‘Dreamchild’ Blu-Ray Review – Lewis Carroll Drama Is Buoyed By Magical Jim Henson Creatures

The magnificent Ian Holm (The Homecoming, Alien) is renowned children’s author Lewis Carroll in this poignant fantasy-drama set in 1930s New York and populated by the fabulous special-effects creatures of Muppet master Jim Henson. To help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s birth, the real-life Alice in Wonderland—80-year-old Alice Hargreaves (Coral Browne, The Killing of Sister George)—is baffled by her enormous public popularity. As she comes to terms with America’s “Alice Mania,” she returns in her thoughts and dreams to her idyllic childhood, in the England of the mid-1800s. In a wondrous blend of fantasy and reality, she confronts the unsettling memories of her past—and the strangely repressed Reverend Dodgson (a.k.a. Lewis Carroll), whose powerful affection for Alice surfaced in his writing to create one of the world’s most beloved literary classics. Scripted by Dennis Potter (Gorky Park) and co-starring Peter Gallagher (Summer Lovers), Dreamchild is a delightfully unique and inspiring film for all ages.

For thoughts on Dreamchild, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic: 

[youtube https://youtu.be/PFO623ljMjw?t=2014]

Video Quality

Kino Classics presents Dreamchild with a pleasant upgrade in the form of a new 1080p transfer in 1.85:1 that is not noted as being sourced from a new master. The film does present some fleeting instances of dirt and debris, plus the odd fluctuations in density, but largely it looks lovely. The overall color palette is natural and bright with vibrant colors within the environments that are striking with good saturation. Skin tones look robust, and the presentation offers up some fairly deep black levels that only begin to crush a bit in the darkest moments. There is a noticeable uptick in fine detail that should please fans of the film, even if some shots look better maintained than others. There does not appear to have been any digital manipulation of the source. The transfer provides sumptuous natural film grain absent of any compression artifacts or other such digital anomalies. While a fresh scan would have been a cherry on top, Kino Classics has given this one a respectable presentation. 

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a workmanlike DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that represents the film pretty well throughout. One of the first things you will notice is the vibrancy and clarity of the score when moments are aided with music. Despite the resonance of this score, nothing ever overpowers the dialogue or other important information. This track shows no major instances of age related wear and tear such as hissing or popping. The dialogue and background noises are represented in pleasing harmony with all competing elements. All of the sound effects and music appear to be faithful to the intent of the original sound. This disc maintains an admirable sense of fidelity that is appreciated throughout. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. 

Special Features

• Audio Commentary: Author/Film Historian Lee Gambin provides a formidable commentary track in which he delves into how this film tackles the Alice In Wonderland tale, the work of Jim Henson, the themes of the story, the state of the world depicted in the film in contrast to reality, the background of the performers, how this parallels other works of art and more. 

• Peter Medak Remembers Coral Browne: A 22-minute audio interview is provided here in which Gambin has a conversation with Director Peter Medak (The Changeling) who discusses his friend and actress Coral Browne. Medak recalls how they initially became friends, her varied career, her larger than life personality, her relationship with Vincent Price, their working relationship and more. 

• Trailers: There is a three-minute trailer provided for Dreamchild. There are also trailers provided for Pufnstuf and The Railway Children. 

Final Thoughts

Dreamchild is a film that many people are sure to find quite moving, but there is an underlying creepy quality to the story which took me out of it time and time again. The way in which the older author gazes upon young Alice is played off one way, but feels very different when you stop to consider it for a bit. The performances are strong, and there are some Jim Henson creations that are whimsical enough to warrant a viewing alone. Kino Classics has provided a new Blu-Ray featuring a pretty great A/V presentation and a couple decent special features. If you are a fan of the film, you will love this release. 

Dreamchild is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.