Topsy-Turvy (1999) User Reviews

Laughter. Tears. Curtain.

[Nikos-12 · 8/10 · 28 May 2000]

Mike Leigh would not be the first name that springs to mind when presented with a biopic of Gilbert and Sullivan. Possibly Anthony Minghella, or maybe Ang Lee, but never a director only known for gritty, unremittingly depressing working-class drama. However, in 'Topsy-Turvy', Leigh has not only directed, but written, a fine piece of period comedy-drama.

Leigh, it transpires, has always loved Gilbert and Sullivan and the love shows in his highly polished script. It not only exploits the music and words of the great nineteenth-century operettists but retains a feeling for the wit of their work throughout. W.S. Gilbert (Jim Broadbent) is more than annoyed at suggestions that he is becoming unoriginal and Arthur Sullivan (Allan Corduner) rather tired with working with him. He wants to produce great music and is uninspired by Gilbert's latest libretto.

A chance visit to an exhibition of Japanese customs and produce stimulates Gilbert to write 'The Mikado', one of his most witty works (and, it seems, Leigh's favourite). After a lengthy vacation, Sullivan is willing to write the accompanying music and rehearsals begin. This is where Leigh's brilliance as both writer and director shines through, creating enormously entertaining and dramatic scenes while underlining the partners' unceasing perfectionism.

A cast full of Leigh regulars, headed by the dreaming Corduner and wonderfully cantankerous Broadbent, are marvellous, with Timothy Spall and Kevin McKidd stealing the show as a pair of complete 'luvvy' actors. It is Shirley Henderson (also excellent in Michael Winterbottom's 'Wonderland') who gives the film a real emotional centre, however, as a widowed actress slowly turning to drink. Leigh's past, it seems, has not entirely been left behind.

superb!

[rupie · 8/10 · 31 July 2000]

There are a few possible prerequisites for enjoying this rather specialized movie - 1) you are an aficionado of Gilbert & Sullivan, &/or 2) you have an interest in the theater and its workings, &/or 3) you have a historical interest in Victorian England. If you fall into any of these slots, don't miss this entirely captivating film, now out on video, which captures more effectively than any other I've seen the flavor of late 19th century Britain, from dress to manners & speech. Fans of Gilbert & Sullivan will find that the movie is extremely accurate regarding the historical details of their partnership. My one quibble is with the quality of the operetta excerpts that are shown actually being performed - they are extremely wooden and unhumorous, which is unforgivable for G&S operetta (would that the late D'Oyly Carte Company had been involved with the stagings). Broadbent and Corduner are near-perfect as Gilbert the librettist and Sullivan the composer, not only in physical resemblance but to what we know of their personalities. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie & highly recommend it to those in the 3 listed categories; others will doubtless fall asleep in the first 20 minutes.

a superb portrait of the Victorian era

[jannings · 8/10 · 22 March 2006]

At first glance this movie may seem like a biographical treatment of Gilbert and Sullivan; it is actually a representation of a bygone age, employing the figures of William Schwenk Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan to counterpoise the contradictions within the later Victorian period. Sullivan (in Allan Corduner's performance) is the sensation-seeker, Gilbert (Jim Broadbent) the cerebral eccentric. Both are virtuosos as composer and librettist/director respectively, creating comic masterpieces unparalleled since Aristophanes. Broadbent's performance in particular marks this actor as one of Britain's very best; but the design work got the Oscar awards and nominations, and rightly so. Mike Leigh's script and direction are taut and convincing. The scenes set within the Savoy Theatre in London are as authentic anyone will ever see in a movie.

fascinating, funny, and true as gold

[markt-9 · 10/10 · 14 September 2000]

I loved this film, yet I have a hard time understanding many of the comments other viewers have made. I never liked G&S all that much, thought they were rather light weight stuff. Never liked the late Victorian era much either. Kind of a dull time, I thought. Musicals are definitely not my thing.

Yet this movie struck me as one of the greatest I have ever seen, right up there with Greed and Citizen Kane and all that lot. I suppose it's because I like period pieces, and I think it's damned difficult for anyone to draw an accurate -- or even an evocative -- picture of any time that is not their own. This movie does that, and it never even appears to strain so much as a single hair to do so.

In the end, this movie is deeply *humane.* Like many another Mike Leigh epic, the characters here are drawn in the round, flaws and talents all on view, just like real human beings. And he likes them all, even the stinkers. Likes them well enough to paint them as they are, not as cardboard figures.

If you like your characters pre-digested and redrawn larger than life and your plots full of twists and turns, you might find this movie tame. If you like people, you'll find it fascinating, funny, and true as gold.

And why do I rate it so highly? Because it hangs together so perfectly, all of a piece. It's luscious to look at, delightful to hear, and sweet as candy without ever once becoming saccharine or cheap.

