Topsy Turvy [DVD]

As a member of my local operatic society for 65yrs (now retired)I have been in the Mikado three times and most of the other G. and S.operettas more than once. As an avid fan of their work i found this a most enjoyable dvd. But for me i only want to see the original. and Traditional productions. Some of the small doses of the todays that I've endured are awful. For example. HMS Pinafore set on board a Submarine. Tap dancing policeman etc etc. These works are our heritage stop messing about with them. Rant over this was an almost Traditional production and a good buy worth the good. price.

This is a simply wonderful film. A classic, no less. A great story, beautifully told. The story concerns those quintessentially English Victorian gents Gilbert and Sullivan, whose lives and light operas had never awakened any real interest on my part, until seeing this.Their highly successful relationship is nearing stormy waters, with composer Arthur Sullivan tiring of their lucrative but highly formulaic output - what he describes as Sullivan's penchant for 'topsy-turvydom' - and desirous of writing his own independent 'serious work'. The film's focus is the fraught genesis of The Mikado. Allan Corduner and Jim Broadbent deliver completely believable and commanding performances as Arthur Sullivan and librettist W. S. Gilbert respectively.What might've been a conceit, the drama within a drama, inevitable perhaps given the subject, is so adroitly handled here as to remain, like everything else about the film richly Dickensian, yet entirely believable. Far from the cumbersome and un-natural theatricality that augments the failings of Joe Wright's Anna Karenina, this aspect of Topsy Turvy is both natural and adds to the strengths and charms of a superb film.Beautifully scripted, shot, directed and acted, Topsy Turvy is brimming over with homegrown talent justly worthy of praise and pride, from the two leads to pretty much all the supporting cast, with Timothy Spall, Martin Savage, Shirley Henderson and Lesley Manville (superbly and self-sacrificingly tragic as Gilbert's wife) all worthy of special mention. There's even the human chameleon Andy Serkis, better known as Gollum, strutting about in striped tights! There are some splendidly dark and disturbing cameos from Charles Simon, as Gilbert's crazy father, and a trio of ladies - Eve Pearce, Lavinia Bertram and Theresa Watson, as Gilbert's mother and ageing spinster sisters. If Gilbert's dysfunctional family were really anything like they're depicted here... well, no wonder he wrote so effortlessly on topsy-turveydom!And what's doubly impressive is that this film, like the clever DVD cover and theatrical poster, which can be viewed on two axes, as either Gilbert or Sullivan, can be enjoyed as a delightful period piece documenting the creative process, or a darker comment on the buttoned-up, repressive Victorian moral climate. There's so much to both enjoy and give pause for thought. It really and truly is an embarrassment of riches.The integration of the musical elements is also masterfully done, and all those involved, especially those whose talents span both the dramatic and the musical aspects, deserve our highest approbation. As well as some great set-piece stage scenes there are a number of rehearsal scenes which are just fabulous.Mike Leigh is a real boon to British, nay, global film making. Making films about real people in real honest to life drama, as opposed to most of the comic book airbrushed him-bo and bimbo fantasies of the mainstream. How I've longed to see him do more in this vein. And now that dream is about to be fulfilled, with the soon-to-be-released Turner biopic, directed by Leigh and starring Spall in the title role... can't wait!

Gilbert's output is getting jaded according to Sullivan: too much reliance on the magic bean scenario. Guilbert is in a rut, and Sullivan is, well, rutting... but it's all catching up with him. Oh! That bohemian lifestyle. There will be a parting of the waves if a good plot doesn't pop out of the blue soon. Fortunately a little bit of Japanese culture is about to drop on Gilbert's head (near-miss, at any rate).Mike Leigh gives us a glimpse of the human story behind the Mikado and also a chance to experience what the Mikado might look like if he had made the whole comic opera (he should have done!) as a properly filmed work. The only films of G&S's work seem to be filmed stage versions. You can't find a full version of many of them with of the quality and production values that Mike Leigh shown in the set pieces shown in this film. Three Little Girls From School is absolutely first class both visually and sound-wise. (And Moaning Myrtle [spellbinding Shirley Henderson] is Yum Yum...).I am only left wondering why Mike Leigh did not actually complete the complete two acts of The Mikado while he was at it? It would have been brilliant.

A superb ensemble cast, stunning costumes and brilliant singing and acting come together to make this - in my mind - director Mike Leigh's best film to date. It covers a low point in the relationship between the Victorian comic opera team of lyricist William S Gilbert and composer Sir Arthur Sullivan. Sullivan believes Gilbert's ideas are becoming stale and wants to break the partnership so he can write an opera. Things are looking bleak until Gilbert comes up with the inspired idea of a comic opera set in Japan called the Mikado. The film covers the preparation, staging and rehearsals of the opera, the clashes of artistic temperament and the trials and tribulations of staging such an ambitious project. The question is, will the comic opera be a great success and save the partnership or will it fail, causing the two go their separate ways after all?

I had to watch the film a second time within a day or two of watching it the first time because I had enjoyed it so much and wanted to re-experience it. I came to this after finishing watching Mike Leigh's Mr Turner (also highly recommended). Topsy Turvy has a fab ensemble cast and the characters they portray are fascinating (it made me go off and Google some of their real life bios at the end). I think Shirley Henderson is particularly enchanting in this - and her place at the end really gives the film something extra. Costumes, sets, actors, characters, dialogue... everything is absorbing and the film really carries you along with it. I wasn't expecting to like it this much but I absolutely loved it.

The product description is WRONG. This presented letter-boxed within a 4:3 frame, and TVs do not generally have a zoom in function any more. The result is that this "Widescreen" film is appears with a large black border on all four sides. It is NOT 16:9 - 1.85:1, but 4:3 - 1.85:1.This will be the result of using the old master tapes designed for VHS publication, rather than remastering for DVDs.A great film, but badly let down by this. At least it was cheap. The last film I bought like this was a very dodgy DVD of "Barry Lyndon", also letter-boxed into the 4:3 frame. NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!