Blu-Ray Review: ‘Topsy-Turvy,’ ‘The Mikado’ Join Criterion Collection Together

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CHICAGO – Leave it to The Criterion Collection to not just perfectly remaster one of the most acclaimed films of the ’90s but to take its ancestor, the film version of the play in which the modern classic centers around, and give it a similarly remarkable treatment. Fans of Mike Leigh’s “Topsy-Turvy” will adore the new Criterion edition, available now on DVD and Blu-ray, but they should also pick up “The Mikado” to see the inspirational musical in its entirety.

HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

Mike Leigh is an international treasure; undeniably one of the best living directors. If you have yet to see films like “Secrets & Lies,” “Naked,” “Vera Drake,” and “Happy-Go-Lucky,” get thee to a Netflix queue and dive into the filmography of this fascinating filmmaker, one who works without a net. Most Leigh films are improvised affairs in which he knows the loose foundation of the story but works collaboratively with the cast to tell it. His regular collaborators, including Jim Broadbent, Sally Hawkins, Imelda Staunton, and Lesley Manville, are always not only up to the challenge of his style of storytelling but seem to be inspired by it to achieve their greatest work.

Topsy-Turvy was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on March 29th, 2011
Topsy-Turvy was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on March 29th, 2011
Photo credit: Courtesy of the Criterion Collection

In many ways, “Topsy-Turvy” feels like Mike Leigh’s most personal film. This may first sound ridiculous given the film’s period piece setting, but it is a film about the creative process and its many pitfalls. The story of Gilbert and Sullivan’s creation of “The Mikado” in 1885 allows for Leigh’s most elaborate film (with its detailed costume design and many sets), but the film excels because it doesn’t lose that personal touch that makes Leigh a modern master. Mike Leigh understands human behavior like only our best filmmakers and he can take nearly any subject and make the people around it feel genuine.

Broadbent and Allan Corduner star as Gilbert and Sullivan, who battle personal and professional demons as they try to stage an elaborate, complex musical like “The Mikado” with their troupe of actors. “Topsy-Turvy” plays with traditional themes of “a play within a movie” but it does so much more three-dimensionally than the typically cliched genre. We’ve all seen films about the creative process that turn all directors into egotists and all actors into vain children, but rarely has the creative process been more interestingly portrayed than in “Topsy-Turvy,” a film that was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning two for Costume Design and Makeup.

The Mikado was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on March 29th, 2011
The Mikado was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on March 29th, 2011
Photo credit: Courtesy of the Criterion Collection

“Topsy-Turvy” looks as impressive in HD as any film recently released on the Blu-ray format but it’s the special features that are truly remarkable. The best special feature is a new interview between Leigh and musical director Gary Yershon. The two old friends have more of a conversation than an interview. They remind each other of creative discussions and hurdles they had to overcome in a great piece that runs almost 40 minutes. Leigh also appears on a commentary track recorded for the original release of the film and a featurette.

Another fascinating special feature is the 1992 short film “A Sense of History,” written by Broadbent and directed by Leigh. It was on the set of this interesting piece that the two first discussed collaborating on “Topsy-Turvy.” I love thinking of film as a series of related events — if Jim hadn’t written the short film, Mike might not have made “Topsy-Turvy.” These are true collaborators, not mere actors and filmmakers. Other special features include deleted scenes, the trailer & TV spots, and an essay by the great Amy Taubin.

If you’re in love with “Topsy-Turvy,” don’t miss “The Mikado,” released to coincide with Mike Leigh’s film. Staged by the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, this 1939 Technicolor version doesn’t look anywhere near seven decades old. It’s the first work of Gilbert & Sullivan’s to be adapted to film and was directed by musician and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Victor Schertzinger. The HD transfer isn’t perfect (the colors seem to fade and come back mid-scene, as if the negative was damaged), but it’s close to it considering the age of the film.

The special features on “The Mikado” make the connection to “Topsy-Turvy” directly by offering new video interviews with Mike Leigh and “Mikado” scholars Josephine Lee and Ralph MacPhail Jr.. Other bonus material includes a short silent film promoting the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company’s 1926 stage performance of “The Mikado,” a deleted scene with Ko-Ko’s “I’ve Got a Little List” songm excerpts from the 1939 radio broadcasts of the stage productions of “The Swing Mikado” and “The Hot Mikado,” plus a booklet featuring an essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien.

“Topsy-Turvy” stars Jim Broadbent, Allan Corduner, Timothy Spall, Lesley Manville, and Shirley Henderson. It was written and directed by Mike Leigh. “The Mikado” was directed by Victor Scherzinger. Both were released on Blu-ray and DVD by The Criterion Collection on March 29th, 2011.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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