Some reviewers complained you had to "already know" something to enjoy this movie: the music, the time, the language, the whatever. I say, all you have to know is human beings. If you find them interesting, you'll love this movie.

wonderful entertainment

[Buddy-51 · 8 July 2000]

Mike Leigh's gloriously entertaining film, `Topsy-Turvy,' offers a wise and witty slice of musical theater history. Set in 1880's London, the movie chronicles the extraordinary personal and professional relationship between two giants of the 19th Century entertainment world, lyricist `Willie' Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan. The screenplay, wisely, chooses to pick up the tale not at the very beginning of their collaborative career - tracing its rise and fall as many biopics would do - but rather at the point where the team has already garnered international fame and success but seems of late to be experiencing a bit of creative stagnation. Sullivan, tiring of the seemingly trivial nature of the librettos they've been producing, wants to break away and embark on his own to produce a work of more `weighty' merit. Gilbert, on the other hand, delights in his success and, although bothered by comments in the press that his work has begun to repeat itself, initially resists Sullivan's plea that they abandon their hitherto winning formula.

Thus, the conflict between the two men of creative genius plays itself out against the fascinating backdrop of a deliciously recreated vision of the theatrical world of a hundred-odd years ago. Just as important to the film as the two main characters is the rich assortment of secondary players - theater proprietors, company actors, wives, lovers and parents - who swirl around the principals and provide a colorful tapestry to match the exquisite art direction and costuming that adorn the film. In addition, Leigh incorporates clever references to some of the technological marvels just making their appearance at the time: telephones, reservoir pens and luxury hotels with baths for every room!

Leigh's pacing is admirably unhurried and relaxed. So rich is the detail of his vision that fully thirty-five minutes elapse before the two lead characters even have their first scene together. In addition, the inspiration for `The Mikado' - ostensibly the centerpiece of the film's plot - doesn't strike Gilbert until well into the second hour. Yet, the film never falters in interest, least of all when Leigh devotes long stretches of footage to showing us the actors rehearsing their parts or having us eavesdrop on some behind-the-scenes salary negotiations or discussions of artistic differences. This is the real triumph of the film: Leigh opens up a world to us by letting us see the fascinating nuts-and-bolts aspects of the creative process to which we, as members of a theatre audience, are rarely privy. He also is not afraid to linger long over many a beautiful reproduction of the musical pieces themselves. Leigh can count his film a success in that it makes us want to rush out and catch a performance of one of these operettas ourselves.

The film would not be the splendid success it is were it not for the dazzling performances of its amazingly large cast. Jim Broadbent and Allan Corduner are perfection as the good-natured but often antagonistic partners, never playing the humor too broadly or violating the spirit of elite British gentility even in their most conflict-laden moments.

Indeed, it is this very quality of quiet subtlety that permeates every aspect of `Topsy-Turvy' and that makes it the wholly satisfying and entertaining film it is.

Victorian England refracted through Gilbert & Sullivan

[Tom-207 · 10/10 · 17 March 2000]

I was introduced to Gilbert & Sullivan in my very early teens under the auspices of the parents of one of my friends. They took us to Falmouth on Cape Cod to a place called Highfield, the summer home of the Oberlin College Players. They specialized in G&S and other light operettas.

I learned to appreciate G&S, but I never became a fanatical devotee, even with the historical context patiently explained to me by my friend's mom. (It was similar with Shakespeare. The language could be a barrier rather than a gateway.)

The audience in the theater where I saw Topsy-Turvy was filled with devotees. You could hear their delight as they viewed the actual performances of Gilbert & Sullivan's work in the film. The director, Mike Leigh, through skillful editing and camera work, does an excellent job of photographing a stage presentation, certainly one of the best I've ever seen on film. He uses closeups, and though the actors are using an exaggerated, theatrical style, somehow the G&S material has never been clearer to me; and I've seen at least a dozen G&S performances, including two D'Oyle Carte productions (Pirates and The Mikado), the present-day descendant company of the Savoy Theater depicted in the film. People who have never seen G&S before will appreciate their work here.

Most of all, the film is very much about the highly contrasting personalities of William S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan, the former emotionally restrained, the latter a hedonist. Leigh allows us to get to know them quite well and a host of other characters too, though G&S are first among equals in this excellent, ensemble cast. Among the supporting players, I found Shirley Henderson to be increasingly interesting as the film progressed, and I felt rewarded when she was the central character in the last two scenes of the film.

The period settings, manners, and speech are very accurate and detailed. As presented here, the Victorian era seems physically stifling, with people leading their lives in the close quarters of dressing rooms, offices, restaurants, living rooms, and bedrooms. Even more stifling is the emotional inhibition masked by correctly blustery forthrightness. Toward the end of the film, there's a revealing and poignant scene between Gilbert and his wife which makes this all very clear, and what also becomes clear is how important theatrical presentations were to people then as a means of expressing themselves in a culture which sanctioned few quarters to do so. It's one of the best examples of Mike Leigh's direction.

