Topsy-Turvy - The Mikado - Timothy Spall
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- čas přidán 11. 10. 2013
- Mike Leigh's "Topsy Turvy"
The Mikado is the comedy classic in which W. S. Gilbert's 'topsy-turvy' words meet with a supreme musical response from Sir Arthur Sullivan. / cemertem - Hudba
When he lifts his robes at 1:55 and starts doing his delicate little dance, it's just genius.
I don't have much money, but I'd pay £200 to see this cast perform this opera. Something about it is so brilliant- the fact that they are not 100% perfect, but they give their heart and soul to the performance, and they enjoyed it. Bravo indeed.
As I recall, the Carl Rosa Opera Company portrayed the D'Oyly Carte company for this film. They subsequently went on tour with this production, which is a faithful recreation of the original, down to the sets and the costumes. I saw it when they performed in Kingston, NY some years ago, and they were delightful. (The only change they made was the name of the town to which Nanki-Poo had supposedly gone, to someplace local; in our case, they chose Coxsackie, which the audience loved.)
these performances are out of the park - 'big time'. i wish there had been more stage numbers! outstanding!
I would absolutely love to watch that.
@@HannibalFan52 They didn't have the lead actors with them on that tour, tho, right?
@@roytracy5004 You may be thinking of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company; the Carl Rosa troupe is completely different. I'm pretty sure that the cast we saw was pretty close to the performers seen in this film, which means they brought their top people. I have also seen the D'Oyly Carte company several times, and they always brought their main performers, plus understudies for emergemcoes/
Timothy Spall should have a lot of awards by now! Very underappreciated. He has such range...he played a buffoon in Enchanted and Winston Churchill!
....and a humanoid rat in the Harry Potter movies.
The best film about theater that I know. (And this is a man of the theater of fifty years standing talking.)
We need a Broadway musical of this amazing musical
@@danielleanderson172a musical within a play, love it!
A very interesting film ,well acted with a marvellous cast ( including `Rome`s` Lucius Vorenus i.e. Kevin McKidd).
I liked the way rehearsals were shown with Gilbert emphasising exactly how he wanted the words to be used in songs and recitative.
The fact that it took some many deeply imperfect characters to make the perfect opera is the ultimate topsy-turvy. For once, the irony was not lost on me.
I have this film, and I love it. I'm going to have to view it again, it's so good. In this sequence Spall owns it, AND he nails it. In the film they try to remove his number, and I love how the other cast members rally to have it reinstated into the show after he worked so hard at getting it right.
You know that scene where the cast members asked Gilbert to reinstate this song is based on the true story
@Caitlyn Carvalho since I haven't heard the latter yet, I'll choose Mikado
Who else could be chosen to play The Mikado, other than Mr. Spall? Sublime.
That dance at the end was hilarious!
Timothy Spall can do no wrong.
He is a great actor
I've loved him since he played the lay-about movie projector in Quadrophenia
Another wonderful performance by the great Timothy Spall.....Been looking for this clip a while. Thanks for posting it.
A great performance in a wonderful film. I have loved the operas for many decades and have done several of them in the patter roles.
I love the film - had no previous interest in G and S, but now I'm a believer! It's an exploration, really, of their lives at that time, and their working relationship (they didn't seem to have much of a personal one), not big on plot; but that's the point. All the performances are MAJESTIC and compelling - you actually want to know more about them. This is a triumph for Mike Leigh - one of many, of course, but off his beaten track. Shirley Henderson's finale performance is so very haunting, Mr Spall extends his versatility, if that's possible, and Alan Corduner is a rare discovery.
The plot is the creation of the Mikado.
Never knew Wormtail had such a good singing voice.
One of the Little Maids is Moaning Myrtle.
Ah, then she played Yum-Yum!! Nice! Checking the cast on imdb.com, I see Gollum makes an appearance, too, in case anyone's wondering what Andy Serkis looks like without CGI...
I like the idea of Gilbert afraid to show his own monstrosity after the King Gama performance being received lukewarmly. Brilliant movie.
If you have the DVD edition with the director's commentary, (I think UK versions have it , but some US don't) check it out - Mike Leigh was one for 'workshopping' scenes rather than scripting, so a lot of the dialogue was - not improvised, but worked up with the actors. Also, every actor seen playing an instrument in this film is actually playing it.
In the commentary, Mike Leigh is so genuinely proud of his team.
Footnote - Alun Corduner (Sullivan) was using Sullivan's actual baton - he was petrified that he would break it!
Timothy truly a great actor and more than just the lad in Aufwedershien
This is the role that made me follow Timothy Spall in anything he appeared!
What a wonderful Mikado. Inspired casting!
Timothy Spall honestly does do a good job. So talented, always makes everything better.
Hard to believe, as the film maintains, that Gilbert wanted to drop this number.
The movie suggests it’s because Gilbert doesn’t think it’s up to his own standards. He’s quick to assure Richard Temple that it’s not because of his performance.
Gilbert did indeed attempt to cut the number and it was saved by the company's entreaties. It's a great number but in fact the verse lyrics are slightly patchy and Gilbert was anxious for it not to be a poor repeat of the Little List.
highlight of the film - he's incredible!
Wormtail singing for Professor Slughorn taking notes if he was a student again being supervised by Smeagol 😂
Or Mr. Poe, Sgt. Frank Butterman and Captain Haddock 😂
And being conducted by Snape/Filch/Flitwick/Lucius.
Timothy Spall is a great actor - sadly, 'Mr. Turner' died here in the US.
