Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Fantasy
So, have you ever seen the X-rated, cult classic version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND, which starred Kristine DeBell (MEATBALLS)? It's not the same old Alice you remember. The film is charmingly absurd, and it's become the shining star of the all too short-lived trend of adult films based on classic children's stories (CINDERELLA, FAIRY TALES, GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BARES, THE EROTIC ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO, CINDERELLA 2000, etc.). Like the other films in the genre, there's a real sense of whimsy and innocence despite the pornographic nature, and it's not surprising that this version of ALICE is boasted as "one of the highest grossing adult movies of all time." 32 years later there's still an interest, which is more than one will be able to say 32 years from now about today's cheap, gynecological porn. ALICE features some clever one-liners, insanely catchy music, great blocking and cinematography and it's simply a fun movie that didn't take itself very seriously or aspire to be anything but a low-brow sex comedy. And I doubt there's ever been another musical filmed with a close-up of the composer's erection... that puts the movie in a league of its own (but at least it proved that he could "get his ding-a-ling up")!
Apparently, however, there was supposed to be another film in the exact same league. The next year DeBell was set to star in a follow-up based on L. Frank Baum's THE WIZARD OF OZ:
Over at BookSteve's Library, that slick ad was unearthed. Apparently there was also a teaser trailer featuring DeBell getting undressed to head to the set of OZZ, but it seemed to be pre-production hype for a film that was never made.
The film got an official DVD release in 2007. While I will give Subversive Cinema huge props for lovingly remastering and including two radically different versions of the film (the single X-rated version is the better of the two), the film seems to be formatted in the wrong aspect ratio (though it's not too badly cropped) and the other extras are disappointing. The trailer once appeared on their website, but was omitted from the DVD. The sole extra is a near-40 minute documentary that's mainly a commentary by two adult entertainment actors/historians who didn't have anything whatsoever to do with the making of the film -- only the ubiquitous Larry Gelman, who played The White Rabbit, is interviewed. Sadly, Gelman doesn't have much screen time, as the other two hog the spotlight, and a good portion of their endless banter about the history of the film is inaccurate. The DVD is subtitled the "Storybook Edition" but doesn't come with so much as a one-sided chapter list insert. Would've been nice to get a booklet with some photos or vintage ad slicks or something, but nada. And then there's the animated menus which are annoyingly overlong and unpassable.
When it was announced that the film was finally going to get an official release on DVD, it was supposed to appear in a Special Edition complete with a CD soundtrack and THREE versions of the film -- including the R-rated cut. A long time passed after that announcement, and when the DVD was finally released neither were included. Matter of fact, the CD's continued to be cited on one of Subversive's pages for the DVD -- and when one stuck the disc in the computer, it reads as disc one of two. Since no official explanation was ever given for the CD's absence, I can only presume that they thought the audio masters were in better condition than they are. A bit disconcertingly, there's a few times during the XXX version that the music on the DVD abruptly and drastically jumps from mono into stereo and back to mono again -- guess there were audio problems on the film, so they must've subbed in the audio masters. Sadly Subversive is now defunct and the DVD is out of print, but considering the cult following the film has, there will doubtlessly be a future re-release.