The G&S operettas were, of course, a commentary on Victorian times. In the film, you can see why they were so wildly popular. In that period, I think so many people were so restrained and distant from their own feelings that even the, to us, mannered and wordy G&S operettas were a breath of fresh air in Victorian England. The few occasions when Leigh breaks out of consistently claustrophobic medium shots and closeups are when he gives us a wide view of the full, theatrical stage.

Topsy-Turvy is about how Gilbert and Sullivan refracted Victorian England through a proscenium arch. Mike Leigh refracts it again through the camera lens in a way that allows us to see ourselves in our times by looking at G&S and their operettas in theirs. This is a long film (over two and one half hours), and given the subject matter, not to everyone's interest, though it's far more than the specifics of the period and the material. I found it to be my favorite film of the year thus far, and I highly recommend it.

The Very Model of a Modern Major Musical

[hokeybutt · 7/10 · 5 July 2005]

TOPSY TURVY (3+ outta 5 stars) What an amazing change of pace for writer/director Mike Leigh! Instead of his usual slice-of-life peek into the lives of the English working class, this time he sets his sights on telling the tale of the famed writing team of Gilbert and Sullivan. This film tells the tale of one of the lowest points in their career... their latest musical was not a commercial or critical success and it looked like they had done all that they ever could as a team. Suddenly... out of nowhere... inspiration strikes and they embark upon probably their greatest work, "The Mikado." Those only familiar with Leigh's stark tales of modern day life will be amazed at how well he handles a period drama... and one filled with dazzling musical sequences as well! After seeing this movie you'll wish that he would have just gone ahead and filmed the *whole* "Mikado"! The actors do a tremendous job of bringing to life these characters, the unknown as well as the famous. You don't need to be a big Gilbert and Sullivan fan to enjoy this movie... but I guess some familiarity would help.

For the Love of the Theatre

[Tallgent · 9/10 · 19 March 2000]

George Martin once talked about he and John Lennon once having a drink in a British pub. One of the regulars went over to the jukebox and selected "Yesterday." Lennon sighed, turned to Martin and said, "Don't suppose anyone's going to put in 'I am the Walrus?'" Martin went on to suggest that as frustrated as Lennon was of Paul McCartney's "Granny Music," he also couldn't deny McCartney's talent and the ease with which he came up with unforgettable melodies.

One senses the same kind of rivalry between Arthur Sullivan and William Gilbert in Mike Leigh's "Topsy-Turvy." Gilbert and Sullivan were both famous for their hilarious musical comedies in the mid to late 1880s, especially their early hits "H.M.S. Pinafore" and "The Pirates of Penzance." But the film takes place later in their career and things are not boding well for the duo. Sullivan (Alan Corduner) is growing increasingly frustrated with his collaborations with Gilbert, because he feels he is not growing as a composer. "I'm growing tired of these soufflés with Gilbert and his topsy-turvvydom."

Gilbert (Jim Broadbent) is feeling the crunch himself. His latest production with Sullivan has resulted in questions concerning Gilbert's creative spark, as in whether he has one. If that isn't enough, the Savoy Theatre tells the frustrated Sullivan that he and Gilbert are contractually obligated to one more show. Gilbert presents Sullivan with an idea. Sullivan responds that the idea sounds like a remake of an earlier play.

Then inspiration comes from the most unlikely of places. A Japanese Exhibit is being held in London and Gilbert's wife, Kitty (Lesley Manville) forces him to accompany her. Reluctantly Gilbert goes and, reenergized, he picks up a souvenir Samurai sword. He meets with Sullivan again and tells him his idea: "The Mikado." Thus is born Gilbert and Sullivan's last hit play.

The next half of the film deals with the backstage politics and adventures that go with putting on a production. It is here where "Topsy-Turvy" goes into full gear and really begins to shine. Broadbent and Corduner also shine in their respective roles, as well. And it is here where I really paid attention to Leigh's characterizations. The two never had a very friendly relationship and Sullivan was openly bored with Gilbert's silly plays. I always took it for Gilbert being a really witty and good-humored man, and Sullivan being a snob. But Leigh has Sullivan as a fun-loving hedonist and Gilbert being unpersonable and sarcastic. He uses humor as a weapon. The film forced me to look at the two of them in a new light, and more importantly, I bought it.

But Leigh's real achievement is in presenting his supporting cast as three-dimensional characters. There's Richard Temple (Timothy Spall) who plays the Mikado and suffers near-betrayal at the hands of his mentor, Gilbert. Actresses Jessie Bond (Dorothy Atkinson) and Lenora Braham (Shirley Henderson) personify the reluctant acceptance of wearing a kimono with no corset. Leigh brings the same care to this period drama as he has done for his smaller ensemble pieces.

And care is what "Topsy-Turvy" is all about. As much as Sullivan may frown at Gilbert's wit, he still wants to create the best possible product he can. There's a great scene where Gilbert is explaining "The Mikado" to Sullivan and Sullivan is truly enjoying the story. He's got such a look of glee on his face throughout the scene. Corduner does a great job of contrasting his Sullivan with Broadbent's Gilbert, especially in his scenes with the orchestra as he patiently explains the score with his players.

