Cheap Topsy-Turvy (DVD) (Allan Corduner, Jim Broadbent) (Mike Leigh) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Topsy-Turvy

"Topsy Turvy" is an excellently put together piece, but the problem is that it is dreadfully long, so much so that I suspect it was actually a miniseries that they decided to release at a single sitting. The first half of the film depicts the two very different men who comprised the team of Gilbert and Sullivan. We see the rather trashy bon vivant lifestyle of Sullivan, living it up in a house of ill repute at one point, and this is contrasted to the stodgy household of Gilbert, who seems vaguely repressed in his marriage and has one old "w"itch of a mother. Now, there I was in the movie theatre on New Year's Day with some friends watching all this and I was doing alright for well over an hour, when suddenly I was seized with terror as the thought popped into my head: "Hey, isn't this movie supposed to be about the staging of 'The Mikado'? They're not even REMOTELY near that yet!" And so I knew that I was in for The Long Haul, a movie that seemed to last for five hours. And of course, they did a wonderful job of that whole sequence too, when they finally got round to it.

So, the thing to keep in mind with "Topsy Turvy" is this length. If you rent it, consider it a two-parter, and stop in the middle to sleep or whatever, and then come back to it the next day. Also, I think you really would have to have some appreciation for the oeuvre of Gilbert and Sullivan beforehand. Two of my friends were so into it that the film just breezed by for them, while a third woman just conked out and slept through a large part of it. "The Mikado" is one of G&S's best scores, and the singers turn in A+ performances as the original Mikado cast members--you get as caught up in their lives as with G&S's. Wonderful costuming and the traditional British eccentric acting help put the film over beautifully, provided that you've got enough grit to make it through to the credits. Rent well advised, and you'll do fine.

Straightforward Look at Topsy Turvy Creative Process
Topsy Turvy is a delight for anyone who enjoys film biographies and of course a double delight for Gilbert and Sullivan fans. The film opens when the operatta-producing duo are at a creative standstill; their latest work is too derivative of earlier work and has received a mediocre reception from the London audience.

W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan were under contract to the D'Oyly Carte Company to write operattas so they had to try, but the best scenario Gilbert could come up with was an enchanted potion (even though he had used an enchanted device in an earlier play). But help arrived in the form of a Japanese trade show, which opened up that mysterious island to Londoners. Inspiration literally struck Gilbert on the head when a sword he bought at the show fell off its wall mounting and clouted him on the head. He thought. . . and thought . . . and came up with the plot for "The Mikado" with its Lord High Executioner, the death sentence for flirting, the wandering minstrel and other topsy-turvydom.

The producers of this movie have fun playing with the ironies of time. At one point G&S communicate with the aid of that rare new device, the "telephone," and we are reminded that it was as cutting-edge for them as the Web is for us. When Sullivan's wife arranges her own abortion, she reminds her husband, "After all, it is 1888."

This is a handsome production with no expense spared on period detail. With flashback, rehearsal and finished product we get to see most of the major numbers from "The Mikado" presented as they would have been at the time of the original production, and they are quite charming indeed. This is a wonderful movie; although rather long we get an artistic biography, a show-biz story and most of "The Mikado" all rolled together so it is a most entertaining show. No special effects, just excellent acting, great attention to detail, and wonderful dialog to tie it all together.

COLORFUL AND FREQUENTLY HILARIOUS LOOK AT MUSICAL THEATRE..
While somewhat self-indulgent in its length (over two hours!), it's a complete delight in every way. Leigh's dialogue is as witty as his direction is fluid, the music is glorious, and the performances polished from almost everyone in the ensemble.

The principal reservation I have is that those of us in the audience who may not be aficionados of G&S works will leave the theater in the dark about the themes of the compositions. Just what is "The Mikado"--a piece which lampoons British society but which distances the satire by situating the action in Japan? (P.S. The features on the DVD take care of this, so they may be worth watching prior to the movie.)

Yet, Leigh evokes a very authentic atmosphere, creates credible characterisations, and is ultimately not afraid to balance the realities behind the performances with certain matters left in the air at the end. The passion for art (whether it be Gilbert & Sullivan operettas or, you know, clay sculpture) is what burns intensely in this movie. Some may judge this film as stuffy or high-nose, but the tremendous heart of this film is almost impossible not to be carried away by.

A very unusual but satisfying treat.