Alice's Restaurant DVD (1969)

Alice's Restaurant

1969

Overall rating: 3 out of 5

from 417 members

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, All Movie Guide

Alice's Restaurant details

Format:	15 DVD
Starring:	Arlo Guthrie, James Broderick, M. Emmet Walsh, Patricia Quinn (i), Tina Chen, Patricia Quinn
Director:	Arthur Penn
Genre:	Drama - General
Studio:	MGM ENTERTAINMENT

DVD 1 disc

Name	Discs
Alice's Restaurant	15 Feature

DVD Information

Run time:	1 hour 46 minutes
Rental release:	15 Sep 2003
Main languages:	English

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Most helpful review Alice's Restaurant

Nostalgia for aging hippies

By Alan Francis from Harlow, England , 03 Jun 2005

[Highly rated reviewer]

You can find anything you want in Alice's Restaurant.

An atmospheric evocation of a lost era.
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Mixed Bag.

By SteveMason (58 reviews) from Nottingham , 11 May 2009

Naive, trivial sixties time capsule entry. Viewed from today Alice's Restaurant makes 1969 seem as alien as Chaucer.

The film is partly redeemed by the strong evocation of an era, realised through the excellent photography and locations.

Maybe one that's better enjoyed herbally?
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No wonder the 60's are so over

By DrJ (28 reviews) from Glasgow , 13 Feb 2008

This film is worth watching almost as a kind of historical document that reflects so much of the time in which it was made. The moral certitude of the protagonists is, in reflection of retrospect, tinted by a profound sense of flawed thinking. A major part of the story hinges on the peace-loving, earthy friendly characters getting nicked for fly-tipping. How smart can they be? The ending is a good metaphor for the death of the 60's.
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Thought provoking

By a customer from Hope Valley, Derbyshire , 21 Jan 2007

I enjoyed it much more than I expected to. First saw it in the early 70s, and remember it being very funny. Now seems to be rather sad - the end of the hippy dream and the realisation that women didn't do too well in the hippy culture. Nostalgic but not sentimental.
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Nostalgia for aging hippies

By Alan Francis from Harlow, England , 03 Jun 2005

[Highly rated reviewer]

You can find anything you want in Alice's Restaurant.

An atmospheric evocation of a lost era.
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Quirky and enjoyable

By a customer from Wales , 30 Nov 2004

A movie about hippies, made by hippies at the height of the flower power era. For those who feel nostalgic about the 60s this is the real thing. I loved it.
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