In the film they make up a subplot about Mikado song getting cut, when in reality the solo is actually longer than what they put into the the film, compared to the full opera. I doubt it was ever on the chopping block. It's added for drama, but not to the movie's detriment. It's perfect in every way. As a huge fan of theatre since the young age, I adore films like these that there aren't that many of.
The incident shown in the film concerning "My Object All Sublime" is true to what we know historically. That is: after the final dress rehearsal of "The Mikado," Gilbert did indeed decide to cut the song entirely, and announced his decision. It was only after the entreaties of those in the company -- here notably the chorus -- that he relented and allowed it to remain in the show. (After the semi-failure of "Princess Ida," Gilbert was probably extra nervous about having a success with the new work.) It should be noted that the rave reviews and enthusiastic audience response notwithstanding, in the period after the opening night, Gilbert and Sullivan continued to "tweak" the piece, most notably by repositioning two important solos: Ko-Ko's "Little List" soing was moved to its present position immediately after his entrance (rather than later in Act I), and Yum-Yum's "The Sun Whose Rays" was moved from Act I to Act II, as Leonora Braham found it difficult to do her big solo full justice after just having sung both "Three Little Maids from School" and "So Please You, Sir." Both excellent examples of G&S's fierce dedication to their craft!
@@treesny Thank you for that information. You obviously know more on the subject than I do and I appreciate the input. I should go and read up on it.
@@enilenis You're welcome! My childhood was filled with G&S, and a great deal of what I saw, heard and read has stuck with me. The research behind Topsy-Turvy is absolutely staggering, down to the framed illustrations on the walls of Richard D'Oyly Carte's office! And the way Mike Leigh really "gets" the social mores of the time and place is wonderful, f.i. Gilbert arriving at Sullivan's residence and greeting the departing Mrs. Ronalds politely... exactly the way you would say hello to your collaborator's mistress... 🙂
Timothy Spall bears such a resemblance to Richard Temple (whom he plays in Topsy-Turvy), I would not be surprised if Temple was a grandfather of his.
Look up Richard Temple (there are multiple results, look for the actor), and you will see how uncanny it is. Mr. Spall was the perfect actor for this role.
Spall starts dancing😅✔️
Excelente versión
This song's awesome. Why would Gilbert want to cut it?
The original version had the n-word in it. However it was removed in later editions.
@@bunnybird9342 hardly a motive that would’ve mattered at the time
It was probably to do with getting things just right, the same as they do today with out-of-town try-outs. Songs and dialogue are cut or added as needed, but some things work better than others. Getting the Mikado's song restored was the way to go.
@@Mike-zh1ew is there a way i can see the original i like when evil kings say n word
Gilbert was notoriously difficult to deal with, pessimistic& depressive.
He could never bear to see the first night performances.
Luckily he was overruled.
Absolutely no one is even cracking a smile, save that one person in the back when Spall lifts up his kimono and jigs. Maybe that will make more sense when I actually watch the damn movie? Haha!
+NekoChanSenpai I think it will. I hope you've had a chance to see the whole thing. It's a real must-see for anyone who appreciates G&S.
In real life Gilbert needed a lot of persuasion to keep the song in the final play, as he thought he didn't do a good enough job with it and it was too similar to I've Got a Little List. It took the entire cast and crew begging him to keep it in for the song to stay. This is supposed to portray that, Gilbert feeling unsure about whether to keep the song.
It's the dress rehearsal. They have all heard the song before, and they are there to criticize, not enjoy themselves.
There comes a point in the rehearsal process, usually close to opening night, where everybody’s so caught up in drilling, troubleshooting, and just the *WORK* of it all, that you forget what you’ve got. The jokes aren’t funny anymore. After this point, you don’t realize *until you have an audience* that you actually have a comedy.
It’s the strangest and most wonderful thing about theatre. Hell Week sucks the joy out. Opening Night (and beyond!) puts the joy back in.
@@BrianBisetti Excellent point! And everyone including Gilbert, Sullivan and Richard D'Oyly Carte was undoubtedly nervous about the reception of the new piece, after the disappointingly short run of its predecessor, "Princess Ida" (due in part to a severe heat wave, exactly as portrayed in this film).
I think Leonard Rositer in Barry Lyndon might just beat TS to 'dance of the century', but it's close!
Voldemort: *WORMTAIL!!!* >:(
I like to think Mr. Gilbert based the Mikado on himself.
Actually, many like to think Mr. Gilbert based King Gama (the character that Grossmith played at the beginning in Princess Ida) on himself.
@@trinitymplayers Yes, I believe that King Gama is Gilbert's most deliberate self-portrait.
A SOURCE OF INNOCENT MERRIMENT
Gollum siting at 0:22,
i like his evil look i feel like this king is perfect
Sub titles in Turkish?
***** Bilerim. Bir az Turkche konushyorim.
It's a funny thing. While I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and, in fact, it's one of my favorites, I did not like at all the main characters themselves Gilbert & Sullivan, both played expertly by Broadbent and Corduner. To me they were self-stuffed and boorish The female characters on the other hand, I found completely engaging and myself wrapped up in their story. The final 3 minutes, played by Shirley Henderson are among the finest in all filmdom, IMHO.
The way Henderson's song is performed and filmed is a sublime piece of filmmaking.
I would have seconded the idea to cut the song tbh. It's one of my least favourite in the show.
who asked you bastard this is the evil perfect king yes
For me, it's iconic. Listen to Darrell Fancourt singing it if you haven't yet.
There's an unnerving undercurrent of gleeful sadism running through Gilbert's work, especially in the character of the Mikado. It's one of places where Gilbert seems to peel back the veneer of polite upperclass English society of the time.
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