Broadbent, on the other hand, is an absolute joy as Gilbert. Gilbert may not be a likable character, but he knows what he wants and he is good at what he does. He may be short with everyone and unbending, but he gets results.

Leigh shows a clear love for the theatre here, and the details are amazing all the way from the theatre set to the costumes, nothing is out of place. He also keeps the action moving in the film which totals almost three hours but never feels like it. That's very hard to do.

To be honest, I thought Leigh was jumping on the "Shakespeare in Love" bandwagon, but the films couldn't be more different. "Shakespeare in Love" celebrates love burgeoning creativity. "Topsy-Turvy" deals with the love of creativity itself and shows how people of different temperaments and tastes can still get together and produce greatness.

Topsy-Turvy ****

somewhere between a story of the play and a look at Victorian England

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 28 April 2006]

I have to admit that before I saw "Topsy-Turvy", the only exposure that I'd ever had to "The Mikado" was the Goldie Hawn-Chevy Chase comedy/thriller "Foul Play". But now that I understand the opera's origins, it's something to talk about. In a way, this movie almost seems more like a look at Victorian England, but everyone does a good job here. As Gilbert and Sullivan, Allan Corduner and Jim Broadbent are in top-notch form. For a while there, we sort of thought that Mike Leigh's movies were kind of slow, but "Secrets & Lies" disproved that and "Topsy-Turvy" affirms him as a great director. So see it. You might just feel like performing an opera after seeing it.

I've no more shots in my locker

[ahab1013 · 10/10 · 22 October 2002]

Simply put, a brilliant film.

Topsy Turvy captures Gilbert and Sullivan in the midst of a turbulent period in their partnership. Desperate to be taken more seriously as a composer, Arthur Sullivan attempts to renege on the Gilbert and Sullivan contract with the Savoy Theatre. While his partner William S Gilbert struggles to come up with something new to write about. Each man, in a sense, is longing for individual acclaim but they are trapped in an entity neither one can shake. The fame of their collective energies has taken on a life of its own and the theater crowds want more.

The film is mostly the story of a theater production of the Mikado, one of Gilbert and Sullivan's most famous operas. Director Mike Leigh, notorious for writing on the go, has structured a play within a play to a great delight. Jim Broadbent and Allan Corduner are brilliant as Gilbert and Sullivan, and Tim Spall has a wonderful turn as one of the actors, Mr. Temple.

Their is more here than just two playwrights. The entire cast is seen as more than just pieces of a production. From choristers to administrative personnel, Topsy Turvy is alive with characters. One of the best is Gilbert's long-suffering wife Kitty. Bereft of children and saddled with a husband who doesn't show outward affection, Kitty (Lucy) could be a two dimensional afterthought. However, her pain at being childless is wonderfully played by Lesley Manville. It is clear they love each other but neither is capable of articulating that love, very odd for a man who writes for a living.

Filled with humor and grace, Topsy Turvy is one of the best films about acting and a beautiful embrace of all things theatrical.

Interesting film-making, but too long for the subject matter

[Shiva-11 · 7/10 · 16 January 2000]

Creative genius is a fickle creature. It is rare (some might say impossible) to find artists working in concert who don't experience the aptly termed "creative differences". Indeed most collaborations, whether the result of clashing egos (Simon and Garfunkel), divergent visions (The Beatles), or plain old hatred (Guns 'N Roses) eventually self-destruct. Therein lies the dilemma for the operatic duo of Gilbert and Sullivan.

After nearly a decade of uninterrupted commercial successes their career has reached a crossroads: their latest effort is doing poorly at the box office due to a combination of lackluster reviews, and a vicious heat wave. Sullivan (Allan Corduner) exhausted and in ill health, repairs to the continent to rejuvenate himself and upon his return informs Gilbert (Jim Broadbent) that he has grown tired of the repetitive and unimaginative nature of their operas. Sullivan has decided to devote his remaining time, however long, to serious music.

After stewing about the revelation for several hours, Gilbert agrees to accompany his wife to a Japanese exposition in the hope that he will find some peace. Instead he experiences an epiphany: he will write a new opera set in Japan. The question is can he convince Sullivan to score it?

Director Mike Leigh (Secrets and Lies) is legendary for his attention to detail. He requires his actors not only learn their lines, but create a history for the character: their favorite foods, hygiene habits, and literary choices. Consequently he elicits unique performances from his cast. This film is no exception: Broadbent's stoic, sensible, and dignified Gilbert is simultaneously witty and clueless, while Martin Savage's performance as the pompous, manic, substance-abusing diva George Grossmith is eerily familiar (shades of Robert Downey Jr.). Leigh also goes to great efforts to create both a pleasing and authentic visual experience: from the sets, to the backdrops to the costumes, he does an excellent job of recreating the Victorian era. Unfortunately Leigh's microscopic view is also his undoing.

