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I was at a friend's house, and they had the Pirates of Penzance playing. It was a fantastic production. Widescreen, gorgeous audio and video quality. The cast was stellar, with Kevin Kline, Linda Ronstadt, and the rest bringing this wonderful Gilbert & Sullivan play to life. I found this DVD on Ebay; same play, same cast. I purchased it, looking forward to seeing it again. I started watching it. At that point I realized that there must be two versions. The amazing version I had seen at my friend's house, and this one. Although it appears to be the same play, the video quality is poor, and looks like a worn out VHS copy. It is in full frame (i.e. 4:3 aspect ratio; not mentioned in description) Audio is poor. On the plus side, although listed as used, the DVD itself had no scratches, and the case was undamaged. The description did mention that it was a videotaped performance. It didn't mention that this version looks like it was videotaped with a potato. I will be looking for the good version. If you are also looking for the good version, be advised that this one isn't it. Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I have always been something of an "anglophile", especially when it comes to English comedy. When I discovered that Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance" was done by some of my favorite actors and singers some time ago I had to see it! It challenged my prejudices. e.g. I had thought of Kevin Kline as strictly an actor and Linda Ronstadt as "just" a country singer. Both have spent considerable time training their voices, if you haven't heard them before in such demanding roles you will be as amazed as I was. I already knew that Angela Lansbury was an actress and a singer, but she did an especially outstanding job in this hilarious film as did ALL of the other actors/singers. The techniques and timing are surprising and funny, they even included a play-within-a-play, although I am not sure if this is normally done in performances of P of P or just this one. Before buying the DVD copy I used to have it in VHS form, but I made the mistake of "loaning" it out five months ago and haven't seen it since. I had to have a copy on hand and the DVD will allow me to go to specific scenes and will last longer so it was well worth my while to get. You may want to consider getting a copy as well.Read full review
This is such a great play that I hate to write anything but good things about it. The problem is that there is two (or more?) versions of this play available on DVD. They did a performance that was meant to be filmed, with very intricate stage settings, lighting and camera shots. This version emphasizes all the little jokes and mannerisms that made the play great in the first place, and is characterized by the appearance of Angela Lansbury. The version that I unsuspectingly purchased was more like watching a very good High School performance that had been filmed with a camcorder. The actors did their regular performance on their regular stage and the camera did little more than sit in the back and watch. Overall this version is far less personal, passionate and viewable than the made-for-TV version I had hoped to have purchased.Read full review
I mistakenly bought this version thinking that it was the stellar BBC version since the cast was the same. LR and KK (and the police) are as good as it gets but the acoustics and video are just really poor. I think the BBC saw the potential in this 2 star show and took it to a 5 star super performance.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Saw this production in the park & loved it. This brought back all those memore. Very highly recomended. (much better than the film version).
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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