Rating: 
Summary: Genesis of a much-loved work
Review: "Topsy Turvy" is more than just a "play within a play" although it works very well at that level. We see the genesis of Gilbert and Sullivan's best-known work "The Mikado" after the partnership has gone through a low spell, and get enough scenes from its staging (and that of other G & S "Savoy operas") to satisfy all but the keenest of Savoayards. We enjoy immensely the way in which the premiere is rehearsed and pulled together under Gilbert's dictatorial directorship. It is all very funny but there is a darker side in the world outside. The relationship between Gilbert and Sullivan and the efforts that the impresario D'Oyley Carte and his team have to make to keep them working together are very well set out and the niceties of class distinctions in Victorian London and among the theatre people are clear.The undoubted star is Jim Broadbent as a somewhat misanthropic Gilbert, capable of creating some of the wittiest plots and lines in the English language but not of expressing his own emotions to his dysfunctional family (we can see how he got the way he is!) or to his loving and long-suffering wife. Watch out, though for two characters who have appeared more recently in very different roles: Andy Serkis (voice and body model for Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings") as a quirky and outspoken choreographer, and Shirley Henderson (Moaning Myrtle in "Harry Potter II") who has here a more substantial part as the attractive if egotistical lead soprano.
Rating: 
Summary: A Christmas Turkey
Review: I was really looking forward to this as it was part of the BBC's prime time schedule for Christmas Day. But what a disappointment: although the acting, cinematography, period detail etc. was impressive the plot unfolded at a snail's pace. Did we really need an hour to establish the creative tension between the partnership? And where was the humour in what was supposed to be a time when people went out of their way to exhibit it in conversation? In the end I turned over to watch a documentary about another comedic duo Peter Cook and Dudley Moore and had much more fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Best biopic ever! Not just for Gilbert & Sullivan fans!
Review: Topsy-Turvy is the story of the creation of the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, "The Mikado." It contains not just the story of the musical's creation but many scenes from Mikado and other G&S musicals. Long-time "G&S" (Gilbert & Sullivan) fans probably found this movie a long time ago. I am one of them, so first I'll say that I found the performance of the G&S material in this movie absolutely superb. I've never seen a Mikado as genuinely funning and eccentric as Tim Sprall's, or a Yum-Yum as winsomely self-centered as Shirley Hendersen's Leonora Branham. Viewers who find musicals simplistic or shallow or generally silly should make an exception in the case of Topsy-Turvy. It is none of those things. In true Mike Leigh fashion, the actors inhabit their characters like second skin. No one is simple or shallow. Nor does Leigh avoid the seamier side of London theatrical life. I particularly liked Jim Broadbent's bitterly comic and misanthropic Gilbert, Martin Savage as the opium-addicted George Grossmith (the 'patter baritone' who rips through Gilbert's rapidfire lyrics like a rap song), and Lucy Manville as Gilbert's long-suffering wife. Finally, the film is visually beautiful and detailed; wonderful costumes, lighting, and sets that seem faultless in their historical detail. One of the best, if not the best, bio-pic ever made.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I thought this movie was brilliant. Very insightful and entertaining. Well paced, excellently acted, wonderful character performances. I thought it was one of the best movies I saw this year.
Rating:
Summary: To Find Out More......
Review: I simply want to recommend a fantastic book about Mike Leigh that is available on this site: Ray Carney's The Films of Mike Leigh: Embracing the World published by Cambridge University Press. Carney is the best film critic I've ever read--few footnotes, no jargon, amazing passion for the subject, and mind-bending insights. Check out the book. I keep it on my coffee table so that as I am working my way through Leigh's films on video I can read the chapter on each film immediately after watching it. Carney's beautiful descriptions of scenes and subtle insights often make me pop the video in again to check out a scene or two or three a second time. Like having an ideal guide through a tangled and uphill but sublime landscape. This book should be bundled with the videos!
Rating: 
Summary: A Mistake for G&S Lovers
Review: This movie must be true 'art'--because there is very little in it that the average G&S lover can relate to. I pitched my copy immediately after viewing.
Rating:
Summary: Witty. Entertaining. A Bit Challenging.
