Overall, with the Blu-ray release of Mike Leigh’s “Topsy Turvy” and the release of “The Mikado”, fans of Gilbert and Sullivan will no doubt be satisfied with these two awesome releases from the Criterion Collection! This latest release for Blu-ray is the best version of “The Mikado” I have seen thus far. The colors and detail are much more evident in this HD release and the special features are wonderful. “The Mikado” is definitely recommended!
Image courtesy of © Carlton Film Distributors 1938. 2011 The Criterion Collection. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: The Mikado- The Criterion Collection #559
YEAR OF FILM: 1939
DURATION: 91 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:33:1 Aspect Ratio), Monaural
COMPANY: Janus Films/THE CRITERION COLLECTION
RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2011
Directed by Victor Schertzinger
Based on an Opera by William S. Gilbert, Arthur Sullivan
Adaptation by Geoffrey Toye
Produced by Geoffrey Toye
Associate Produced by Josef Somio
Cinematography by Bernard Knowles
Photography by William V. Skall
Edited by Philip Charlot, Gene Milford
Art Direction by Ralph W. Brinton
Set Decoration by Marcel Vertes
Costume Design by Marel Vertes
Starring:
Kenny Baker as Nanki-Poo
Martyn Green as Ko-Ko
Sydney Granville as Pooh-Bah
John Barclay as The Mikado
Gregory Stroud as Pish-Tush
Jean Colin as Yum-Yum
Constance Willis as Katisha
Elizabeth Paynter as Pitti-Sing
Kathleen Naylor as Peep-Bo
The legendary Gilbert and Sullivan troupe the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company joined forces with Hollywood for this 1939 Technicolor version of the beloved comic opera The Mikado, the first work by the famed duo to be adapted for the screen. Directed by musician and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Victor Schertzinger, it is a lavish cinematic retelling of the British political satire set in exotic Japan, with such enduringly popular numbers as “A Wand’ring Minstrel I†and “Three Little Maids from School,†and featuring American singer Kenny Baker as well as a host of renowned D’Oyly Carte performers, including Martyn Green and Sydney Granville.
Amongst the greatest musical collaborations of all time, the collaboration between English dramatist, poet and illustrator W.S. Gilbert and composer Sir Arthur Sullivan. Both famous for their work which include “H.M.S. Pinafore”, “The Pirates of Penzance” and “The Mikado”.
“The Mikado” is a comedic opera featuring music by Sullivan and libretto by Gilbert and it was their ninth of fourteenth operatic collaboration which opened in London back in March 14, 1885 and ran at the Savoy Theatre for 672 performances and by the end of that year, it was estimated that at least 150 companies were producing the opera.
When the opera was created, it was back during the 1880’s when no one knew much about Japan and since the 1860’s, there has been a fad of interest in Japan because all that people have heard was how exotic the location was and needless to say, people were intrigued by another country, so different than theirs. So, because of the interest in Japan, W.S. Gilbert was able to satirize British politics and institutions by disguising them as Japanese. But the inspiration for Gilbert to create something around Japanese culture, was because of a sword which supposedly fell from his wall. Because a Japanese family had moved to Knightsbridge, he recalled seeing the Japanese in their exotic robes and this was the inspiration he needed to create “The Mikado”.
While the opera version has much more songs, the film adaptation of “The Mikado” would be directed by Victor Schertzinger and an adaptation by Geoffrey Toye, a principal conductor with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company and was one of the main forces in bringing the works of Gilbert and Sullivan back to the public attention through the 1920’s and 1930’s.
“The Mikado” was the first and the only Gilbert & Sullivan opera to receive a Hollywood Technicolor adaptation and with poor releases on video for many decades, finally a proper release of “The Mikado” will be released on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of the Criterion Collection in March 2011.
“The Mikado” does differ greatly from its opera counterpart. Scenes are mixed around and there are less songs in the film version. Also, the film version focuses on the relationship of Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum and less about the Mikado.
