This 1983 movie of "The Pirates of Penzance" may be the best film of more than a dozen made of Gilbert and Sullivan's best collaboration. I would like to see the 1980 film of the New York Shakespeare Festival's production on which this TV film is based. But it's not now available on DVD. That show was staged at the open-air Delacorte Theater in Manhattan's Central Park. Universal assembled much of the same cast from that show for this film. All of the leads are the same except for that of Ruth. Angela Lansbury replaced Patricia Routledge from the 1980 show. The film of that production is 10 minutes longer than this one; but this film has all of the substance of the original opera.
This movie was filmed at the Shepperton Studios in England. Most of the rest of the films of this opera were made for TV in the UK and Australia.
Gilbert and Sullivan's 14 collaborations are most often called operettas - a term that describes something less than a full opera. Operas are all singing, where these don't have all lines sung in the play, but have dialog interspersed with singing. Yet, the dialog will be sparse and much less than in standard musicals. So, those unfamiliar with these types of productions might think of "Pirates" and other Gilbert and Sullivan works as musical comedies in the style of opera.
The cast in this film are all very good. While I have never seen this play performed on the big stage, I have seen smaller productions. So, I can't imagine anyone playing certain parts better than some of the portrayals here. Especially those of The Pirate King as played by Kevin Kline and Maj. Gen. Stanley as played by George Rose. All of the rest of the cast are very good, but these two stand out.
As with all such productions, this one appears stagy. But then, that is the milieu of opera. And probably for that reason, Universal didn't do what studios do normally - try to disguise stage sets to look like real terrain and scenes. I mention this only because movie buffs who are unfamiliar with live theater on stage, may find this distracting or a turn off for the film. Once one gets used to this fact, the enjoyment is in watching the performers sing and cavort around the stage in a musical story meant to entertain theater audiences.
It's interesting to note that this Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration is the only one of their 14 that they premiered in the U.S. It's first performance was Dec. 31, 1879, on the stage of the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City (long since demolished). It then opened in London on April 3, 1880, where all the rest of the duo's works first appeared. The very first of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas were made into TV films of under one hour in 1939. NBC filmed "The Pirates" for TV, but there were so few TV and stations in existence then, that very few people would have seen it. All films of this and all other Gilbert and Sullivan works have been made for TV
Of note in this story is that the earlier G & S opera, H.M.S Pinafore is playing at a theater in Penzance during this story, and the pirates and constabulary wreak havoc on that production at the end. This is a very funny film and play that most people should enjoy. But people who don't care for opera may not enjoy it.
This movie was filmed at the Shepperton Studios in England. Most of the rest of the films of this opera were made for TV in the UK and Australia.
Gilbert and Sullivan's 14 collaborations are most often called operettas - a term that describes something less than a full opera. Operas are all singing, where these don't have all lines sung in the play, but have dialog interspersed with singing. Yet, the dialog will be sparse and much less than in standard musicals. So, those unfamiliar with these types of productions might think of "Pirates" and other Gilbert and Sullivan works as musical comedies in the style of opera.
The cast in this film are all very good. While I have never seen this play performed on the big stage, I have seen smaller productions. So, I can't imagine anyone playing certain parts better than some of the portrayals here. Especially those of The Pirate King as played by Kevin Kline and Maj. Gen. Stanley as played by George Rose. All of the rest of the cast are very good, but these two stand out.
As with all such productions, this one appears stagy. But then, that is the milieu of opera. And probably for that reason, Universal didn't do what studios do normally - try to disguise stage sets to look like real terrain and scenes. I mention this only because movie buffs who are unfamiliar with live theater on stage, may find this distracting or a turn off for the film. Once one gets used to this fact, the enjoyment is in watching the performers sing and cavort around the stage in a musical story meant to entertain theater audiences.
It's interesting to note that this Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration is the only one of their 14 that they premiered in the U.S. It's first performance was Dec. 31, 1879, on the stage of the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City (long since demolished). It then opened in London on April 3, 1880, where all the rest of the duo's works first appeared. The very first of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas were made into TV films of under one hour in 1939. NBC filmed "The Pirates" for TV, but there were so few TV and stations in existence then, that very few people would have seen it. All films of this and all other Gilbert and Sullivan works have been made for TV
Of note in this story is that the earlier G & S opera, H.M.S Pinafore is playing at a theater in Penzance during this story, and the pirates and constabulary wreak havoc on that production at the end. This is a very funny film and play that most people should enjoy. But people who don't care for opera may not enjoy it.