Review: It took me two viewings to understand what was going on in the first half of the film -- a dark and confusing period in the lives of the two artists. On a second viewing the whole thing came together for me. I found the rendering of the historical period to be splendid --as convincing as Rossellini's "Louis XIV". The actual creation and staging of the Mikado (in the second half of the film) is likely to delight anyone familiar with the works of G&S -- or anyone who has ever struggled to put together an effective theatrical production. The poignant illnesses and psychic suffering of the Savoy actors -- as well as the suffering of G&S -- set one up for goosebumps when they soared triumphantly into song on opening night. The language and witty word play in many scenes were like the first stages of a multi-stage rocket that ultimately hurled Gilbert's wonderfully silly and witty libretto into artistic orbit. (Forgive me. I am an intellectual chap.)
Rating:
Summary: RECOMMENDATION ON A BOOK TO READ
Review: This movie is really about what it is to be an artist--all the personnel conflicts, the last minute changes, the improvisation, the struggle to tell the truth. Even if you're not into G&S, it's worth viewing. I also want to recommend Ray Carney's web site and book about Mike Leigh (available on Amazon at a discount) for more information about all of his work. I can't believe more people don't know about it, especially the early films: Abigail's Party, Meantime, Home Sweet Home. But they are covered by Carney. Get the videos and the book too!
Rating:
Summary: The Making of the Mikado!
Review: If it weren't for the one gratuitous scene in the French whorehouse, this is one movie that you could show to a class in English Lit. It is a well researched, well written movie about the beloved team of W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Sometimes funny, always interesting--and the music is very well done. All of the actors are actually performing their own music. It is excellent!
Rating:
Summary: Simply splendid, one of the best of 1999
Review: 1999 was a rather unusual year because a large number of small movies got into the mainstream, from Blair Witch Project to Boys Don't Cry. Here we have an English treat from Mike Leigh called Topsy-Turvy. I thought it was lots of fun, but in reading this review, you can decide if it might cheer you up or drive you to distraction. In late 19th Century England, Gilbert and Sullivan were at the top of the heap in the musical theater. They reinvented it, like Jerome Kern did in the 1920s, Rogers and Hammerstein in the 1950s and Bob Fosse in the 1970s. Tastes change, and what they wrote over one hundred years ago doesn't sound pop to our ears. It sounds classical. The truth is that they were theatrical entrepreneurs as well, much like Andrew Lloyd Webber is today. Topsy-Turvy is a look at a very interesting slice of their successful but tumultuous lives. As the movie opens, they are middle-aged. Arthur Sullivan [Allan Corduner] is at home recovering from an illness which we suspect was caused by his raucous lifestyle. He is witty, debonair and lusty. He has a pretty mistress and travels often to Paris to enjoy its delights. William Gilbert [Jim Broadbent] is just the opposite. Though ultimately lovable, he is moody, bossy, obsessive and often grumpy. Together with impresario Richard D'Orly-Carte, they put on their musicals at the lavish Savoy Theater, which they own. Their newest work is a critical failure. The public is staying away in droves, and closing is imminent. A new musical must be written at once. They are obligated to do so, but Sullivan, having worked with sour-pussed Gilbert for nearly two decades, it ready to quit and go one to something else. They have a great fight and quit speaking to each other. It seems to be all finished, but their greatest work is yet to come. The movie is the best British period piece in some time. The sets, the costumes and the music, which is glorious, seem quite authentic. The performances are excellent. Perhaps best of all, we get a detailed look at how the theater worked then and how it probably still works. We see the accounting, the costume making, the staging, the rehearsals, the casting and more. There are detailed looks at the cast members - who they are, how they work, and even what their habits are. It's all done in a way that is far more comedic than dramatic. These people go through torture, but they are, one and all, fast-talking, quick witty troupers. If the movie has a drawback, it is its length. At two hours and forty minutes, it seems lie it could have used a twenty to thirty minutes trim. Still, director Mike Leigh, previously know for modern working-class dramas, felt he had to show it all, and I, for one, would not know where to begin cutting Topsy-Turvy. Perhaps the running time is justified.
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