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Topsy-Turvy
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Topsy-Turvy (1999) More at IMDbPro »

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Topsy-Turvy (1999) -- After Gilbert and Sullivan's latest play is critically panned, the frustrated team threatens to disband until they are inspired to do their masterpiece, "The Mikado."

Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   5,846 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 7% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Mike Leigh
Writer:
Mike Leigh (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Topsy-Turvy on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
14 January 2000 (USA) more
Tagline:
The egos. The battles. The words. The music. The women. The scandals. more
Plot:
After Gilbert and Sullivan's latest play is critically panned, the frustrated team threatens to disband until they are inspired to do their masterpiece, "The Mikado." full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 22 nominations more
User Comments:
Artfully Constructed and one of the year's best films. more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Allan Corduner ... Sir Arthur Sullivan

Dexter Fletcher ... Louis
Sukie Smith ... Clothilde
Roger Heathcott ... Banton
Wendy Nottingham ... Helen Lenoir
Stefan Bednarczyk ... Frank Cellier
Geoffrey Hutchings ... Armourer

Timothy Spall ... Richard Temple (The Mikado)
Francis Lee ... Butt

William Neenan ... Cook
Adam Searle ... Shrimp
Martin Savage ... George Grossmith (Ko-Ko)

Jim Broadbent ... W. S. Gilbert
Lesley Manville ... Lucy Gilbert
Kate Doherty ... Mrs. Judd
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Mike Leigh Untitled (USA) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for a scene of risque nudity.
Runtime:
160 min
Country:
UK
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Certification:
Iceland:L | Sweden:11 (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Chile:14 | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:M | Portugal:M/12 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:R | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario)
Filming Locations:
Hertfordshire, England, UK more
Company:
Goldwyn Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Similarly, in the scene where Leonora Braham and Jessie Bond sing a short excerpt in their dressing room (ending in "he was a little boy") during an interlude of "The Sorceror", the song is from the Gilbert & Sullivan opera "Patience" ("Long years ago..."), sung by the characters Patience and Angela, which Leonora Braham and Jessie Bond had performed in the initial 1880 Opera Comique production. more
Goofs:
Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Florence is playing the piano in the bedroom, the notes she plays are too high for the position on the keyboard. more
Quotes:
John D'Auban, Choregrapher: On the whole, the terpsichore was executed very magnifiquely, notwithstanding the topsy-turvydom befuddling Mr. Ko-Ko's entrance. more
Soundtrack:
Behold! the Lord High Executioner more

FAQ

What was Leonora Braham's "little problem" that management was questioning her about?
Was George Grossmith really a morphine addict?
Was Gilbert really that distant and cold with his wife?
more
14 out of 16 people found the following comment useful:-
Artfully Constructed and one of the year's best films., 21 August 2000
Author: dougrossi (dougrossi@hotmail.com) from Cleveland, OHIO

Much has been said here regarding the brilliant costumes, art direction and acting. The one thing I would like to point out is the misconception many have had about the script itself.

Several comments here have claimed that the film is "clunky" in that several scenes apparently added nothing to the film. They also said there was no character development. I think these people need to realize that the depth they seek is contained in the very scenes they wished excised. Which show us all of the different aspects of these characters' lives.

While appearing to be unimportant, empty or simple these many scenes reveal incalculable depth and character insight. The rehearsal scene for just one example, while seeming initially to be a little comedic scene shows us the nature and attitude of both the author and the actors involved in their creative processes.

The performance scenes are also not superfluous as some have wrongly asserted. We can see the characters we have come to know and how they deal onstage with the problems we know they have in their lives: through expressing themselves in their art!!!

In addition the scenes are not arbitrarily strung together but all contain a subtle cause and effect throughline. Sometimes these are reversed as when a cause is revealed only after we have repeatedly seen the effect (as in the revelation of Grossman's illness). Many of the scenes which people have called "tacked on" at the end (like the stunning scene between Gilbert and his wife Kitty) are in fact set up in the earlier parts of the film if you pay close attention and are in actuality a natural progression of these relationships.

Even the very last scene when the leading lady sings is there to show us her identification with the song she is singing and therefore an indirect relationship with her lyricist and composer. This film needs to be seen more than once to appreciate how well constructed it truly is

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Topsy-Turvy (1999)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Gilbert's trek through the streets of London on Mikado's opening night aegisthus
What is the name of that military music zenstyle
Name of song that sister plays? katiebeeee
Grosmith's line to Barrington when discussing the massacre at Khartoum aegisthus
Name of that song... e_claire55
Singing in the movie?? BassiMoto
more

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