Gilbert & Sullivan - The Mikado / Conrad, Stewart, Revill, Opera World
starring: William Conrad, Clive Revill, Kate Flowers, John Stewart, Anne Collins
directed by: Rodney Greenberg
directed by: Rodney Greenberg
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Product Description:
Featuring the london symphony orchestra and a host of international stars including vincent price joel gray peter marshall keith mitchell frankie howerd and peter allen. Filmed in england and created especially for tv they have delighted fans on pbs and the bbc.Studio: Acorn MediaRelease Date: 01/20/2004Run time: 96 minutes
Amazon.com:
An uneasy cross between a movie and a theater production, this version of Gilbert and Sullivan's masterpiece The Mikado is on the clumsy side. Obviously taped on a stage (there are just two settings, a town square and a landscape) but without an audience, it lacks the spark of live performance and the versatility of film. The action is weighed down by jejune attempts at comedy. When Nanki-Poo (disguised as a musician) receives the devastating news that the woman he loves is promised to another man, he doesn't react at all, but instead plays trombone accompaniment. And after he describes his catalog of musical offerings, the court gentlemen--for no reason except that the song's final word is "lullaby"--drop to the ground and fall asleep. Besides not being funny, these gags are unconnected to anything in the story.
A couple of performances partly redeem things. Kate Flowers sings very well and, even better, actually creates a character. Her Yum-Yum is mischievous, blunt, sarcastic--just the kind of person who would compare herself to the sun and the moon. And as Ko-Ko, Clive Revill is a terrific combination of wily and sympathetic. Slightly hunched and wearing a jester's costume, Revill is a nervous little schemer who's vividly believable. William Conrad's bland Mikado doesn't have much impact. This is one of the less distinguished entries in the Opera World series of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. --David Olivenbaum
Featuring the london symphony orchestra and a host of international stars including vincent price joel gray peter marshall keith mitchell frankie howerd and peter allen. Filmed in england and created especially for tv they have delighted fans on pbs and the bbc.Studio: Acorn MediaRelease Date: 01/20/2004Run time: 96 minutes
Amazon.com:
An uneasy cross between a movie and a theater production, this version of Gilbert and Sullivan's masterpiece The Mikado is on the clumsy side. Obviously taped on a stage (there are just two settings, a town square and a landscape) but without an audience, it lacks the spark of live performance and the versatility of film. The action is weighed down by jejune attempts at comedy. When Nanki-Poo (disguised as a musician) receives the devastating news that the woman he loves is promised to another man, he doesn't react at all, but instead plays trombone accompaniment. And after he describes his catalog of musical offerings, the court gentlemen--for no reason except that the song's final word is "lullaby"--drop to the ground and fall asleep. Besides not being funny, these gags are unconnected to anything in the story.
A couple of performances partly redeem things. Kate Flowers sings very well and, even better, actually creates a character. Her Yum-Yum is mischievous, blunt, sarcastic--just the kind of person who would compare herself to the sun and the moon. And as Ko-Ko, Clive Revill is a terrific combination of wily and sympathetic. Slightly hunched and wearing a jester's costume, Revill is a nervous little schemer who's vividly believable. William Conrad's bland Mikado doesn't have much impact. This is one of the less distinguished entries in the Opera World series of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. --David Olivenbaum
Related Items:
- Gilbert & Sullivan - H.M.S. Pinafore / Marshall, Howerd, Jones, Opera World
- Gilbert & Sullivan - The Mikado / Eric Idle, Lesley Garrett, Richard Van Allan, Felicity Palmer, Richard Angas, Bonaventura Bottone, Susan Bullock, English National Opera
- Gilbert & Sullivan - The Pirates of Penzance / Kline, Ronstadt, Smith, Routledge, Delacorte Theater (Broadway Theatre Archive)
- Gilbert & Sullivan - H.M.S. Pinafore / Trial By Jury - David Hobson, Anthony Warlow, Colette Mann, Tiffany Speight, John Bolton Wood, Richard Alexander, Opera Australia, State Theatre, The Arts Centre Melbourne
- Gilbert & Sullivan - The Gondoliers / Michell, McDonnell, Egerton, Opera World
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Great version of The Mikado
Have been watching versions of The Mikado for over 50 years and this one is really excellent.
Rating: 
- Bless my heart...my son
One of the only two in the so-called "complete" Gilbert & Sullivan series(and it isn't complete at all) which actually has all of the complete dialog and music, even though the film, especially in Act Two, seems to have been performed at breakneck speed in order to squeeze everything in. However, in all fairness, there were some rather interesting things also done in this performance.Set more or less in Meiji Japan, we see hot-air balloons, a contemporary railway, Pish-Tush dressed in the odd semi ... Read More
Rating: - Gilbert & Sullivan - The Mikado
I originally saw this production over 20 years ago on PBS. It was the first time I saw The Mikado and I thought it was rightfully one of G&S's best works. I have seen a couple of other versions, one in a live professional production ($50 a seat) and another that was televised and I think this is still ther better of the three. Just as a lark I thought I would see if it was somehow available on DVD and I knew William Conrad was in it. All I needed to search was Conrad and Mikado and, by golly, it did ... Read More
Rating: 
- Imitation of much better
If you want accurate renditions of the venerable Gilbert & Sullivan, try to find the D'Orly Carte Company's version.They are the original company that G&S started and tutored to perform their operettas.
Rating: - Overlook the flaws and enjoy this movie.
This 1982, BBC/PBS, made-for-TV production is somewhat dated.The technical aspects, including sound work would be done better today.It is easy to hear and to understand the play, but there is very little stereo effect, and today's 5.1 sound would make it even better.
One feature I appreciated was the included libretto, which follows the one from Bradley's book closely.There are no captions of any kind.
I was surprised to see Joseph Conrad cast as the Mikado; I didn't ... Read More
- Great version of The MikadoHave been watching versions of The Mikado for over 50 years and this one is really excellent.
- Bless my heart...my son One of the only two in the so-called "complete" Gilbert & Sullivan series(and it isn't complete at all) which actually has all of the complete dialog and music, even though the film, especially in Act Two, seems to have been performed at breakneck speed in order to squeeze everything in. However, in all fairness, there were some rather interesting things also done in this performance.Set more or less in Meiji Japan, we see hot-air balloons, a contemporary railway, Pish-Tush dressed in the odd semi ... Read More
- Gilbert & Sullivan - The MikadoI originally saw this production over 20 years ago on PBS. It was the first time I saw The Mikado and I thought it was rightfully one of G&S's best works. I have seen a couple of other versions, one in a live professional production ($50 a seat) and another that was televised and I think this is still ther better of the three. Just as a lark I thought I would see if it was somehow available on DVD and I knew William Conrad was in it. All I needed to search was Conrad and Mikado and, by golly, it did ... Read More
- Imitation of much betterIf you want accurate renditions of the venerable Gilbert & Sullivan, try to find the D'Orly Carte Company's version.They are the original company that G&S started and tutored to perform their operettas.
- Overlook the flaws and enjoy this movie.This 1982, BBC/PBS, made-for-TV production is somewhat dated.The technical aspects, including sound work would be done better today.It is easy to hear and to understand the play, but there is very little stereo effect, and today's 5.1 sound would make it even better.
One feature I appreciated was the included libretto, which follows the one from Bradley's book closely.There are no captions of any kind.
I was surprised to see Joseph Conrad cast as the Mikado; I didn't ... Read More