The musical revolves around a young man named Nanki-Poo (played by Kenny Baker) who is arranged to marry the not-so-beautiful Katisha (played by Constance Willis), an older, larger woman with a moustache. Nanki-Poo wants to get out of it but unfortunately, because it has been arranged, Katisha tells the Mikado that if he gets out of the wedding, he will be beheaded.
Meanwhile, Nanki-Poo escapes to the Japanese town of Titipu where he calls himself a wandering musician and looks for the woman he truly loves, Yum-Yum (played by Jean Collin), a ward of Ko-Ko (played by Martyn Green), a thin, clumsy man who was appointed to become the Lord High Executioner.
Ko-Ko was actually a prisoner who was condemned to death for flirting (a decree made by the Mikado that flirting was a capital crime) but was promoted to be the town’s executioner and to carry the axe (which Ko-Ko can barely carry) and that Yum-Yum is scheduled to marry Ko-Ko.
While Nanki-Poo arrives to the scene, he tells Ko-Ko the truth about his true identity that he is not a wandering musician, but he is the son of The Mikado and that he was disguising himself because he didn’t want to marry Katisha.
Meanwhile, Ko-Ko receives news from the Mikado who has decreed that an execution must be carried out within a month or else, the town will be reduced to the rank of a village and would bring ruin to the village.
Needing someone to execute, Ko-Ko finds out that Nanki-Poo is in despair over losing Yum-Yum that the two strike a deal, Nanki-Poo can marry Yum-Yum for one month but at the end of their marriage, he will execute him and then he will marry Yum-Yum, when she is a young widow.
But of all people to make her return to find Nanki-Poo is Katisha who intends to put a wrench into their plans.
VIDEO:
“The Mikado” is presented in 1080p (1:33:1) and for the most part, considering that “The Mikado” has received poor DVD transfers in the past, The Criterion Collection has done a great job in bringing this film to a new generation with a digital transfer that looks better and also showcases the detail of the outfits much more. With that being said, you will see some mild flickering (color pulsing and shifting of red and greens at times earlier in the film) but for the most part, the picture quality of “The Mikado” is the best I have seen it. Criterion Collection did a wonderful job in the cleanup for this film and saw no dirt or damage whatsoever.
With that said, “The Mikado”, according to the Criterion Collection, features a digital transfer created from a Spirit 4K Datacine from a 35mm interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS system and Pixel Farm’s PFClean system, while Digital Vision’s DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.
The Blu-ray for “The Mikado” really brings out the detail as you can see the fabric and creases of the outfits much more. So, for the most part, you can really see how exquisite some of these designs were to create Japan but in a designer’s interpretation of Japan for this film.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“The Mikado” is presented in English LPCM 1.0. Dialogue is clear and the audio is much crisper than any of earlier DVD versions of this film.
According to the Criterion Collection, the monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the original optical tracks. Clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated audio workstation.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“The Mikado – The Criterion Collection #559” on Blu-ray comes with the following special features:
- Mike Leigh – (18:15) “Topsy Turvy” director Mike Leigh weighs in on his impression of “The Mikado” and why he enjoys it but also takes on the criticisms that the film version had but also what makes Gilbert and Sullivan’s work so special.
- Scholars – (29:08) Ralph MacPhail Jr. (Professor at the Bridgewater College in Virginia) and Josephine Lee (Professor at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities) talk about the original opera version of “The Mikado”
- 1926 D’oyly Carte Promo Silent– (3:42) Short silent film promoting the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company’s 1926 stage performance of “The Mikado”.
- Deleted Scene – (2:48) Deleted scene with Ko-Ko’s “I’ve Got a Little List” song
- The Swing Mikado and the Hot Mikado – Featuring radio broadcasts of stage productions of “The Mikado”. For “The Swing Mikado”, this includes “Three Little Maids from School” (1:57) and “The Flowers That Bloom with the Spring” (2:01) which aired on March 19, 1939 feat. the Federal Theater Production. For “The Hot Mikado”, this includes “Willow Tit-Willow” (2:58) and “Medley Mikado” (5:54) which aired on April 23, 1939.
