TOPSY-TURVY (Criterion/eOne, 1999) D: Mike Leigh, w/ Jim Broadbent, Allan Corduner. Rating: NNNNN DVD package: NNNNN
THE MIKADO (Criterion/eOne, 1939) D: Victor Schertzinger, w/ Martyn Green, Sydney Granville. Rating: NNN DVD package: NNNN Rating: NNNNN
In 1884, Sir Arthur Sullivan, composer, dissolves his wildly successful partnership with W.S. Gilbert, librettist, so he can concentrate on his serious music. Within a year, they’re back together to launch The Mikado, the subject of Mike Leigh’s funny, touching and richly detailed backstage musical, Topsy-Turvy.
Leigh hits high notes, from Gilbert’s initial inspiration through contract negotiations, rehearsals, costume fittings and opening night. In private life, Sullivan shares playful moments with his married lover, while Gilbert endures his arid marriage and dotty relatives, and members of their company reveal their hopes, fears and addictions.
The visuals are handsome, and performances crackle with crisp dialogue and revealing movement, all due to Leigh’s process of extensive research and intensive rehearsal. His goal, he says on a hugely informative commentary, is to “capture the spirit of the Victorian age.”
You can get a sense of how well he succeeded by checking out The Mikado, featuring members of Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera company, the D’Oyly Carte. A passable stage-to-screen adaptation, it’s funny and filled with great songs.
American crooner Kenny Baker, as romantic lead Nanki-Poo, hasn’t the crisp timing the material demands, but D’Oyly Carte veterans Martyn Green and Sydney Granville, as Ko-Ko and Pooh-Bah, do.
Leigh and a pair of G&S experts do a fine job on the history and music.
TOPSY-TURVY EXTRAS Commentary, interviews, Leigh short, essay booklet. Widescreen. English audio and subtitles.
MIKADO EXTRAS Interviews, jazz Mikado radio broadcast excerpts, essay booklet, more. Full-frame. English audio and subtitles.
