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Topsy-Turvy [DVD] [2000]
 
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Topsy-Turvy [DVD] [2000]

DVD ~ Jim Broadbent
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
RRP: £12.99
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Topsy-Turvy [DVD] [2000]
92% buy the item featured on this page:
Topsy-Turvy [DVD] [2000] 4.4 out of 5 stars (16)
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Product details

  • Actors: Jim Broadbent, Allan Corduner, Dexter Fletcher, Sukie Smith, Roger Heathcott
  • Directors: Mike Leigh
  • Writers: Mike Leigh
  • Producers: Georgina Lowe, Simon Channing Williams
  • Format: PAL, Widescreen
  • Language English, French, German, Italian, Japanese
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 12
  • Studio: Pathe Distribution
  • DVD Release Date: 11 Sep 2000
  • Run Time: 152 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004U40S
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2,286 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in these categories:

    #53 in  DVD > Music
    #89 in  DVD > Drama > Comedy

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
At first glance, a musical period comedy-drama about Gilbert and Sullivan seems an odd fit for director Mike Leigh, who made his name with searing, intense contemporary dramas such as Secrets and Lies and Career Girls. What could the Victorian world of light opera offer a film-maker who specialises in the world of modern-day middle-class England? Plenty, as it turns out. A wonderful meditation on the creation of art, Topsy-Turvy catches Gilbert and Sullivan at a crossroads in their illustrious careers. Having scored numerous hits (like The Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore), they've reached a creative dry spot with their latest, Princess Ida. Composer Sullivan (Allan Corduner) despairs of ever being taken seriously, and vows to write a "serious" piece, much to the consternation of librettist Gilbert (Jim Broadbent), who's flummoxed and unyielding when asked to change another of his whimsical, "topsy-turvy" scenarios. All seems lost when, thanks to his wife's insistence, Gilbert attends a Japanese exposition in London, and faster than you can say "Three little maids from school are we", inspiration strikes.

The rest, as they say, is history, but Leigh re-creates the creative process with meticulous and loving care, from the writing of The Mikado to its staging (wherein Gilbert acts as director), costuming, orchestration, rehearsal, and ultimate premiere. Some may balk at the running time of the film (almost three hours), but it's a journey well worth taking, down to the precise details of late-19th-century London. Still, you'll know you're in Mike Leigh territory, with his precise characterisations and a heartfelt, melancholy ending. And no one has a way with actors like Leigh. This peerless ensemble, headed up by Broadbent in an Oscar-worthy performance, inhabit their characters like a second skin, and it's wonderful to see an authentic-feeling period drama in which the actors resemble real people and you don't expect someone glamorous like Helena Bonham Carter or Rupert Everett to pop up. Gilbert and Sullivan aficionados will revel in the re-enactments of The Mikado (newcomers will likely be won over, too). All in all, a breathtaking film. --Mark Englehart, Amazon.com

Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Commentary By Mike Leigh
Original Theatrical Trailer


See all Reviews

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (2)
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars TT wins a new generation of G&S fans, 24 Jan 2004
By Andy Millward (Broxbourne, Herts, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)      
Make no mistake, this film succeeds on many levels, not least in resurrecting Mike Leigh's career just when you thought there was no more scope for improvised dialogue!

His treatment of Gilbert and Sullivan is sympathetic, given the reputation of both men for being grumpy and irrascible. Both come across as human and three dimensional, certainly not cardboard cutouts. Both notably come alive as the Mikado project gathers pace, though Gilbert's evident distate for his own libretto is also noted. Broadbent and Cordunier are magnificent, easily worthy of Oscars (Jim Broadbent's award for Iris was evidently also a recognition of performances such as this.) In fact, all of the ensemble cast are all stupendously credible and entertaining.

Taking the viewer through rehearsals may be tedious in some eyes, but offers a fascinating glimpse of the creative process in action. The music is a clear winner here, bringing out the nuances of wit and inspiration in the text and showing just why G&S were the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice of their day.

Splendid effort - can't imagine the subject matter being given a more rousing encore!

