Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1910) -- Highest Quality

Please do not sell copies of this film! It has been uploaded to KZbin so that everybody can enjoy it.
=== About the Video ===
Phantomwise and I are aware of 3 prints of this film that are currently in existence:
• One is in the private collection of film collector David Schaefer. The older video on Phantomwise's KZbin channel is sourced from this print.
• Another is held by the Thomas Edison National Historical Park. Unfortunately, due to its condition and their lack of any film projection equipment, they are unable to screen it.
• The last one we know of is in the archives of the Library of Congress. This print is the source for this video.
All of these prints are in the unique and short-lived 22mm Edison Home Kinetoscope format. Such prints were produced in order to sell or rent to the home market, which was very unusual for the time. A print could be rented or purchased for prices varying from $2.50 to $20, and the equipment to view them cost between $65 and $90. [1]
The unusual size of these prints is far from the only complication for preservation. In order to reduce the amount of material used, these prints have an unusual arrangement with 3 images side-by-side with the sprocket holes between them. The film was intended to be screened using a special projector. In order to screen the print, "the strip of film would first be cranked clockwise, then when the images stopped the user would then turn a knob to adjust the positioning of the gate and then crank the film counterclockwise. Finally, the user would adjust the position of the gate again and turn clockwise for the last length of the strip." [2]
The unusual format means that modern scanning equipment generally cannot be used to preserve these prints. Fortunately, in 2001, the National Archives of Canada and the Library of Congress jointly developed a specialized piece of equipment that is able to optically transfer these 22mm prints to standard 35mm prints that can then be processed using standard methods. [3] This is the process that was used to produce this video.
The video received from the Library of Congress was a bit washed out, and it was clear that the print was bouncing around a lot during the transfer process, probably due to degradation and damage from over the years. I have done my best to stabilize it and improve the contrast in order to produce something more pleasant to watch.
=== Sources ===
1. www.hagley.org/librarynews/ed...
2. uschefnerarchive.com/project/e...
3. www.jstor.org/stable/41167088

[@israelmcr]

Being in a cinema in 1910, and see Alice grow small must have been a magical moment.

[@MaskedMan66]

Not for people who had seen the work of Georges Méliès many years before. 🙂

[@geraldfriend256]

@@MaskedMan66It took a long time to equal his effects genius..

[@MaskedMan66]

@@geraldfriend256 True!

[@progrocker2112]

On the actress playing Alice: In the early 1980s, the aged Hulette was visited by film historian Walter Coppedge and lived under distressed circumstances as a ward of the state in an institution in Rosemead. But Coppedge also wrote: "Yet her eyes are bright, her figure supple, her complexion pink and porcelain. She is still graciously appreciative of kindness, especially the assurance that she would not be forgotten as long as people look at her films." She thanks you for watching this.

[@IHeartMovies]

This is amazing! The quality is almost night and day different to the one originally on Phantomwise's channel! So much clearer! Thank you so much for sharing this!

[@natashaeverafter6464]

🐰I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR SHARING THIS WITH EVERYONE! MANY, MANY THANKS, MUCH LOVE, & TONS OF APPRECIATION FROM A LIFELONG ALICE FAN. TO ME, THIS IS PRICELESS!🐰

[@r.jclark4641]

I find it really clever how they combined the Hall of Many Doors sequence with the Rabbit’s House. It helps condense the story without leaving the iconic scenes or important bits out.

[@r.jclark4641]

Also, the effects in this are LIGHTYEARS ahead of their time. This is straight up Willis O' Brien-level work behind done, it's insane.

[@MaskedMan66]

@@r.jclark4641 Georges Méliès had been doing stuff like this since 1896. 🙂

[@priyadarshanigalhena1164]

This 114 year old film shows how people really love Lewis Carroll's classic story. This is why they took it to the extremes and set new lengths for movie makers to follow later.

[@robmckay5700]

This movie is 111 years old ☺️

[@lazziya8234]

113...