I enjoyed several aspects of this film, but there's just too much of it: with a runtime of 140+ minutes, Leigh spends so much time dwelling on the minutiae of the characters and setting that he forgets about the substance. Little if anything happens in the first hour and a half of the film (one of the reviewers sitting behind me fell asleep) and by the time the film finally hit it's stride I was checking my watch to see when it would be over.

If you are a Gilbert and Sullivan fan, you may enjoy this film. But mark my words: wear comfortable clothes and don't go for the big Coke unless you have a titanic bladder.

A Sumptuous Cinematic Treat

[Fab4Fan · 10/10 · 20 February 2000]

TOPSY-TURVY, director Leigh's spectacularly entertaining look at the lives and times of the nineteenth-century British duo that gave the world such musical treasures as The Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore. Leigh's film finds G & S in 1884 at a creative impasse following the disappointing reception of their new flop operetta, Princess Ida. Sullivan (Allan Corduner), tired of writing music for the increasingly trite and repetitive librettos of Gilbert (Jim Broadbent), wants to give up their lucrative partnership and write "serious" grand opera. But when an exhibition of Japanese art and culture travelling through London inspires Gilbert to begin writing The Mikado, both men see the opportunity to create something unique and extraordinary. Praise for this stunning film must extend from top to bottom, beginning to end. The music, of course, is wonderful and ever present. The costumes, sets and cinematography are exemplary in their attention to atmosphere and detail. Leigh's script and direction not only bring the period to life, but make it crackle with drama, wit, and social comment. And the performances are fabulous, notably the magnificent Broadbent as mercurial Gilbert; Corduner, warm and charming as the more sweet-natured Sullivan; and Leigh regular Timothy Spall (SECRETS & LIES) as a veteran actor fearful that his big number may be cut. This is quite simply one of the most vastly entertaining, joyous and fascinating films ever made about the creative process. I actually saw it twice within a three-day period and wasn't bored for one second of either viewing!

No story-- No beginning, no end, but an OK, if eternal, middle

[bopdog · 6/10 · 26 January 2000]

Boy, talk about your overrated critical darlings. "Topsy Turvy" lacks a ton of the elements that most folks, me included, need for it to be a movie. Like a plot, for instance. Or any kind of story. There is no drama, no suspense, no comedy-- nothing really develops here. There's not even an arty, weird point-- There's nothing. And, we are shown nothing new.

One doesn't need special effects, gimmicks, marquee stars, etc.-- but one DOES need a reason to watch something for 2-3 hours, and this movie didn't really deliver. I like Gilbert and Sullivan stage shows-- I've seen at least 20 performances of this and that over the years-- and admittedly, it was mildly interesting to see a dramatic depiction of what they looked like, how they sounded and moved, etc. But that kind of static visualizing gets old in 5 minutes, and one gets desperate for an engaging story of some kind.

In a way, this movie was nothing more than a kind of extended animatronic robot display, like the singing raccoons with banjos at Chucky Cheese. "Ooo-- there's Gilbert! Ooo-- there's Sullivan! Wow-- they move!"

Yeah, but they don't actually DO anything. I gave this flick a generous "6."

Pretty pictures! Great acting! No story!

[TooShortforThatGesture · 3/10 · 9 June 2004]

I wanted very much to like this film. I enjoy the works of Gilbert & Sullivan, I spent some time in the musical theater in my youth, I love 19th century London....

BUT...I found the movie to be tedious almost beyond belief. I cannot understand what the producers were thinking. The acting is great, the reproductions of G&S scenes are spot on, the art direction is sumptuous, but there is just no tension, nothing happening of any interest -- the film seems without purpose. The story seems to be nothing more than "already famous and successful people quibble a bit then put together another famous and successful show." While many of the characters are people who made great works, from the tone of this story, it appears that none of them was particularly interesting. Ok, Gilbert was a little emotionally unavailable. Sullivan liked to party it up a bit. Some of the actors in the company were a bit outre. None of this is unexpected nor is it intriguing. None of the characters have any particular charm. However accurate they may have been, for me there wasn't a moment in which I found the characterizations interesting.

Given my reaction, it shouldn't be surprising that I found the movie to be too long as well.

Positive, glowing recommendation

[jkhalsa-1 · 26 December 2003]

I am a violinist who has done a lot of theater shows and have seen lots of theater rehearsal.

