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I'm looking to watch the famous Gilbert and Sullivan classics Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore for the first time and was wondering if anybody could recommend the best film adaptations of these two plays. There seems to be a lot of disagreement over the best version of each of these plays to watch. Which version would you recommend, and why?
Note: A lot of the options out there seem to be filmed recordings of live stage performances, which I don't want. I'm only interested in film adaptations.
I'm looking to watch the famous Gilbert and Sullivan classics Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore for the first time and was wondering if anybody could recommend the best film adaptations of these two plays. There seems to be a lot of disagreement over the best version of each of these plays to watch. Which version would you recommend, and why?
Note: A lot of the options out there seem to be filmed recordings of live stage performances, which I don't want. I'm only interested in film adaptations.
The Kline movie is the only actual film adaptation of PoP that I know of, but beware that it's a shortened version of the opera. I also don't think it has been released on DVD.
I enjoyed The Pirates of Penzance with Kevin Kline, mostly for Kevin Kline.The Pirate Movie which came out at almost the same time is not as enjoyable (as in it's relatively awful), though it does have some decent musical performances.
That's about the extent of my interest in Gilbert and Sullivan.
The Pirate Movie[/URL] which came out at almost the same time is not as enjoyable (as in it's relatively awful), though it does have some decent musical performances.
It deserves fame for the guts to have a song called (and choreographed as it was) "Pumpin' and Blowin'".
(Keep pumpin', blowin'; keep pumpin', blowin')
Hey it's an old wives' story,
Said it's old wives' tale.
It said love is glory, I tell you love's so frail.
Loving needs a bandage, and intensive care,
And it's a disadvantage, when you're playin' fair.
If you're treading water, and romance is on the slide,
Don't you know you have to swallow something more than water;
It's your pride.
Chorus:
Ah-huh, I've huffed and puffed
Just to keep love going.
I'm done, I've had enough
A pumpin' and a blowin'.
(Keep pumpin', blowin'; keep pumpin', blowin')
You know a woman's labor is never, ever done.
So could you do me a favor, and father tell your son:
If he's treading water, and romance is on the slide,
Don't you know you have to swallow something more than water;
It's your pride.
Chorus (x2)
Ah-huh, I've huffed and puffed
Just to keep love going.
I'm done, I've had enough
A pumpin' and a blowin'.
Ah-huh, I've huffed and puffed
Just to keep love going.
I'm done, I've had enough
A pumpin' and a blowin'.
(Keep pumpin', blowin'; keep pumpin', blowin')
Not to mention the great closing number "[Give Me a] Happy Ending." I still remember that one to this day.
No more sad times, mad, or bad times,
No more minor keys
Life's for living, sharing, giving,
Life's for you and me.
When the going's rough and you've had enough,
Leave your troubles and your woes.
Turn the other cheek and forget your grief,
Make a friend out of your foe.
Chorus:
Give me a happy ending every time.
We'll kiss and make up,
That's a very peaceful sign.
Give me a happy ending every time.
Don't be unhappy, everything will work out fine.
No more fighting, scratching, biting,
No more police and thieves.
All is sweetness, light, and neatness,
Yes sir, no thanks, please.
When you had your fill of life's ugly pills
The sadness and the pain.
Take the box of pills and attendant ills,
Flush them down the drain.
Chorus:
Give me a happy ending every time.
We'll kiss and make up,
That's a very peaceful sign.
Give me a happy ending every time.
Don't be unhappy, everything will work out fine.
I've got about half a dozen versions of Pinafore and Penzance. There was a series that ran on PBS in the late 70s or 80s, introduced by Douglas Fairbanks, that are pretty much definitive -- of course, they're stagings of the actual plays on tape. They're on VHS, not DVD, and I hear rumor (ahem) that some places have them (a bit, if not a torrent, of them) (ahem) online. The trouble is, those versions sometimes went with gimmicky casting -- e.g., Frank Conrad ("Cannon") as the Mikado, or Peter Marshall (of "Hollywood Squares" fame) as the captain in Pinafore.
There's also a very tarted up staged version of Pinafore that includes a closing "encore" that is a medley of G&S music -- it played fast and loose with the lyrics. In the number that repeated over and over:
FIRST LORD: With a humble captain's child!
CAPTAIN: For a humble captain's daughter--
JOSEPHINE: For a gallant captain's daughter--
FIRST LORD: And a lord who rules the water--
JOSEPHINE (aside): And a tar who ploughs the water!
one time they substituted
JOSEPHINE (aside): And a tar who ploughs the daughter!
Fun, but... well, a bit off-putting if you're a purist.
Of course, the classic "reframing" of Mikado was the 86 (I think it was in 86) version that set it in, essentially, Brighton, and everyone was dressed like Edwardians on vacation, and Nanki-poo was played by Eric Idle. That was a memorable and spectacular version.
I've got about half a dozen versions of Pinafore and Penzance. There was a series that ran on PBS in the late 70s or 80s, introduced by Douglas Fairbanks, that are pretty much definitive -- of course, they're stagings of the actual plays on tape. They're on VHS, not DVD, and I hear rumor (ahem) that some places have them (a bit, if not a torrent, of them) (ahem) online. The trouble is, those versions sometimes went with gimmicky casting -- e.g., Frank Conrad ("Cannon") as the Mikado, or Peter Marshall (of "Hollywood Squares" fame) as the captain in Pinafore.
