Gilbert & Sullivan - The Pirates of Penzance / Michell, Kelly, Oliver, Allen, Opera World

Rating:
Summary: Blah...
Review: All I can see is "Eh." It is okay. I much prefer the version with Kevin Kline and Linda Ronstadt. Even though they added two songs and extended songs as well. I find this version too over done. The high lights of the show are Mabel(who has a great voice) and Ruth.

Rating:
Summary: What A Mess!
Review: Believe all the bad reviews this atrocity received. If you have ever seen another performance, you will hate this one.

Rating:
Summary: Look Elsewhere
Review: Believe all the bad reviews this atrocity received. If you have ever seen another performance, you will hate this one.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining night out at home
Review: I find it difficult to believe that I'm the first to review this video. Nevertheless, my wife and I found this to be an entertaining version of the Pirates. We are hardly expert critics of G&S, however, we take every advantage of live theatre productions featuring their works along with video presentations. Compared to the Broadway/Hollywood version (Kevin Kline & company) and the Stratford Festival works - this ranks as 3rd, with the Broadway/Hollywood video as "numero uno." We found this presentation a bit "fast" insofar as the tempo of the music was concerned - not that it was bad - just took a bit of getting accustomed to. Further, the cast wasn't quite as boisterous in the delivery of the songs which surely require "umph" to do them justice. The police (especialy the sergeant) could have been louder for sure. The female chorale group was excellent, as were Mabel, Frederick, Ruth and the London Symphony Orchestra. The introduction and intermission commentary by Douglas Fairbanks is informative and the trailer is well worth viewing. In summary: an entertaining night out at home. We're happy to have it within our G&S library.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Hilarious
Review: I just love this movie. It has kept me entertained for years, and will for years to come. I know it is a musical that even my children will love. Buy it, you will not regret it.

Rating:
Summary: A more detailed follow-up
Review: I know that even though a lot of the Amazon.com community complain about this video, I still find it enjoyable from first to last. Peter Allen is really a swashbuckling Pirate King, though not a really good singer, acting the part extremely well. Keith Michell finds every nuance in his portrayal of Major-General Stanley. Though his famous patter song seems difficult to sing, he sings it well and effortlessly. Janis Kelly and Alexander Oliver make an excellent pair of lovers, singing sweetly, and with romanticism. Gillian Knight makes a perfect Ruth, appealing and with a crisp performance. The choruses of pirates, policemen and daughters of Major-General Stanley are bright, crisp, supportive and clear. Though the Sergeant may need polishing, he still sings as well as Owen Brannigan. Overall, this is an excellent traditional performance, and I find this better than the Broadway-Hollywood version. It seems to me that nobody but the Brits does Gilbert and Sullivan in the way I expect it to be done, and it is not becuase of a "Rule Britannia" attitude. It seems that they present more logical versions of Gilbert and Sullivan, and this video really proves it. I would suggest that you think carefully before buying either this or the Broadway-Hollywood version.

Rating:
Summary: Worst Pirates I have ever seen-inc grade school productions
Review: I love Peter Allen. I already owned several versions of Pirates (including the fantastic version with Kevin Kline and Linda Ronstadt. This was awful. I could not finish watching. Remember, I love Peter Allen. If you do also, do yourself a favor ... don't buy this.

Rating:
Summary: Okay but Could Have Been Better!
Review: I love the Pirates of Penzance and have seen other productions that were great but though not horrible this is far from perfect! Peter Allen wasn't the best Pirate King and not the greatest singer but his acting was good and was kind of enjoyable, I think what really bothered me about this production was that Frederic is 21 years old and the man playing him looked more like he was 51 years old and way to old to be playing a 21 year old, the woman playing Mabel looked kind of too old to be playing Mabel but at least she didn't look as old as the man playing Frederic and was somewhat more believable! There were some good performances from the people playing Ruth and Major Stanley and some good musical numbers with Mabel's sisters but I just could not get past the fact that the man playing Frederic was too old for the part and was badly miscast!

Rating:
Summary: What A Mess!
Review: I Love the Pirates of Penzance so I watched this Peter Allen version and believe me when I say that it is as bad as they say it is and I am speaking from personal experience after the torture of watching this crummy thing, Peter Allen is too flamboyant to be enjoyable as my favorite character The Pirate King and they had some old dude playing Fredric and he looked like he was at least in his mid to late 40s so why was he playing a 21 year old young man when he was too old for the part? Okay so I know that the other versions of Penzance had actors who were older then 21 playing Fredric but they looked like they were at least in their 30s so it didn't seem that bad. I don't recommend this version, try both the video of the stage play and the movie of the Kevin Cline, Rex Smith, Linda Ronstadt version and/or the Brent Carver version, I know some people didn't like those versions either but I enjoyed them and think they are both so much better then this mess!

Rating:
Summary: Unwatchable!
Review: I was tempted to throw tomatoes at my own television screen during this awful production of a great opera! The singing is mediocre, the acting is horrid, and the sets remind one of a bad high school production. My friends and I -- all of us long time fans of Gilbert and Sullivan's humor and style -- couldn't even finish watching this dreadful production. We also tried to watch this series's production of Ruddigore, but we found that to be just as bad. Run, don't walk, from this truly abyssmal series!