For me this film has everything - the scenery is more lavish and beautiful than I've ever witnessed anywhere. For me, the interest _is_ the behind-the-scenes view of the actors. The fact that Allan Corduner (Sullivan) is actually a musician (not just miming the piano work) is a real plus. The scene of the recital of his "Lost Chord" was a marvelous musical moment. It captured the atmosphere of an old-style home recital, with earnest artists and elegant surroundings. And the rehearsal scene with the trio Grossmith (Koko), Barrington (Poo-bah), and Beauville each singing why they can't chop their own heads off is a marvelous view of what rehearsal can and should be like. Everyone has learned their words but now we're refining the artistry. The director assumes the viewer is well versed and doesn't beat him over the head. I feel honored that I am being treated as an intelligent watcher. When Gilbert says to Beauville, "I've gone to great length to give you triplets..... so let's do it again and let's ....'trip'", and they do, and it really works, I get the feeling that they live in and understand my world. Every moment of the film has for me a beauty.

The snippets of the other G&S operettas are astounding. The wake-up scene in The Sorcerer is probably only a minute long, but each word and glance is well chosen, and everyone is in perfect character. Like the cliché, "Every bride is beautiful.", every man and woman in this cast is beautiful.

Another remarkable moment in the film is Temple's "Mikado Song" when he dances, and the aftermath where Gilbert cuts the number and it then gets reinstated by the chorus men and women cornering Gilbert in the stairwell. My experience is that people in theater really do care for each other and they wish each other well. When someone does something of artistic merit, they know it, and want it to be displayed.

Almost every moment of this film rings true to me as a musician, and I treasure it. I can start this video at any random spot on the tape and find something to enjoy for 10 seconds or for another hour.

Because much of the film centers around Mikado, anyone who has ever worked on Mikado as an actor, crew, or musician will find much to enjoy. For someone who is not at all familiar with that operetta, I could understand them feeling that they can't see the continuity-- because the director has chosen not to repeat things. You will see this part and that part in preliminary stages of rehearsal but not again later, so if you saw the behind the scenes work, you won't see the 'finished product' except in the case of "Three Little Maids."

I was left wishing that this cast actually had created a full length version of Mikado, but alas I don't believe they did; all this work was for the sake of this film and it's not a documentary of an actual living repertory group.

Thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying.

[lex321 · 10/10 · 1 February 2000]

This period film is unique in that the writer/director chose not to invent some contrived plot to push the movie along. It is as if we are simply witness at crucial points during normal goings on in the lives of Gilbert and Sullivan during the late 1800's. I found it fascinating and was not aware of the length (almost 3 hours) during the picture.

If you have ever been in a musical, have a love of theater, or have any interest in the 1800's, you must see this film. From the superb acting, to the set design (amazing accuracy), to the technique - this film is a gem to behold.

A film of much love and craft

[Jake-22 · 9/10 · 13 December 2000]

Not being a big fan of opera (of the comedic variety or otherwise), I chose to watch this movie as a period piece, hoping to see a lot of eccentric characters putting on even more eccentric theatre. That was easy, since the trailer for the film points in that direction entirely.

What I didn't expect was a thoroughly entrancing inside view of the Victorian theatre. Not to mention comprehensive. Everyone is covered in this - from the stage boy through the chorus through the leads and producers and assistant directors. The telling of the complex relationships between the directors (Gilbert and Sullivan) and the leads is particularly poignant - whether dealing with the actors' considerable egos or their individual popularity among the chorus, nothing presented doesn't ring true.

I loved everything about this movie. It's a great story, told wonderfully by all involved. It is truly a film of much love and craft.

And I expect I'll be attending the next run of the Mikado next time it comes to town.

enjoyable

[zza99tmk · 6/10 · 21 February 2000]

"Topsy-Turvy" is a decent film, but it failed to convince me completely. To be fair, I have to say that I'm not really interested in films about musicians or the victorian theatre. That said, I still think Mike Leigh (of whose films I've only seen the Palme d'Or-Winner "Secrets and Lies" so far) has a done fair job. The cast was worth seeing(especially Gilberts and Sullivans alter ego Jim Broadbent and Allan Coultier, but also Timothy Spall) as basically Leighs account of the "culture clash" between Far East and West is both respectable and entertaining. Since you also get a fine cinematography for your money I could understand to a certain degree why New York's film critics were so in favour of this picture. But yet it has some flaws: Leigh could have easily shortened the first half at least a bit without doing the plot too much harm, but even the more important second part of the film is simply too explicit: he shows us more of these rehearsal scenes for example than we actually need to see. To me, a film has to be really good and moving on forward in order to justify his length (though Topsy-Turvy is with 160 minutes not as long as upcoming movies and I'm not sure whether to look forward to "The Green Mile" and company or not). Don't get me wrong: I'm basically open to most issues film directors wants us to participate in, and I like classical music and this film doubtless has certain appeal. Eventually the fans of the famous duo and of operas will appreciate this one at most, others should decide for themselves if they give "Topsy-Turvy" a chance.

verdict: enjoyable

This is not the film you think it may be – hunt it out and spend three enjoyable hours getting away from it all.

[Mobithailand · 10/10 · 26 June 2016]

It is not the film you think it may be – hunt it out, and spend three enjoyable hours getting away from it all.

