/2010

Premiere screening at British Library celebration
of Lewis Carroll's fantasy classic

Alice in Wonderland (1903), the first-ever film version of Lewis Carroll’s tale, has recently been restored by the BFI National Archive and premiered at a celebration of the history of the popular children's (and adult's) classic story at the British Library.

Made just 37 years after Lewis Carroll wrote his novel, Cecil Hepworth directed the first film adaptation basing it on Sir John Tenniel’s original illustrations. With a running time of just 12 minutes, this 1903 film was the longest produced in England at that time and it represented a major investment for the pioneering Hepworth Studios that produced it. Some might venture to say it was the Avatar of its day.

The BFI National Film Archive acquired the only surviving material of the groundbreaking film in 1963. The print was severely damaged, slightly incomplete and with its original tints faded. In 2009 the BFI National Archive was able for the first time to use digital techniques to embark on a full restoration and bring back the film’s original colours, saving the film for future generations to enjoy.

The process involved scanning the original, extremely fragile nitrate positive and recreating the tints based on scientific analysis of the colour on the surface of the film and on the experience of the Archive’s curatorial and technical staff who have built up an unrivalled body of knowledge about early film colour techniques over many years. The major damage to the original picture, already present when the Archive received it in the 60s, cannot be rectified, but some minor improvements have been made to the picture quality by virtue of scanning directly from the nitrate.

The film premiered with live piano accompaniment at the British Library on 24 February during a special event to celebrate the history of the original story Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The British Library holds the original hand-written and illustrated manuscript of Alice’s Adventures under Ground. The newly restored film will be publicly available to view on the BFI website www.bfi.org.uk and in BFI Mediatheques around the UK from early March, completely free of charge.

From March 5 the BFI IMAX will be screening in 3D the latest adaptation of the Alice story as the visionary director Tim Burton puts his distinctive touch to a combination live-action and performance capture fantasy adventure, starring Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter.

During the Easter holidays there will also be events and screenings galore at BFI Southbank as we welcome adults and children to explore how the timeless story of Alice has been interpreted by other filmmakers since Cecil Hepworth.


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