[@adriangarcia543]

I like to know how they do the special effects

[@tonij8532]

A real gem from the past

[@garyjonathan9931]

Gladys Hulette was lovely xxx

[@shroomfind]

Thank you for your efforts, so much clearer than others I have seen .

[@BayareaGuy06]

R.I.P. Gladys Hulette (1896-1991) (Alice).

[@PixieDust18]

I realy like the fact that in this version Alice FINALLY falls down a real rabbit hole not in a huge hallway with furniture 😂

[@priyadarshanigalhena1164]

That's the start of the beginning. I would like to record all significant milestones in only faithful Alice adaptations and post it online.

[@talithafreitas4610]

Thanks for sharing! 💚

[@kratonzyt]

This is absolutely gorgeous. Thank you so much. Btw, do you have any idea on why the Library of Congress and some other libraries take so long to release these films on digital form? Sometimes even not releasing them at all? I mean, assuming you guys did a pretty awesome job, they should be capable to at least release them without picture quality improvements, right?

[@CuriouserArchive]

I suspect the answer is limited resources. Libraries tend to be underfunded and lack the personnel to do everything they might want to do. For later productions, copyright also becomes a problem, although that obviously doesn't matter for something from 1915. In this case, the Library of Congress provided me with a scan because I requested it and paid for it. I'm pretty sure very few people are going to do that.

[@Phantomwise2]

Chiming in months later with a perspective of having taken library science for a semester: Ideally, I'm sure the Library of Congress wants to digitally preserve all their material, but it's just not possible to do their whole catalog at once so they prioritize based on demand/interest. They didn't know of any interest in this Alice, but once Curiouser inquired, it was bumped up in priority.

[@lturner7159]

@@CuriouserArchive wow thanks for taking the initiative mate. What are some of the other old movies that there holding that you know of

[@Phantomwise2]

@@lturner7159, Sorry for reply a month later. We do know the Library of Congress has a print of 1915 Alice (head's up, we're looking into a major project with that soon). I know they have a lot (some of which is not included in their public catalogs, for unknown reasons), but as we focus on Alice, I don't know what they may have. I /do/ know they have many (if not most) of "lost" Edison films for instance. If you're interested in an early American film, doesn't hurt to ask them.

[@adriangarcia543]

Now I or maybe someone should remake this movie

[@marknelson2-ih6sq]

This old film is in amazing good condition

[@nicoleblackman9504]

Thank you :) much appreciated

[@adriangarcia543]

Good movie

[@malfattio2894]

Hi, do you know what other films were copied from 22mm by the Library of Congress?

[@MaskedMan66]

Interestingly, 1910 also saw the big screen's first adaptation of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."

[@martingauci7150]

Hi, we are working on a project with Teatru Malta and we are doing a collage of video material , would it be possible to use parts of this footage for an DIY theatre project for schools? I had found the original transfer however this is in much better quality.

[@CuriouserArchive]

Hello! As far as I'm concerned, feel free to use this however you see fit. I appreciate that you asked :)

[@EkenLCH]

me encantó !!!!! quiero la segunda parte

[@rushstone5670]

I'm very impressed

[@juliamavroidi8601]

Haha, the Queen is great! Gave me some chuckles, even withozt dialogue. Is the Mad Hatter played by a woman? Or maybe a child?

[@beamendes2089]

This one was the first Alice movie ever?

[@CuriouserArchive]

No, the first one was in 1903. It's on my channel here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIGTkGt7n9iUaM0

[@beamendes2089]

@@CuriouserArchive thank you!!

[@sabu1895]

Es mejor la de 1903

[@Henry-ol6gf]

Is this supposed to be silent?

[@CuriouserArchive]

Like other silent films of the era, it would have originally been presented with a live musical performance, typically a piano player. Some films had scores specifically composed for them, but most were improvised or compiled by the theater that was screening the film. I am not aware of a score existing for this film, unfortunately, and I also can't say I have the talent to put one together that actually matches the film, so it has been left silent here.

[@Zinwaq]

She (the actress playing Alice) reminds me of the real Alice. Alice Liddell.

[@_Bubchen]

😂 super Film

[@unkolawdio]

Creepy