The Mikado

( 2 )

Overview

Though it boasts an American director and star, this Technicolor cinemadaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operetta The Mikado is a faithful record of what it must have been like to attend a performance of Britain's D'Oyly Carte opera company. Rradio tenor Kenny Baker stars as Nanki-Poo, the wand'ring minstrel who wanders into a curious set of situations in the Japanese village of Titi-Pu. D'Oyly Carte perennial Martyn Green plays the leading role of Ko-Ko, the timorous Lord High Executioner who must ...
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Blu-ray (Special Edition / Pan & Scan)
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More About This Product

Overview

Though it boasts an American director and star, this Technicolor cinemadaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operetta The Mikado is a faithful record of what it must have been like to attend a performance of Britain's D'Oyly Carte opera company. Rradio tenor Kenny Baker stars as Nanki-Poo, the wand'ring minstrel who wanders into a curious set of situations in the Japanese village of Titi-Pu. D'Oyly Carte perennial Martyn Green plays the leading role of Ko-Ko, the timorous Lord High Executioner who must perform one execution per day or he'll lose his job-and his own head. Ko-Ko finds a likely candidate for decapitation in the form of Nanki-Poo, who feels mighty suicidal when it seems as though his sweetheart Yum-Yum Jean Cola is out of his reach. Unbeknownst to Ko-Ko, Nanki-Poo is the son of none other than The Mikado, played with a combination of pomp, circumstance and Noel Cowardlike waspishness by Sydney Granville. Most of the satirical Gilbert & Sullivan songs have been retained, including "The Lord High Executioner," "Three Little Maids from School are We," "Tit Willow," "Here's a How-de-Do," and "The Object Most Sublime." Musical accompaniment is provided by the London Symphony Orchestra.
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Special Features

New Video Interviews with Topsy-Turvy Director Mike Leigh and Mikado Scholars Josephine Lee and Ralph MacPhail Jr.; ; Short Silent Film Promoting the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's 1926 Stage Performance of The Mikado; ; Deleted Scene with Ko-Ko's "I've Got a Little List" Song; ; Excerpts from 1939 Radio Broadcasts of the Stage Productions The Swing Mikado and The Hot Mikado; ; Plus: A Booklet featuring an Essay by Critic Geoffrey O'Brien
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 3/29/2011
  • UPC: 715515069113
  • Original Release: 1939

    • Rating:

  • Source: Criterion
  • Presentation: Special Edition / Pan & Scan
  • Time: 1:31:00
  • Format: Blu-ray
  • Sales rank: 46,977

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Kenny Baker Nanki-Poo
Martyn Green Ko-Ko
Sydney Granville Pooh-Bah
John Barclay The Mikado
Gregory Stroud Pish-Tush
Constance Willis Katisha
Elizabeth Paynter Pitti-Sing
Kathleen Naylor Peep-Bo
Jean Colin Yum-Yum
Technical Credits
Victor Schertzinger Director
Philip Charlot Editor
Bernard Knowles Cinematographer
Gene Milford Editor
William Skall Cinematographer
Josef Somlo Producer
Geoffrey Toye Producer, Screenwriter
Marcel Vertes Costumes/Costume Designer
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 2.5
( 2 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(1)

3 Star

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2 Star

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1 Star

(1)

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Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    lovely but incomplete

    Although the cast is great, and the look of the movie is lush...there are one or two songs cut from the film, including one of the most famous, I'VE GOT A LITTLE LIST...otherwise, here is a good version of the G and S classic

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted June 23, 2012

    UGH! I don't know why the reviewer thinks this in any way recap

    UGH! I don't know why the reviewer thinks this in any way recaps the D'Oyly Carte experience. The 1939 film is a horrendous mangling of "The Mikado," which this household's Savoyards found simply unbearable to watch. It's not just that great songs are cut; it's the butchery of the plot, complete with re-assigning character-development material to other characters (when the music for "The sun whose rays" began in Act I, a family member and I looked at each other in disbelief; when Nanki-Poo was revealed as the singer, we both exclaimed "WHAT?!" and I left the room).

    We don't expect perfection. We would settle for a relatively faithful adaptation. This isn't it.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews