The Pirates of Penzance (film)

The Pirates of Penzance

DVD cover
Directed by Wilford Leach
Produced by
Screenplay by Wilford Leach
Based on The Pirates of Penzance
by Sir William Schwenck Gilbert
Starring
Music by Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (non-original music)
Cinematography Douglas Slocombe
Edited by Anne V. Coates
Production
companies
  • St. Michael Finance Limited
  • Timothy Burrill Productions
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
  • February 18, 1983 (1983-02-18) (United States)
  • August 1983 (1983-08) (United Kingdom)
Running time
 112 minutes[1]
Country
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
Box office $694,497[2]

The Pirates of Penzance is a 1983 British-American romantic musical comedy film written and directed by Wilford Leach based on Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera of the same name. The film, starring Kevin Kline, Angela Lansbury, Linda Ronstadt, George Rose, and Rex Smith, is an adaptation of the 1980 Joseph Papp production of Pirates. The original Broadway cast reprised their roles in the film, except that Lansbury replaced Estelle Parsons as Ruth. The minor roles used British actors miming to their Broadway counterparts. Choreography was by Graciela Daniele. It was produced by Papp and filmed at Shepperton Studios in London.

Plot

Frederic was sent in the care of his nursemaid, Ruth, to be apprenticed to a pilot. But she misunderstood her instructions, being hard of hearing, and apprenticed him instead to the Pirate King. Now turning 21 years old, his service is finished, so he decides to leave the Pirates of Penzance. Ruth wants him to take her with him, but he soon meets some young maidens, the daughters of Major-General Stanley, and realizes that Ruth is "plain and old". Frederic quickly falls in love with one of them, Mabel. He has a strong "sense of duty" and has vowed to lead a blameless life and to exterminate the pirates. Soon, however, the pirates return and seize the girls. Their father then arrives and lies to the pirates, telling them that he is an orphan. He knows that they are orphans themselves and never attack an orphan.

After the pirates leave, General Stanley wrestles with his conscience, having told a lie. Mabel and Frederic try to cheer him up, and Frederic has engaged the constabulary to help him defeat the pirates. The police arrive, but they turn out to be timid. Then the pirate king and Ruth find Frederic alone. They have reviewed the fine print on his apprenticeship indenture and have discovered that he is still a pirate because he was born in leap year on February 29, and he will not be out of his indentures to the pirates until his 21st birthday. Mabel agrees to wait for Frederic until then. The Police return and, hearing the pirates approach, they hide. The pirates arrive and seize the still guilt-ridden Major-General. The police are coaxed to battle the pirates, but they are defeated. However, the Sergeant of Police calls on the pirates to "yield in Queen Victoria's name." The pirates tearfully do so and release the Major-General, surrendering to the police. However, Ruth reveals that the pirates are all "noblemen who have gone wrong", and the Major-General pardons them and invites them to marry his daughters, as all ends happily.

Cast

Musical numbers

  1. Overture
  2. Pour, oh Pour the Pirate Sherry – Pirates and Samuel
  3. When Frederic Was a Little Lad+ – Ruth
  4. Oh Better Far to Live and Die++ – Pirate King
  5. Oh False One, You Have Deceived Me – Frederic and Ruth
  6. Climbing Over Rocky Mountain+ – Major General's Daughters
  7. Stop, Ladies, Pray – Frederic and Daughters
  8. Oh Is There Not One Maiden Breast+ – Frederic and Daughters
  9. Oh Sisters, Deaf to Pity's Name – Mabel and Daughters
  10. Poor Wandering One++ – Mabel and Daughters
  11. Stay, We Must Not Lose Our Senses – Frederic, Daughters and Pirates
  12. Hold Monsters and I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General+ – Mabel, Major General and Chorus
  13. Act I Finale – Company
  1. Oh Dry the Glistening Tear* – Mabel and Daughters
  2. When the Foeman Bares His Steel++ – Sergeant of Police
  3. Now for the Pirate's Lair – Frederic, King and Ruth
  4. When You Had Left Our Pirate Fold+ – Ruth, King and Frederic
  5. My Eyes are Fully Open (from Ruddigore) – Frederic, Ruth and King
  6. Away, Away, My Heart's on Fire – King, with Frederic and Ruth
  7. Stay, Frederic, Stay – Mabel and Frederic
  8. Ah, Leave Me Not to Pine – Mabel and Frederic
  9. Oh Here Is Love and Here Is Truth – Mabel and Frederic
  10. No, I Am Brave+ and Sergeant, Approach+++ – Mabel, Police and Sergeant
  11. When a Felon's Not Engaged in His Employment+ – Sergeant and Police
  12. A Rollicking Band of Pirates, We – Sergeant, Pirates and Police
  13. With Cat Like Tread++ – Pirates and Police
  14. Sighing Softly to the River – Major-General and Men
  15. Act II Finale++ – Company

Differences from the stage version
+Shortened
++Extended
+++Originally dialogue.
Omitted: How Beautifully Blue the Sky

Release

Box office

Theater owners boycotted The Pirates of Penzance because Universal Pictures released it simultaneously to theaters and to subscription television services SelecTV and ONTV.[3]

The film opened theatrically in the United States on February 18, 1983 and earned $255,496 from 91 venues in its opening weekend, ranking fourteenth in the box office.[4] At the end of its run, the film grossed $694,497.[2] The film was a box office bomb.

Critical reception

Despite its commercial failure, the film received generally positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reports an 80% score based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10.[5][6]

Home media

The film was released on VHS in 1984 and on DVD in 2010.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "PIRATES OF PENZANCE (U)". British Board of Film Classification. July 20, 1983. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "The Pirates of Penzance (1983)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Shepherd, Marc. "Papp's Pirates", the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, July 7, 2010, accessed January 31, 2015
  4. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for February 18-20, 1983". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. February 21, 1983. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  5. ↑ "The Pirates of Penzance (1983)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  6. ↑ Review from NY Times Review
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/21/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.