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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars One of the year's finest films, 16 Nov 2000
By A Customer
'Topsy-Turvy' marks something of a departure for Mike Leigh, but a most rewarding one, the result being one of the most entertaining, wonderfully performed period dramas the cinema has seen in an age. Great dialogue and direction keep the film moving at a sprightly pace and make you wonder where the 150 minute running time went, especially in the second half. The DVD delivers on picture quality and though loses points for not being anamorphic, gains them back through the inclusion of a commentary track by Mike Leigh that is one of the best I have yet heard, giving a wealth of detail about the film's production and the facts behind the film.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars GILBERT & SULLIVAN BROUGHT TO LIFE, 6 Feb 2005
This is a delightful film.

It can appeal to almost anyone, full of wonderful characters, the story of how Gilbert & Sullivan came to write their masterpiece The Mikado is facinating......

Jim Broadbent brings W.S. Gilbert within reach, a dour, typically Victorian gentleman, yet the driving force of the partnership. His gift for seeing the comic in verse balanced by his attention to the detail of production is complimented by Sullivan's response with music of the greatest lyricism.

All the cast are magnificent, so many stories within the main story. The set design, costumes and overall feel for the period draw you into the film....

The storyline interspersed with performances of parts of the opera makes the whole a joy to watch.

The film stands alongside : Amadeus (Mozart) and Immortal Beloved (Beethoven) as great films about musics greatest artists.

The best compliment I can pay to this film, which I have watched eight times, is that I would be happy to watch it again tonight......

For lovers of period drama, Gilbert & Sullivans music or anyone who loves masterful filmaking......ENJOY.....

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Topsy Turvy - What a gem
I liked this film very much. Jim Broadbent as W S Gilbert was superb, and the rest of the cast keep the story of one of Britain's best and most enduring partnerships going... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Jonny Jingo

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpeice and hugely enjoyable.
I have never been a fan of "Gilbert and Sullivan" or Opera in general. This opinion was through ignorance more than any matter of taste. Read more
Published 6 months ago by N. Thompson

5.0 out of 5 stars Genesis of a much-loved work
"Topsy Turvy" is more than just a "play within a play" although it works very well at that level. We see the genesis of Gilbert and Sullivan's best-known work "The Mikado" after... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Iain S. Palin

5.0 out of 5 stars Splendid film, excellent music
I enjoyed this film very much on many levels. It has a good story, fine acting and, if you like Gilbert and Sullivan, the music adds a lot to the film as there are long extracts... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Bluebell

4.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional, though perhaps somewhat flawed introduction, to the wonderful world of G&S.
I suppose on first viewing, Topsy-Turvy might seem like an odd choice for director Mike Leigh, who's previous films, such as Meantime, Life is Sweet and Secrets & Lies have looked... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Jonathan James Romley

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful movie of Gilbert and Sullivan, Victorian theater and the making of the Mikado
If ever there were a loving valentine sent to the world of the theater, and especially to the world of Gilbert and Sullivan, this is it. Read more
Published on 30 May 2007 by C. O. DeRiemer

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious!
This film is a feast both for the eyes and the ears. The costumes and settings allow us a glimpse into upper middle-class life in Victorian England. Read more
Published on 13 April 2007 by F. S. L'hoir

2.0 out of 5 stars The Longest Play
I have yet to see Jim Broadbent in a good movie (think of "Iris" or"Little Voice" or the recent televisual travesty of "The Young Visiters"). Read more
Published on 25 April 2004 by P. H. Cartwright

4.0 out of 5 stars Gilbert & Sullivan prepare to produce "The Mikado"
The first half of "Topsy-Turvy," Mike Leigh's enjoyable period piece about the London theater late in the time of good Queen Victoria, is about the famous comic operetta team of... Read more
Published on 11 Dec 2003 by Lawrance M. Bernabo

2.0 out of 5 stars Evidently too classy for me
TOPSY-TURVY won two Oscars at the 2000 Academy Awards (costuming, make-up), and was hailed by critics of national standing as one of the year's best movies. Read more
Published on 12 April 2003 by Joseph Haschka

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