Product Details

• Actors: Peter Marshall, Frankie Howerd, Meryl Drower, Michael Bulman, Gordon Sandison
• Directors: Rodney Greenberg
• Writers: William S. Gilbert
• Producers: Edward Simons, George Walker, Judith de Paul
• Format: Classical, Color, NTSC
• Subtitles: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Superior Promotions,
• VHS Release Date: November 16, 1999
• Run Time: 117 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1578900174
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #425,698 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This video is one of the Opera World series of 12 Gilbert & Sullivan operettas produced for television in 1982. Aiming for a broad public, the series' producers assembled crossover casts of Savoyards, comedians, song-and-dance types, and Americans affecting British accents. The results are erratic, and H.M.S. Pinafore is as mixed as they come. Musically, it is of generally high quality (the opera singer Della Jones as Buttercup, for instance). It is full of energetic dance numbers, and there's a hefty dose of music-hall comedy. It just doesn't add up.

Peter Marshall, best known as the host of Hollywood Squares, turns out to be a credible singer and dancer. But his performance is bizarre. With his prancing movements and incessant grin, he's a Victorian cartoon that scarcely resembles the genial but upright Captain Corcoran. It's similar with the British TV comedian Frankie Howerd, who, in the role of Sir Joseph, plays himself. Expertly drawing on a large stock of mannerisms, he hoists his eyebrows, purses his lips, levitates his voice an octave in surprise. Howerd's speak-singing is more effective than you might think; he tramples on Gilbert's dialogue, however. Adlibbing many of his lines, he is sometimes visibly at a loss for what to say next.

The number of such wobbly moments suggests that the production was taped in a hurry. Things are further constrained by the shipboard set, which is too cramped for all those sailors, sisters, cousins, and aunts. During the dance segments, you can observe them bumping into the scenery and each other. --David Olivenbaum

From the Producer

This video is part of a series produced originally for BBC.TV. With a production budget of $1,000,000 per opera, a special film set was created for each, and top stars from the world of opera and comedy were recruited for the leading roles. Here, Peter Marshall is a daffy Captain Corcoran, and Franke Howerd an outrageous Sir Joseph Porter. The London Symphony Orchestra and the world-acclaimed Ambrosian Opera Chorus perform Sullivan's music with exuberance and precision. A brief introduction by Douglas Fairbanks Jr explains the origins and context of the opera. New digital remastering has produced both picture and (hi-fi stereo) sound of exceptional quality.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable performance, April 30, 2000

By 

Yi-Peng (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gilbert & Sullivan: H.M.S. Pinafore [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I know that some Gilbert and Sullivan fanatics may complain loudly about tis video, but I am going to say how fantastic this production of Pinafore really is. Peter Marshal, despite some small imperfections in his role of Captain Corcoran, is a well-versed singer-actor. Equally up to his calibre is Frankie Howerd's Sir Joseph Porter. Howerd in his part ad-libs his dialogue not because he didn't learn his lines, but because he brings out the character of Sir Joseph perfectly well. He makes the character feel like a person with scrambled eggs in his brain, and I'm sure that his portrayal can spark off a laugh or two. The two lovers and Little Buttercup, excellently played, help to match those two principals, and the choruses of sailors and female relatives are very supportive. Alexander Faris's musical direction is a sheer delight form first bar to last. The only minor quibble is about the sound-quality. It seems so low-quality and the mixing is not well done. However, this does not detract from such an outstanding performance of this G&S great and this will be sure to find a happy fome in any classical video library.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, solid production of HMS Pinafore!, December 3, 1999

By 

Lucretia W. Grindle (Boston, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gilbert & Sullivan: H.M.S. Pinafore [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Coming from a family of Gilbert and Sullivan fanatics, I've watched basically every video version and this is definitely one of the best. The Brits do this like nobody else. My family loved it because of the fabulous production that captures the period, but still makes it feel like an operetta, not a movie. The wonderful sense of silliness and fun is put across without losing the integrity of the music, and the acting is great (sadly a rarity in G&S). Peter Marshall must be the definitive Captain Corcoran! Not everything about this is perfect, but its very close. Wholeheartedly recomended - we're trying the others in this series and really looking forward to them for Christmas.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A disappointment to G&S fans, February 11, 2002

By 

J. E. Hissrich (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gilbert & Sullivan - H.M.S. Pinafore / Marshall, Howerd, Jones, Opera World [VHS] (VHS Tape)

As a Gilbert & Sullivan fan (and a member of the Pittsburgh Savoyards G&S company), I was thrilled to learn that there is a series of videos of most G&S shows. But the series is very disappointing, and Pinafore is a good example of the series. Peter Marshall is a poor choice for Captain Corcoran, and Frankie Howerd is an incomprehensible choice for Sir Joseph Porter, KCB. Howerd appears to be making up the role as he goes along. The singing is credible (although far from the best I've heard), and the dancing is very good. But the staging is poor, and the entire effect is that the fun of a good Gilbert & Sullivan show is lost.