Product Details

• Actors: Clive Revill, David Kernan, Donald Adams, Nuala Willis, Alexander Oliver
• Directors: Dave Heather
• Writers: William S. Gilbert
• Producers: George Walker, Judith de Paul
• Format: Classical, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: January 1, 1997
• Run Time: 116 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1578900093
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #327,991 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

One of Gilbert & Sullivan's first collaborations, The Sorcerer is also among their least known. In this tale of a magic potion that causes a whole village to fall in love with the wrong people, the pair's trademarks are already in evidence: an absurd plot that's resolved in an instant; deadpan operatic parodies; radiant tunes joined to sometimes cynical words. The work's popularity may have been hampered by flaws like its ending, which implausibly hurls the title character into damnation. But as a whole it's a buoyant experience, especially in this production, the only version easily available on video.

In a series of uneven quality (the Opera World series of G&S videos, made in the 1980s) this production is a standout. Almost without exception, the performers embody Gilbert's comic style. The title character, John Wellington Wells, is played by Clive Revill with proper Dickensian gravity, leavened by an anarchic twinkle. D'Oyly Carte veteran Donald Adams wields marvelous timing and diction as Sir Marmaduke, whose excessively good manners are no equal to Wells's potion. A weak point is Alexander Oliver, not very juvenile as the juvenile, Alexis; Oliver is a dull presence in a sparkling cast.

The production succumbs to a few television gimmicks, like having the actors speak directly into the camera. And the supernatural effects may look primitive by 21st-century standards, but that adds to the charm. From the opening number, filled with earnestly prancing villagers, you know you're in a world that follows its own giddy rules. --David Olivenbaum

Product Description

The villagers of Ploverleigh are celebrating the marriage of Alexis, son of Sir Marmaduke Pointdextre, to Aline, daughter of Lady Sangazure, who just happens to be Sir Marmaduke's old flame. Alexis is determined that all shall share the purity of his true love. He has arranged for Mr. Wells, "a dealer in magic and spells," to administer his best-selling love potion to everyone in the village, including the vicar Dr. Daly. The result is hilarious confusion.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A delightful interpretation of a forgotten classic, August 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Gilbert & Sullivan - The Sorcerer / Revill, Kernan, Opera World [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Gilbert and Sullivan are most well known for such comic opera gems as 'The Mikado', 'The Pirates of Penzance', and 'H.M.S. Pinafore'. 'The Sorcerer' is not one of their better-known works, presumably because its slow beginning tends to decrease general interest before the fun really begins. This was dealt with rather well by the Ambrosian Opera Company, which used plenty of colour and lots of bright voices to liven things up a bit until the turning point near the end of the first act. Visuals, as is the habit within this series, did tend to be exaggerated a tinge more than necessary, but it's arguable that this holds the interest of the uninitiated. Commendable performances were given by all, especially by Clive Revill (baritone) as the title character and Nuala Willis (contralto) as Lady Sangazure. Their duet in the second act is really quite a lot of fun to watch. I vote we bring this back on the market.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good resource for G&S fans, August 26, 2008

By 

Saralee Etter - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gilbert & Sullivan: The Sorcerer (DVD)

This is one of the 1982 series of G&S productions produced by the BBC. Love, love, love Donald Adams as Sir Marmaduke, and Clive Revill is fun as the Sorcerer (hard to imagine he also played the Emperor in Star Wars Episode 4!).

It does take a long time to get started. The dances are nice. My favorite part is the duet between the Sorcerer and Lady Sangazure--still very funny.

It feels slow at times, but for those of us who may never see a live production it is an invaluable resource.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not well known comic opera. That is well done and very fun., May 2, 2008

By 

Timothy B. Holt "Go into the western sea" (Santa Cruz and World Surfing Capital) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gilbert & Sullivan: The Sorcerer (DVD)

It is odd how mesmerizing this version of the Sorcerer is. It just delights me each time I watch it. Clive Revell plays the Sorcerer so well I cannot think of anybody else doing it. The rapid fire "My name is John Wellington Wells. I'm a dealer in magic and spells..." with a serious tone but devilish smirk.... I get lost in this like very few films. I find the Television setting adds to the movie feel so I sense more that I am there with them. The sets are all inside but the arrangement makes me feel trees and an English manor and lawns and with marriage tent. I do not find Oliver's age to be a problem. He seems just right for a late 18th century man marrying later with odd ideas about the value of "True Love". Nan Christie's solo (I really love her smile) in the library is beautiful and fun, and so is the nuanced and so very polite minuette between Donald Adams and Nuala Willis. I feel such sympathy for their frustration of wanting rush into each others arms after years but being politely restrained. The story as played almost becomes very suggestive of a wildness that makes me feel it is racy and yet it is not. The minister's reveries of a past of love that might have been.... I just feels like a dream with much cheer and fun and in another time and place, that at the end with a fair ground like dance and whirl, and they the hit the cricket ball into heaven where the Sorcerer sits on a star (nice, touches like this throughout) I am thinking: "I will go back to that world again. That was fun and beautiful."

But, get the Opera World set. I think it is worth it if you like this type of thing. I really disagree with the negative comments from Opera purists who have live memories they compare with. The sets are well done. The players are good enough to please my ears and make me fall into the spell. Clive Revill, Donald Adams, Nan Christie are just a few of the players and most are in more of the series along with Keith Mitchell, Alexander Oliver, Beverly Mills. I would take this series to a desert island. Something in entertainment was perfected here and G&S will never be forgotten.