EXTRAS:
Included is a 20-page booklet featuring “Celluloid Savy” by Geoffrey O’Brien (Editor-in-Chief of “The Library of America”).
There is no doubt that Gilbert & Sullivan fans are passionate towards “The Mikado” and to a general consensus amongst the fans, there is no way the film can ever best the comic opera on stage. Afterall, the stage version is longer and it was made the way Gilbert & Sullivan had intended.
With the film version of “The Mikado”, this is an adaptation that was more driven to bring the opera to film but also showcase American radio tenor Kenny Baker and also feature the members of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. Also, it is important to note that “The Mikado” debuted back in the 1880’s and 20-years earlier, Japan was considered the most exotic place on Earth and what people knew about the country was what they read about the American expedition by Commodore Matthew Perry who showed the world of this isolated country for the first time in 200 years. By 1939, Japan was no longer the same exotic country that people loved over 50 years earlier. By that year, Japan was known for its military and its involvement in wars and during that moment in time, Japan was fighting Russia.
For the late 1800’s, it was cool to love Japan and this opera embodied that fad of the time. By 1939, with the announcement of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Mikado” for the big screen, needless to say, there was a lot of pressure on Geoffrey Toye to deliver a respectful adaptation towards the original.  Especially from the D’Only Carte Company who have turned down many Hollywood offers but gave Toye a chance and also feeling that he would be the best person to be respectful to the original work.
Whether or not he succeeded, depends on the viewer.  I have read and heard many comments over the years from fans of the opera with those who like it and those who don’t and if there were complaints, it mostly from those who were so used to the original, a movie that was too different and missing music was not the same “The Mikado” that they came to love. While those who embraced the film, were accepting of the compromises that the characters remained humorous and that although not all songs are featured in the film, many of them are. It’s understandable and both sides have a valid point.
For me, I have never watched the opera live, so I can’t complain if the adaptation was faithful enough. But I will say that “The Mikado” was an entertaining film and in many ways, I felt that I enjoyed everything but I do understand the criticism of how the film has British actors and then you have the American Kenny Baker who brings something different to the film and for some it doesn’t work. I kind of agree on that but considering this was a Universal Film, I’m not surprised that the studio would focus on showcasing an American performer as the lead character.
For me, the highlights of the film were Martyn Green as Ko-Ko and also Constance Willis as Katisha. Both brought the comedic elements to this film and made it quite entertaining to watch. As for the music, I know many people have their favorites but I do enjoy the songs which were not solos, with the exception of Ko-Ko’s “Willow, tit-willow” which was a fun song.
But what I enjoyed about “The Mikado” is its overall presentation. The interview with “Topsy Turvy” director Mike Leigh and scholars Josephine Lee and Ralph MacPhail Jr. were both excellent to listen to and hear the three explain their feelings about the original vs. the film adaptation. Also, wonderful was the inclusion of the 1926 silent film short and the controversial deleted scene “I’ve Got a Little List” sung by Ko-Ko. Many people have watched this film with that song intact but for political correctness and the fact that Ko-Ko does say the “n-word” (and other contemporary 1939 references), I can understand why it was removed. But I’m sure fans will still no doubt be angry that the film still does not have that scene intact. And also included are the four radio broadcasts from 1939 and 20-page booklet which definitely makes this Blu-ray (and DVD) release from the Criterion Collection so appealing.
Overall, with the Blu-ray release of Mike Leigh’s “Topsy Turvy” and the release of “The Mikado”, fans of Gilbert and Sullivan will no doubt be satisfied with these two awesome releases from the Criterion Collection! This latest release for Blu-ray is the best version of “The Mikado” I have seen thus far. The colors and detail are much more evident in this HD release and the special features are wonderful. “The Mikado” is definitely recommended!
