UCLA Film and Television Archives "Alice in Wonderland"
will be showing on Saturday, Jan. 26, at the James Bridges Theater
at 7:30 p.m.
By Abraham Cruz
Daily Bruin Contributor
Moviegoers who are eager to visualize Lakeside’s funky
song “Fantastic Voyage” should take note of the
“Fantastic Voyages” film series being shown on
campus.
The UCLA Film and Television Archives Singular is presenting the
“Fantastic Voyages” movie series in cooperation with
the Hammer Museum’s recent exhibit, “The World from
Here: Treasures of the Great Libraries of Los Angeles.” The
“Fantastic Voyages” series owes some of its inspiration
from the collection of great works of literature from the
“Mind, Spirit, and Imagination” portion of the
exhibition.
“I recognized that some of those books had been translated
successfully to film, and it seems … that a fantastic story could
lend itself to a fantastic film,” said Andrea Alsberg,
curator of the series.
Many viewers will have undoubtedly viewed some of the cinematic
offerings found in this exhibition, most notably 1992’s
“Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” while many others may
have seen classics such as “The Time Machine” (1960) or
Disney’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” (1954)
while growing up.
Yet, one of the most interesting factors of this series is that
most of the other films to be screened are older incarnations of
movies that have been remade by Disney or a major network.
Vivian Sobchack, professor and associate dean of the School of
Theater, Film and Television, commented on the appeal of classic
fantasy movies, despite their lack of computer-generated
effects.
“What’s interesting about the series is that (the)
films that are older were using at their time the best special
effects available to create the fantastic and the wondrous,”
Sobchack said.
 UCLA Film & Television Archive "20,000 Leagues Under
the Sea" will be showing tonight at 7:30 at the James Bridges
Theater. “Alice in Wonderland,” which will be screened
Saturday night, is the 1933 version, not the popular Disney version
with the bright colors and song-and-dance routines. The decision to
forego the Disney version was a choice for the cinematic
interpretation of the book rather than the more child-oriented
incarnation.
“I think animation works really well, and again sometimes
I think you can create a more interesting version without
animation,” said Alsberg. “I think “˜Alice in
Wonderland,’ given the cast and the crew, is a very
interesting film.”
What makes this movie series somewhat unique are not only the
liberties taken during the book-to-screen conversion, but also the
contexts under which the movies were filmed.
“Fantasy is often a cover-up for ideas that can’t be
expressed in an outright fashion. So they’re cloaked in
metaphor/fantasy,” Alsberg said.
Take “The Time Machine,” written by H.G. Wells in
1895, with the film version produced in 1960. Aside from the
story’s main plot and characters, the film version
complements the social and historical age of the book with the
1960s’ concern for the future.
Interestingly, a newer, updated version of “The Time
Machine” is currently under production. Aside from the
special effects the movie is sure to boast, sometimes it’s
not always a good idea to make a newer version.
“Newer is not necessarily better … you can use the best
special effects and still have a crummy film,” Sobchack
said.
Another interesting way to view this eccentric collection of
movies is to analyze the series’ title ““
“Fantastic Voyages.” (All veteran and rookie smokers
know what this means). Viewing these films in an altered state of
mind is a different way to enjoy these movies.
The movie in this series that would attract attention for its
supposed subliminal promotion of drug use would have to be
“Alice in Wonderland.”
Taking into account author Louis Carroll’s purported drug
use can lead to alternate interpretations of the story.
“An artist can take these various themes and can inflect
whatever they want into them, that’s the whole idea of
fantasy,” said Alsberg
Another interesting way to view perhaps the best-known movie in
this series, “The Wizard of Oz,” is to set it to rock
music. Supposedly, while the movie is playing, viewers can
synchronize playing Pink Floyd’s album “Dark Side of
the Moon” to some of the movie.
According to lore, the music of the entire album is supposed to
keep time with the movie until the end.
Perhaps the effects of fantasy movies can best be described by
an average, movie-watching student.
One student who wished to remain anonymous commented on watching
the movie while high. He admits to having watched the movie while
on his own “˜fantastic voyage.’
“I feel relaxed and I absorb the movie’s special
effects, costumes and so forth differently than when I’m not
(high),” he said.
Whether these fantasy films are viewed with the intention of
stimulating the imagination or to be subliminally corrupted, the
“Fantastic Voyages” series can be screened at the James
Bridges Theater in 1409 Melnitz Hall.
The admission will be $7 general, $5 for students and
children.
The series continues tonight with “20,000 Leagues Under
the Sea,” and “The Time Machine.”
Saturday is the screening for “Alice in Wonderland”
and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
The series concludes Sunday with “The Thief of
Baghdad” and “The Wizard of Oz;” all the movies
start at 7:30 p.m., except for Sunday’s earlier performance,
which begins at 2 p.m.
By the way, don’t forget to bring some munchies and some
Pink Floyd.