Alice's Restaurant
MGM / UA (1969)
Comedy, Drama
In Collection
#444
6*
Seen It:  Yes
(6/13/2011)
027616857644
IMDB   6.3
111 mins USA/English
DVD  Region 1   PG
Arlo Guthrie Arlo Guthrie
Patricia Quinn Alice Brock
James Broderick Ray Brock
Pete Seeger Himself
Lee Hays Himself - Reverend at Evangelical Meeting
Michael McClanathan Shelly
Geoff Outlaw Roger Crowther
Tina Chen Mari-chan
Kathleen Dabney Karin
William Obanhein Himself - Officer Obie
Seth Allen Evangelist
Director Arthur Penn
Producer Hillard Elkins
Joseph Manduke
Harold Leventhal
Writer Arlo Guthrie
Venable Herndon
Arthur Penn

Intrigued by the counterculture tale of Arlo Guthrie 's epic 1968 talking-blues record The Alice's Restaurant Massacree, director Arthur Penn , co-scripting with playwright Venable Herndon , adapted the song into the 1969 feature Alice's Restaurant . Hippie outsider Arlo ( Guthrie , playing himself) encounters suspicion from the straight world; visits his dying father, renowned leftist activist/singer Woody Guthrie ( Joseph Boley ), in the hospital along with friend Pete Seeger ; and hangs out in the title converted church/commune created by his friends Alice ( Pat Quinn ) and her husband Ray ( James Broderick ). After Alice's "Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat," Arlo is arrested for littering by rule-following Officer "Obie" Obanhein ( William Obanhein , playing himself). That littering arrest helps Arlo avoid the Vietnam draft, but the commune is threatened after more personal, old-fashioned conflicts over sex and partnerships permeate Alice and Ray's alternative world. — Lucia Bozzola
Edition Details
Chapters 16
Release Date 1/23/2001
Packaging Keep Case
Screen Ratio 1.85:1
Subtitles French; Spanish
Audio Tracks ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Mono [CC]
Layers Single Side, Single Layer
No. of Disks/Tapes 1
Personal Details
Purchase Date 7/21/2001
Owner Thomas Eisenmann
Store Best Buy
Purchase Price $14.99
Condition Excellent
Reviewed Widescreen Review
Bit Rate 384 KB
Anamophic No
Links IMDB
DVD Empire

Features
Director's Commentary
Audio Commentary by Arlo Guthrie
Original Theatrical Trailer
Never-Before-Seen R-Rated Version

Widescreen Review
Story Synopsis:
Based on Arlo Guthrie’s classic song, “The Alice’s Restaurant Massacre,” Alice’s Restaurant faithfully follows the 18-minute song while, of course, fleshing out the details. Arlo sets off to visit his friends Alice (Quinn) and Ray (Broderick) in Stockbridge, Massachusetts where they live the hippie life in an old church. The big news is that Alice is opening a restaurant for which Arlo writes a radio jingle. Later, after “a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat,” the gang decides that it would be a nice gesture to clean up the “half a ton of garbage” and take it to the dump. Only the dump’s closed on Thanksgiving, which prompts the group to dump their pile of garbage over a ridge on top of another pile of garbage resulting in an arrest by Officer Obie (Obanhein, playing himself) which ultimately leads to Arlo avoiding the draft. A highlight of the film are two songs by the legendary Pete Seeger-what a voice he has! Includes audio commentary by Arlo Guthrie. (Laurie Sevano)

DVD Picture:
The 1.85:1 DVD is not anamorphically enhanced, and exhibits a dated picture that is generally unimpressive. Images appear slightly undefined throughout, except for close-up shots. Contrast is a bit low, and shadow delineation is wanting. The picture must be viewed in a completely darkened room to observe visual information in the darker scenes. Film grain, source element artifacts, and scratches are evident throughout. Overall, the picture has a grimy, aged look throughout. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
The Dolby® Digital 2.0 soundtrack is big fat mono. When ProLogic®-decoded, the audio is properly placed in the center channel. The audio has been reasonably well-restored, though the fact that fidelity is terrible can’t be ignored. Some background hiss and distortion can be noticed. (Perry Sun)