The 2-hour 1970 ORTF (Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française) production, described in The Annotated Alice 150 as a “burlesque with stunning visual and auditory overlay” has recently been found on YouTube by Adriana Peliano, to whom we give thanks. With English subtitles. Nine-year-old Marie-Véronique Maurin stars as Alice.
Adriana says she loves it, calling it “not impeccable but very creative,” and goes on to say that it was “directed by the provocateur Jean-Christophe Averty, a purveyor of French video art and director of experimental films such as Ubu Roi (1965) and Salvador Dali: A Soft Self-Portrait (1970). It features a moving collage of live action, animation, graphic design, and puppetry, creating psychedelic kaleidoscopes. The color palette is also original, clashing with iconic references. This Wonderland is more challenging and bewildering than most Alice movies, and at the same time the Alice character is less naïve than usual. Instead, she is often angry and moody, defying the disturbing characters and obstacles she encounters, including discussions with herself as a double. Averty’s Alice may not be wonderful—it has technical and aesthetic limitations that make it dated—but it is curious and stands out for its alicedelic daring creativity.”
