Alice nel paese delle pornomeraviglie

What can you possibly say? This is the uncut hardcore, musical Alice! It works too with a large energetic cast seemingly enjoying themselves to the hilt and whilst one could wish for a re-mastered version, I guess we are lucky to even have this video transfer. Pretty much a delight throughout. There are a couple of slightly off moments but this could have been embarrassing all through and it certainly is not. It also could have been and today would have been too camp. No, a very fine effort that is amusing, tuneful and just sexy enough. Fine performances particularly the Kristine DeBell in the lead and was that an unaccredited Richard Prior as the prone Knight being vigorously (if discreetly) ridden?

I'm not much for porno films,to me,if you've seen one then you've seen them all but Alice in Wonderland is a cut above the rest. I remember seeing Kristine Debell on a daytime soap opera (The Young and the restless) back in 1982 and I instantly thought she was something special so I looked into her career and of corse found out about Alice in Wonderland. Anyway,I have seen both soft core and hard core versions of this film and I have to say,I think the best thing would have been if the hard core version was NEVER released. I think it totally ruins the movie for what it was and turned it from a masterpiece into just another XXX movie not to mention that I think it ruined Kristine's career (who I thought was not only beautiful but very talented as an actress) I miss her.

Alice (Kristine DeBell) enters in a world of wonder... but not the kind of wonder that you remember as a kid. The Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit, the Queen and others (even Tweedledee and Tweedledum) show Alice some things about her body -- and other people's bodies -- that might be quite wonderful. A tale of love and lust the likes you have never seen.

The story of how Kristine DeBell got involved with this is interesting. According to her, she was a model at the Ford Agency and saw that there were auditions for this film. She did not know what kind of movie it was, so she tried out and landed the part. Now, exactly what point she figured out what sort of movie it is is unclear, but we do know that she ended up going through with it.

The producer was Bill Osco, probably best known at that point (and maybe even today) for "Flesh Gordon". The director, Bud Townsend, had made a few horror films, "Terror House" and "Nightmare in Wax", which are largely forgotten today, even by fans of cult horror.

In "Alice", the songs are cheesy, but fit the theme of the movie. One song, "What's a Girl Like You Doing on a Knight Like This?" was pretty funny, and the others had similar themes going. The trial towards the end was well scripted, and fit very nicely into the world of Alice. The logic and humor were definitely accounted for. There is no denying it is an adult film, but one that has a certain level of intelligence.

What more can you say about a film like this? All I know is, for people who are used to adult films where the "plot" iss just a 30-second lead-in to the sex, this one is going to overload you with plot and music. But, personally, I think there is something very special about this film and I hope it gets a nice DVD release with the sound and picture touched up and special features (if that is even possible). I can see this being a cult film.

DeBell's story following the film is even more interesting. She began dating producer Bill Osco, who was pushing her to make another adult film, this time a riff on "Wizard of Oz". Author David J. Hogan says this was the original plan before "Alice", with the film to be called "Dirty Dorothy". Whether Hogan or DeBell is right is unknown, but either way the film never went forward, with DeBell insisting on not making any more of "those" films. (Why she agreed to do the first is still a mystery.)

Through Osco, she got the lead in another cult (though not adult) film, "The Great American Girl Robbery" (1979). And who co-produced with Osco? None other than Chuck Russell, who went on to direct such films as "The Blob" and "Nightmare on Elm Street 3"! Through some small miracle, DeBell escaped the world of adult films and b-movie shlock, appearing in "Meatballs" and being a successful star ever since.

While that may be a small tangent off the point of "Alice", it is relevant: what could have been a forgotten, bizarre attempt at an adult musical actually lead to the career of a mainstream actress and (indirectly) an incredible horror director. Who knew?

I agree with Rick who previously reviewed this. The soft core "R" version is excellent. The hard core version released later is so disjointed that it is a hardship to watch. The extra hard core scenes detract from the great movie and are truly extraneous.

While originally intended to be a true hard core porno, but the first with a true big budget and quality, Bill chickened out and opted to release an edited "R" rated version instead. That version is the one that everyone loves.

Years later, he succumbed to the pressure from curiosity seekers and added in much of the footage originally left on the cutting room floor, and released the X rated version.

It's pretty obvious when watching the X rated version when these scenes appear.

If you like adult spoofs of fairy tales, quality acting, singing, costumes and sets, then by all means get the "R" rated version. You'll enjoy it.

If you're an avid collector, get both versions.

In fact, by today's standards, it would probably garner an R rating. This witty, appealing fantasy musical skinflick treatment of the Lewis Carroll classic would likely make the author proud. With songs like "What's a Girl Like You Doing On A Knight Like This", you will laugh a LOT as familiar characters such as the Caterpillar, the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit put a titillating twist on the children's tale. Certainly not for the kiddies, but it doesn't have the hardcore, unemotional edge common to the genre. It's just pure silliness and fun, fun, fun.