Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Alice, Sweet Alice Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 6, 2018

Alfred Sole's "Alice, Sweet Alice" (1976) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors 88 Films. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage promotional materials for the film and archival audio commentary by director Alfred Sole, film editor Edward Salier, and Bill Lustig. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

New passion

I would like to begin this article with a speculation, which is that prior to directing Alice, Sweet Alice Alfred Sole had not only seen Nic Roeg’s classic thriller Don't Look Now, but liked it so much that he actually carefully studied its style. He must have, because the entire buildup of his film relies on the exact same type of misdirection that Roeg uses to flip the narrative and at the right time catch the viewer off-guard. Don’t Look Now is a better film for two simple reasons. First, it had a bigger cast. Second, it had a more experienced director behind the camera working with a proper budget who could choose better angles for the camera to ‘see’ the action in ways that more effectively strengthen the desired atmosphere.

Alice, Sweet Alice is set in one of those small provincial towns where not only nothing exciting ever happens, but it frequently feels like time is actually moving a lot slower than it should. This is why teenage sisters Karen (Brooke Shields) and Alice (Paula Sheppard) have been forced to invent their own entertainment -- silly jokes that grownups can’t appreciate, new games whose rules are never final, and quick trips to dangerous places that they have been told to avoid. However, in recent years the sisters have become so competitive that while trying to outdo each other they have frequently upset their mother, Katherine (Linda Miller), and she has blamed the older Alice for the drama.

The sleepy town is rocked to its core when Karen is viciously strangled and burnt in a church right before her holy communion. The horrific news instantly reaches her father, Dom (Niles McMaster), and he quickly returns to assist his ex-wife with the funeral preparations and the local authorities as they gather information that could lead to the identification of the killer. However, shortly after someone attacks Aunt Annie (Jane Lowry) while wearing a yellow raincoat, exactly like the one that Alice has, and a big plastic mask, and when a couple of detectives question the little girl she does her best to convince them that the attacker was her dead sister.

It frequently shows that Sole did not have a big budget to work with, but all these years later this is actually something that greatly benefits his film. For example, there are quite a few sequences where the plain visuals become very spooky because seemingly random noises somewhere in the background accomplish a lot more to enhance the desired atmosphere than elaborate set designs would have. Also, the roughness of the supporting cast has more or less the same positive effect because it is not at all easy to tell whether it is authentic or an essential element of Sole’s vision of the film.

The fluid storytelling and unusual atmosphere will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but folks that appreciate the freedom with which so many American films from the ‘70s blended different genre elements while trying to create something special will not be disappointed. In this film there is so much uncertainty -- and it does not really matter whether all of was accomplished by design or not -- that even when some of its rough spots are exposed, or as mentioned earlier some comparisons with Don’t Look Now become impossible to avoid, that the whole thing feels quite refreshing.

*Many old and recent reviews describe the buildup and the evolution of the characterizations in such detail that they essentially spoil major twists. If you choose to see the film, avoid reading any reviews that do so.

Alice, Sweet Alice Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Alfred Sole's Alice, Sweet Alice arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films.

The release is sourced from a newly restored 2K master that was created after an original 35mm print was accessed. Judging by the restoration demonstration that is included on this release, I would argue that the end product is about as good as one could expect it to be. This isn't to imply that the film cannot look better in high-definition -- in an ideal world, if the OCN was accessed it should look much better in high-definition -- but to underscore that considering where the project started and where it ended it is very clear to me that competent work was done to ensure a proper technical presentation. So, density and delineation range from decent to good, but there are occasional spots where the effects of the aging become exacerbated and affect a wider range of qualities, such as color saturation and balance. However, even when these fluctuations become obvious an organic appearance is always retained. Indeed, no attempts were made to resharpen or repolish the film so that it looks glossy and clean; rather, the crew that remastered it made sure that as many of its native qualities are recovered from the 35mm print. On a larger screen fluidity is decent, but the limitations of the original element are also more pronounced. Image stability is good. All in all, if the OCN isn't available to work with, I personally would much rather have this type of technical presentation of an older film than what we usually see when a big-budget catalog title emerges from from Universal's vaults and a heavily processed remaster is used to source a future Blu-ray release. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Alice, Sweet Alice Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is clean and stable. Frankly, it is almost impossible to tell that any aging might have occurred prior to the remastering of the film. If there were any serious issues right now no one would be able to tell; the quality of the audio is indeed very good. Some extremely light 'thinness' occasionally sneaks in, but it is almost certainly inherited.

Alice, Sweet Alice Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Restoration Showreel - before-and-after comparisons highlighting the improvements that were made during the remastering of Alice, Sweet Alice. (6 min).

• Trailer - original remastered trailer for Alice, Sweet Alice. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• TV Spot - a vintage TV spot for Alice, Sweet Alice. In English, not subtitled. (1 min).

• Posters and Stills Gallery - a large collection of original vintage promotional materials for Alice, Sweet Alice from around the world. (5 min).

• Audio Commentary - this vintage audio commentary features director Alfred Sole, film editor Edward Salier, and Bill Lustig (from Blue Underground) who had small but important contributions to Alice, Sweet Alice. There is a of of very detailed information about the development of the project, the locations that were used to shoot various sequences, the replacement of the original title (which was Communion) and the film's distribution history, the different cameramen that were used (apparently nine), the editing process and some interesting experimentation that were made at the time, Alphonso DeNoble's memorable character, etc. The audio commentary also appeared on the R1 DVD release that Hen's Tooth Video produced some years ago.

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art.

Alice, Sweet Alice Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Alice, Sweet Alice is exactly the type of unpredictable genre film that a couple of decades ago I could have discovered in my local independent video store. Despite some obvious production limitations, it delivers plenty of genuine surprises and creates quite the special atmosphere. I enjoyed it a lot, though I would not describe it as a slasher. The film has been remastered in 2K and is now available on a Region-Free Blu-ray from 88 Films. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.