Topsy-Turvy [DVD]

.After having watched TOPSY-TURVY, I couldn't wait to buy the DVD for myself--not because I wanted to see the whole movie again, but because I wanted to see parts of it again and again. This is the quintessential movie to have in your own collection. The scenes of performances from Gilbert and Sullivan operettas are better than I ever hope to see on stage, because they have been assembled and produced with meticulous attention to detail, transforming us right into the audiences in London at the turn of the century where people read Gilbert's libretto even as they watch the show on opening night. I was in fact surprised to see this authentic touch, for Gilbert's librettos, and the D'Oly Carte Opera Company, are noted for their precision of diction. If the words are that clearly sung, why follow the words on paper? The reason is Respect. There was enormous respect for Gilbert's phenomenal lyrical abilities. And imagine, those opening night audiences could even see and hear Sir Arthur Sullivan conducting the orchestra. If there ever was a "blast from the past," this movie is it!The finest scenes in the movie--each worth the price of admission, as they say--are those actual scenes from the operettas. But the most mind-blowing scene of all is the extended scene of the rehearsal for "The Mikado," where we find Gilbert as director trying to get the right "look" for the show out of his actors. The actors resist him a bit (after all, all actors do), and we see that there must have been an enormous amount of trust in Gilbert to do it his way. What he wanted was, above all, authenticity--no overacting. Too many real-live performances of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas have I seen where overacting and mugging take over the show. The specific "English" humor of the G & S team is a straight-faced kind of humor, far more funny because the actors take the script seriously! The hilarity of the G & S vision is easily subverted if the actors think that their job on stage is to be individually funny. No, the show is an ensemble thing. It works as a group. And in the movie, we see the actors, individually, but also as members of a group of thespians. It is startling and a bit of wonderful to see these same people get up on stage and do their thing. And they do do it--really. All the actors in this movie are also stage performers. (You can get a clue about this because, for once, they are not all handsome and beautiful; if they were, then we'd know their voices were dubbed!) We share the suspense as we watch these actors, whom we have briefly come to know in the film, get up on stage and blow us away with the most magnificent scenes from "The Mikado" we'd ever hope to see!Why then, only four stars? The film wastes too much time going into the relationship between Gilbert and Sullivan, and far too much time on Sullivan's declaration of independence--when he wants to write songs on his own, or write operas on his own. These were all failed attempts, so why resurrect them now? How much better this movie would have been if they had cut some of that extensive dialogue and cut "The Lost Chord" (a Sullivan "popular" song of its day), and instead given us a staged scene--or even two!--from "Pinafore" or "Patience." (I really missed "Pinafore"--I wonder what these actors in this film could have done with it.) I think the reason the producers and director took so much time with the book scenes was that they didn't want to waste all the research they had done into the lives of Gilbert and Sullivan. Somehow they failed to see that we don't want to be bogged down with their lives; we want to know something about them, to be sure, but in the same way we want to know something about the performers--we like to see how it all comes together on stage!Bottom line: a DVD you must have in your collection; its value will grow over the years. A solid four-star film.

One of my all time favorite films but perhaps not for all. The humor in this film is all character driven. Every different character is carefully developed with strengths, weaknesses, and quirks. The opera performers reflect the often pompous, sometimes arrogant, always insecure traits common to people who choose to perform for a living. The owners of the opera house show the tight-rope like balance that must be walked while trying to manage a profit making business dealing with creative egos. The period setting has some delightful touches showing the novelty of the newly developed telephone,fountain pens, and hotels with individual bathrooms. Music lovers will enjoy seeing realistically performed Gilbert and Sullivan songs including some from their less well know shows. But best of all is the perfect comic performances of Allan Corduner and Jim Broadbent as Gilbert and Sullivan themselves. Sullivan feeling that he is not achieving his musical abilities by creating the repetitive "Topsy-Turvy" plots of Gilbert wants to move on his own way. Gilbert himself feeling overburdened by his crazy family, critics who no longer appreciate his works, and a partners that threaten to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs. Jim Broadbent, who is a national treasure of British films, gives a performance of a lifetime . The film is probably the best ever demonstrating the theatrical process.The creation of their masterpiece "The Mikado" is the centerpiece of the film. It is interesting and a little sad to hear that many acting troupes are now dropping the Mikado from their repertoires because it is racially offensive. But if you watch this film you will see that the actual creators of this work admired the Japanese culture that the British public was first being exposed to at the time. They insisted on being accurate in their costuming and to limit mimicking of stereotypical behaviors. In fact most of the humor is much more satirical to British sensibilities than to Japanese culture. I think the only basis for offence is having non Japanese performers portraying Japanese parts. But those same acting troupes also play parts like tyrolean peasants, gypsies, and pirates . Are those nationalities also offended? If there are readers who find the Mikado offensive I would be very interested to know what those offences are because it would be sad to lose such a delightful work of art without understanding why.

The portrayals, (and of course the music) were top notch. A fine movie.

How good is it? I watch it at least once a month.Had Hollywood done this I probably would have walked out of the theatre.It is impeccable in dialogue, acting, musical integration.