Product Details

• Actors: Anthony Warlow, David Hobson, John Bolton Wood
• Format: Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: KULTUR VIDEO
• DVD Release Date: July 28, 2009
• Run Time: 112 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0029WLJFC
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #40,340 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Musicals & Performing Arts > Classical > By Composer > Gilbert & Sullivan

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Lock up your daughters, the pirates are coming to town! Peppered with unforgettable melodies and tongue-twisting songs, Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance is one of the most popular operettas ever written. This new Opera Australia production shot in sparkling high definition has been hailed as an effervescent smash hit!

In spite of being apprenticed to a Pirate King as a child, Frederic has led a very sheltered life. So when he arrives in Penzance with his boisterous shipmates, there are a few surprises in store for him! This bright and breezy production is guaranteed to have you laughing in your seat; it's a big adventure where our swashbuckling Pirate King meets his match in the bumbling Major General!

Starring: Anthony Warlow, David Hobson, John Bolton Wood, Taryn Fiebig and Suzanne Johnston as Ruth.

'If G&S is your thing, you ll love every moment of this joyful production' - THE AUSTRALIAN

Conductor: Andrew Greene
Director: Stuart Maunder
Set Designer: Richard Roberts
Costume Designer: Roger Kirk
The Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra
Produced for television in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Produced and Directed by: Bruce Best

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wrong, wrong one., May 21, 2009

By	John Benford (Lakewood, Wa United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a wonderful production and is the best dvd ever, in my opinion, of Pirates of Penzance, starring award winning Anthony Warlow and La Boheme star David Hobson. I suggest you rent this from Netflix before you offer such outlandish statements. Please,try again.

My only criticism is that the description of the disc indicates that it will NOT have the optional sub-titles. The Australian and British regional dvds have the optional sub-titles which are ESSENTIAL to the understanding and enjoyment of Gilbert and Sullivan. They speak the King's English and still have trouble with the words. Americans will have trouble with understanding the lyrics on this disc. Trust me on that.

Gilbert is considered by the British and many scholars to be a great poet and his words contribute to at least half of the enjoyment of the show.That being said, I can hardly wait to get the blu-ray disc.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wrong reviewer!, May 21, 2009

By	Volunteer of America (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

I haven't seen the Blu-ray version of this but greatly enjoy the standard DVD version. The Blu-ray is filmed in high def - not made from an inferior conversion of a standard into a high def master, which can never be true high-def - so I am anticipating a super experience. All the Opera Australia G&S have very high quality audio and video; and the performers are of the very highest standard. Seems somehow that G&S should come very naturally to the Aussies.

To diss an unseen film (see review below) because it's not the one you thought is absurd. That's like hating it because it was damaged in the mail; I've seen THAT used as a reason for a one-star review before.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Cast/Excellent Production, June 22, 2009

By	Wayne Kuhaupt - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Over the years, I have seen many productions of this magical musical tour de force by the incomparable Gilbert & Sullivan. This production is one of the best. The performers were uniformly strong, with special kudos to Mabel, and the Major General. The Pirate King, although the performance was strong, was a little too Johhny Depp look-alike-sound-alike for my taste. While it is certainly a comic role, this show is not the Pirates of the Caribbean and the imitation of a popular movie screen character, although effective with the audience, was a little too flamboyant for me.
That said, the show was very well sung and very well acted; the sets were effective; and the orchestra excellent. Excellent show!