1.
A Jay
I’ve always been a film fan and I love all types of film, from horror to romantic comedy, from modern animations to black-andwhite Hollywood classics. However, I’d never seen a 3D film until I went to see Alice in Wonderland, directed by Tim Burton. I know 3D films aren’t new – the technology has been around for a long time. In fact, my grandmother told me about her experience in the 1980s of going to see Jaws in 3D. She had to wear strange cardboard glasses with one red plastic lens and one green plastic lens! But anyway, Alice was my first experience of 3D and I have to say it was disappointing. I was expecting something dark and different from Tim Burton’s version of the classic Alice story, but actually I thought the 3D treatment made the film seem childish – like a cartoon.
B Molly
I’m glad that my first 3D experience was Alice in Wonderland, because it showed me both the good and not so good aspects of 3D films. I went into the cinema with a great sense of expectation. Alice in Wonderland has always been one of my favourite books and I knew that the crazy world Alice finds herself in after falling down the rabbit hole, would be an ideal subject for 3D effects. I was right – the special effects created incredible, surreal scenes with a mixture of real actors and animations. The colours were brilliant and I felt I could reach out my hand and touch the people and objects, like I was right inside the world of the film itself. It was magical and really brought the book to life for me – I loved the whole experience!
C Karim
I thought Tim Burton’s interpretation of the story was a bit weird. In this version of Alice they extended Lewis Carroll’s original story to include a part about Alice’s life as a young teenager in the 'real' world of Victorian England. That part wasn’t in the book and here I felt the 3D treatment was unnecessary. It was quite appropriate to the fantasy world where Alice finds herself after she falls down the rabbit hole, but not to the ‘real’ world of Victorian England. It would have been a nice contrast if only the scenes that took place in the fantasy had been in 3D. Actually the 3D glasses annoyed me because they made some of the film look very dark. For scenes where the characters were inside, I had to keep taking my glasses off to see what was going on!
D Jonas
I’m definitely in favour of 3D technology and I’ve seen some wonderful 3D films at the cinema – the hugely successful Avatar was probably my favourite. However, not all films work so well in 3D and I don’t think it should be used indiscriminately, only if it really adds something to the story. I think in Alice in Wonderland it was appropriate as it really gave the audience a sense of entering into that world of dreams and fantasy where anything is possible, that Alice finds herself in Wonderland. The 3D treatment also worked well with the characters who were created from real actors then digitally enhanced. It was a very creative, unusual film.
2.
Write your text here
3.
Write your text here
4.
Match the comments (1–6) to the people (A–D). You can choose the people more than once.
For me 3D is not an appropriate treatment unless there’s a real reason for using it.
5.
I don’t think the 3D treatment made the film seem very adult.
6.
I thought the film was charming and beautiful visually.
7.
I found wearing the 3D glasses distracting.
8.
I discovered 3D films quite late.
9.
I was really looking forward to seeing Alice in 3D.
10.
Read the opinions again. Are these statements True (T) or False (F)?
The technology for producing 3D films is very recent.
11.
3D glasses now are the same as they were in the 1980s.
12.
This film version of Alice in Wonderland used only animated characters.
13.
Tim Burton’s version of the story is unusual.
14.
Part of the film is about Alice’s life outside Wonderland.
15.
Avatar is a popular film in 3D.
16.
Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first, using the word given. Use between two and five words.
‘Don’t forget your phone charger,’ Jay said. ME
Jay ……………………………………………….…………………………… my phone charger.
17.
‘I phoned you before,’ said Gemma. ALREADY
Gemma said that she …………………………………….………….…………………………… me.
18.
‘Write your answers on the board, Maria,’ the teacher said. TOLD
The teacher ……………………………………………….………………… answers on the board.
19.
‘Did you know the answer, Marcos?’ the teacher asked. IF
The teacher asked Marcos ………………………………….…………………………… the answer.
20.
‘Who made this pizza?’ asked Dave. HAD
Dave asked who …………………………………………………….…………… the pizza.
21.
‘You must listen to this track!’ said Gina. SHOULD
Gina said that I ………………………………………………….……………… track.
22.
‘Don’t use your skateboard on the road,’ said my dad. ME
My dad ……………………………………………….…………………………… my skateboard on the road.
23.
‘I may go and see the performance on Tuesday,’ said Andrew. MIGHT
Andrew said he ……………………………………………….…………… the performance on Tuesday.