Alice in Wonderland restoration
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 and eight years after the birth of cinema, the first film adaptation was directed by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow, and was based on Sir John Tenniel's original illustrations. With a running time of just 12 minutes (eight of which survive), 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 Archive acquired the only surviving material of the groundbreaking film in 1963, from a cinema owner in Hove. With pieces of emulsion having already flaked off the surface of the film, 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 restoration, bringing back the film's original colours.
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.