I have long been a huge admirer of Mike Leigh's films – the brilliant, award-winning English director who eschews the Hollywood system and refuses to make films that will uplift you or tells stories with conventional happy (or sad) endings.

He makes films that show us 'slices of life' in England, mainly working and middle-class people – sometimes good people – often bad – but always with gritty reality. He never holds back, and occasionally he makes us feel very uncomfortable as he peels away the layers of quasi-polite behaviour and we see the real people underneath.

He shows us the love, the hate, the greed, the jealousies, the selfishness, the egoism, the misery, the depression, the generosity, the kindness, the cruelty that lies beneath the surface in our so- called civilised society.

Leigh's films never have scripts. This is one of the reasons he tends to use the same ensemble of actors, film after film. The first part of Leigh's filmmaking process is to get the actors together for several weeks prior to shooting. He gives them the outline of the 'story' and their characters and they improvise the scenes together until he is satisfied. Leigh and his actors have totally perfected this method, and it was only relatively recently that I discovered that all the dialogue was improvised, as so convincing is the end result.

Topsy-Turvy, his 1999 masterpiece, is very different to many of his films. For starters, it contains a lot of wonderful, unabashed humour. It has none of the depressing realism of "Vera Drake", a story of a 1950's back-street abortionist, or the depressing story of a family living in a council flat, ("All or Nothing"), or the revelations of what lies under the surface in a middle-class family over the period of one year, ("Another Year"), or even "Happy-Go-Lucky", an upbeat, funny film that ultimately turns out not to be not quite so happy.

You don't have to be a lover of opera or Gilbert and Sullivan fan to enjoy this film, but you do have to love music, because music and live theatre is at the core of this enjoyable romp through the life and times of Victorian theatre; in particular, what lay behind the scenes at the Doyle Carte opera company, who had exclusive rights to these ever-popular and amusing operettas.

We join the lives of Gilbert and Sullivan when they are already very rich and successful. Sullivan – who pens the music – has become concerned that they are starting to repeat themselves, and refuses to write the score for Gilbert's latest libretto, even though he is contracted so to do.

Gilbert, brilliantly played by Jim Broadbent, is a clever man who writes very funny librettos, yet in real life he is a somewhat controlling person, full of heavy sarcasm and with a fragile ego. He is furious with the critics who dared to criticise his latest offering. All in all, he is not a very nice person.

By contrast, Sullivan, who is equally well played by Alan Corduner, is a fun-loving, amiable hedonist, who dreams of writing a great grand opera.

The relationship between the two is very stormy, especially when Sullivan refuses to fulfil his contractual obligations. But after a visit to a Japanese cultural exhibition in London, Gilbert came up with the idea of The Mikado, arguably G&S' finest operetta. He uses Japanese characters to poke fun at the Victorian establishment and this tour de force becomes an outstanding success.

At just under three hours, Topsy-Turvy is a very long film, but it needs to be that long so that we can enjoy the many renderings of G &S's 'songs' and also to give the ensemble cast the time to develop their roles and become real believable characters.

The film is a riot of fun and we get great insights into how the Victorian theatre functioned. We see the lives, loves and vices of the people who inhabited it, and some wonderfully amusing vignettes, such as rehearsals where the demanding Gilbert directs the hardworking and exhausted performers while Sullivan conducts. We also get glimpses of the other side of Victorian London – its street women and its beggars.

There are many excellent cameo performances by members of the ensemble cast. Pride of place goes to Timothy Spall as the comedy Tenor, but there really are no bad performances.

The film is also full of colour and wonderful Victorian costumes. The staging of the performances are so cleverly done, you think you are part of the audience.

Topsy-Turvy garnered two Oscars, and it deserved more – but we all know how difficult it is for a Mike Leigh film to break through to the Hollywood establishment.

My only tiny gripe is that as great as Broadbent was, there were a few times when he reminded me of his character, Harold Zidler, in Moulin Rouge. But that's no great sin as Moulin Rouge was also a great flick.

Trust me, Topsy-Turvy is not the film you think it may be – hunt it out and spend three enjoyable hours getting away from it all.

A movie filled to the brim with girlish glee

[DesbUK · 7/10 · 16 March 2011]

Like most Mike Leigh movies, this one appeared award-laden in 1999 (Best Actor for Jim Broadbent at the Venice Film Festival, Oscars for Make-Up and Costume Design). Unlike other Leigh movies, this isn't a slice of contemporary London social realism but an account of the English comic opera writers (and, arguably, fathers of the modern musical) WS Gilbert (Broadbent) and Arthur Sullivan (Allan Corduner), from the first night of 'Princess Ida' in January 1884 to the triumphant return to form at the first night of 'The Mikado' a year later.

Their successful musical partnership appears to have come to a halt when 'Princess Ida' is unsatisfactory to Sullivan and it closes after running into a heatwave. Gilbert is inspired to write the lyrics for a Japan-set opera after visiting a Japanese exhibition in London. This re-energises the partnership.

