Rating: 
Summary: wonderful when you can't see the mikado
Review: this film is, of course, for g&s aficianados. surprising though it may seem to us, there are those who do not like g&s. one of my voice teachers, a brit yet--almost treasonable, went into a complete swivet when i asked to work on a g&s aria. (we settled on one each of cole porter and noel coward.)this film is also for those who have a fair bit of knowledge about late-19th century england and its mores (there's a virtual acute accent over that 'e'). the passing reference to 'chinese' gordon's death at khartoum places the film's events in the broader historic context. the dialogue manages to suggest the formality of the times without becoming a parody. the sets, especially the senior mrs. gilbert's bedchamber ('room' is inadequate)are marvelous, as, of course, are the costumes. the era was wonderfully captured, along with some of its hypocrisies. the film is also impressive in the way a short scene or a few lines of dialogue can suggest the family and social history and background of gilbert and sullivan and the various actors. this is not a film for people who cannot hear between the lines. the perfomances, spoken and sung, are wonderful--especially since you can contrast the performances of several of the actors in this film with their performances in 'trainspotting'--great demonstration of the concept of 'range.'. n.b.: when leonora is speaking of 'her' beauty, she is quoting yumyum's lines from the opera, as well as revealing, possibly, her own feelings. others have mentioned its treatment of the creative process and the manner in which a performance evolves. i enjoyed the superficial civility of the composer's critiques of the orchestra. so much more suave (and lacking in vulgarity) than is likely today. this is a thoroughly enjoyable film that assumes the best of its audience. that alone makes it worth watching.
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