Fresh
[A] beautifully crafted and lively romp around the 1880s stage world.
Deborah Young, Variety
Topsy-Turvy
Gilbert & Sullivan & So Much More
1999 · 2h 40m · R
Comedy, Drama, History, Music
Directed by
Mike Leigh
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Topsy-Turvy
Overview
For nearly a decade, Gilbert and Sullivan’s collaborations have delighted the English people. But in 1884, as a London heat wave cuts into the theater trade, their latest work, "Princess Ida", receives lukewarm press. In an effort to reconcile their creative differences and drawing inspiration from Japanese culture, they went on to create the hit opera "The Mikado", one of the duo's greatest successes.
Director and cast
- Mike Leigh Director
- Jim Broadbent as W. S. Gilbert
- Allan Corduner as Sir Arthur Sullivan
- Timothy Spall as Richard Temple (The Mikado)
- Lesley Manville as Lucy Gilbert
- Ron Cook as Richard D'Oyly Carte
- Wendy Nottingham as Helen Lenoir
- Kevin McKidd as Durward Lely (Nanki-Poo)
- Shirley Henderson as Leonora Braham (Yum-Yum)
- Dorothy Atkinson as Jessie Bond
- Martin Savage as George Grossmith
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
90%
Tomatometer
Fresh
Leigh's cast are beyond compare, and the whole bighearted, splendidly droll celebration of the entertainer's lot surely stands among British cinema's one-of-a-kind treasures.
Trevor Johnston, Time Out
Rotten
If you are a Gilbert and Sullivan buff, you will be in heaven. If you are not, the first thing you will need to know is that the film is nearly three hours long.
Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle
Fresh
The film is a delight and a surprise, all the more so since Leigh is associated with gritty working-class stories.
Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle
Fresh
Not your normal period piece, to be sure.
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
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