But the plot isn't really the thing here. TOPSY-TURVY has layer upon layer of good acting. Every character is distinct or odd or larger than life. There's not a dull or uninteresting performance from a supporting cast which numbers Lesley Manville (Mrs Gilbert), Timothy Spall, Kevin McKidd, Martin Savage, Shirley Henderson (as members of the D'Oly Carte opera), Andy Serkis (as the choreographer) and Ron Cook (as D'Oly Carte, the opera impresario - a sort of Victorian Cameron Mackintosh). But top honours do go the two outstanding leads: Corduner is suave and laid back as Sullivan and Broadbent's WS Gilbert is, by contrast, grumpy, critical and loud.

Leigh triumphs in the evocation of life in London in 1884/85: there are the latest inventions such as the fountain pen and the telephone; over oysters actors discuss the news of the death of General Gordon at Khartoum; Gilbert's painful visit to the dentist; the staff at the Savoy Theatre overdressed in Victorian finery during a summer heatwave.

A corpulent (it's around two-and-a-half hours long) film but one full of things to enjoy. Highlight has to be Spall singing 'A More Humane Mikado' (which Gilbert cuts).

The Legacy of Gilbert and Sullivan

[jsloan-5 · 10/10 · 22 January 2004]

I first saw this movie in the summer of 2000. This movie means a lot to me because it made the Gilbert and Sullivan operas a keen interest of mine. I had always been somewhat intrigued by the G&S style since I first saw a production of The Mikado. This movie inflated the interest and today I know all the G&S operas by heart and a great deal about the history of the Savoy Theater and the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. In this movie there are great performances all around, especially from Jim Broadbent who personifies W.S. Gilbert almost exactly how he was in real life. The movie was so detailed, I was convinced that the characters were actually in Victorian England. Now, having a thorough knowledge of Gilbert and Sullivan, I still enjoy watching this movie and relating it to the whole Gilbert and Sullivan Legacy.

You need to really like G&S

[Jonko · 6/10 · 21 February 2000]

Honestly, I really wanted to like this film. But I don't really think I can fully recommend it to just anyone. I think you have to be a really big fan of musical theater -- and quaint Victorian operetta at that. I enjoyed the film's amazing recreations and all of the performances. But the musical selections were so extended that I was very aware of just how long the movie was going on and on. And believe me, I'm a big fan of musical theater. But from everything I had read and heard about this movie, I was expecting even more behind-the-scenes scenes. This, for me, was a case of expectations being set way too high. Consider me disappointed.

Absolutely brilliant

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 30 April 2011]

I saw this as an avid fan of Gilbert and Sullivan and I love Jim Broadbent so Topsy-Turvey seemed like a perfect treat. And it was. How accurate it is or not makes no difference to me as everything else worked stupendously. Although the film is almost three hours I had no problem with it, and I actually liked the relaxed approach to the film's pace. Mike Leigh's direction is superb, the cinematography and period details are beautifully evoked, the story is engaging and moving, the writing is witty, funny and wise and the music is amazing. The acting is great. Jim Broadbent is absolutely tremendous as Gilbert and his chemistry with Allan Courdener who is fantastic as well is what makes Topsy-Turvey work so wonderfully. I was also surprised at how well Timothy Spall did carrying the tunes, and Lesley Manville is suitably quiet and composed as Gilbert's wife- loved the superbly written and performed speech. All in all, an absolutely brilliant film and not to be missed whether you love G&S or not. 10/10 Bethany Cox

sumptuous but vacuous

[EThompsonUMD · 6/10 · 13 March 2000]

Topsy-Turvy is a treat for the eye and ear. Unfortunately, the film has a numbing effect on two other parts of the anatomy, the topmost and the rear-most. Wonderful art direction and production values create a completely convincing sense of Victorian era England. Likewise the Gilbert and Sullivan set-pieces sprinkled throughout the film - mainly from The Mikado - are a musical delight. However, director Mike Leigh takes the viewer on an unconscionably long journey to arrive at what is essentially a Victorian version of the backstage musical. Some reviewers have suggested that the film is thereby an analysis of the creative process. Maybe, but I certainly didn't get that point on first viewing, nor any other point for that matter.

Even if you like costumes and sex lives more than G&S, it's still too long

[bambergerd · 3/10 · 1 January 2000]

I AM a G&S fan, but nothing in this movie would convince a newcomer that the operettas are fun. Though the movie has lots of Victorian detail (in case you want to know when the fountain pen was invented), its preoccupation is with contrasting the sex lives of the authors: Sullivan's well-known affairs, and the undocumentable and improbable notion that Gilbert wold not touch his wife because of problems with his mother. (Gilbert's wife is cast as rather plain -- she was, in fact, adorable.) Although there are large sections from the operettas, the hit tunes are scrupulously avoided -- and the singers are consistently off pitch. A hugely wasted opertunity, and much too long. If you want some fun with G&S, find a video of "The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan" (1953).