Alice [DVD + Blu-ray] [1988]

Like some other reviewers, my parents taped this from late night telly for me to watch, back in the depths of childhood.
As for this film not being suitable to children, I say - pish!
Disurbing images, etc etc - it's only wierd to *rational* grown-ups, who've had a lifetime of conditioning in what consitutes *normal* film-making.
As a child, I loved this film, thought it was crazy, beautiful and amazing - it didn't give me nightmares, or make me afraid of milk or meat, because I didn't know it should be scary, no one told me.....
I say buy it for yourself, buy it for your kids, buy it for your grandparents, buy it for people you meet in the street and abandon twee disney forever!!!

Long may your socks dig holes and your jam bring forth drawing pins!!!!

I am really writing in reponse to those who suggest that this DVD is too dark for children. My children (girls age 4 and 2) saw this in the late 80's and called it the 'real' alice, prefering to watch it over and above the disney version which stayed in pristine condition in the video cupboard. I have lost count of how many times they watched this film - they never tired of it. So why did they like it? Who knows. THey were never scared of it as far as I could see. Perhaps it said someting to them about their own childish world which is full of seemingly strange and sometimes senseless events. They also liked the Narnia videos made around the same time, and 'The Box of Delights' both of which had dark undertones for very young children. When i was small I read unsanitized versions of Grimm and other European fairlytales, graduating onto Lord of the Rings and Gormenghast when i was 11. I loved them, and gobbled up books like this. They also loved dark stories like 'Not now Bernard by McKee (look it up, it's fab). Apparaently there are sound psychological reasons for the appeal of such dark materials for children so please don't dismiss this out of hand as a film for the young.

This isn't a review, it's just to let you know.

I have lived with this film all my life, and it's one of the few films that absolutely made my childhood. I loved it. Seeing a slab of meat squidge across the table and slither into a pot was not scary in the least back then, although looking at the film now I can understand why my nan always groaned when I said I wanted to watch it. I didn't think anything of the animal skulls or the fact that the white rabbit was stuffed. In fact we had a spoon exactly like the one the rabbit uses to eat his sawdust, and I remember using it whenever I ate porridge so I could pretend I was him.

This film is completely suitable for children. Remember that children have a far more open mind than any adult. In fact it's probably better for people to watch it as a child, because seeing it for the first time as a teenager makes you go "Uuurrrgh! No way!". I believe you can only fully appreciate it by loving it through your childhood.