Pirates of Penzance [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Firstly, I have to admit to a very wide music taste, but not a lot of opera. I also have a broad sense of humour. I also 'flick' a lot with the TV.Noticing G & S on the Sky Arts channel I stopped to see what it was like - WOW! - the show was very good. After a few minutes the wife and I were completely hooked. It seemed years since we had had such a great belly laugh and were in awe at the antics of Jon English. The rest of the cast were utterly brilliant. The whole experiance must be repeated.After searching the internet for ages for a DVD I finally tracked down a reasonably priced one on Amazon - the only possible drawback seemed to be that it was region 1 not 2. Checking our old machine it said multi-region - Ha! Very shortly we recieved the disc and tried it - Joy! It worked; everything stopped to watch the show again - and again the next night and so on. We have had a G & S night so the word is spreading!If you want to be entertained, the sheer brilliance of this Australian Company is hard to beat. As an operetta it is excellently performed, singing well listenable, but the comedy is just the right level to be really entertaining.We would certainly recommend this DVD.One word of warning - you might laugh yourself silly, you will certainy become hooked!

This production from Simon Gallaher's Essgee entertainment, is ajoy from start to finish, (as long as you are not a GandS purist. Based on the Joe Papp pirates, but given a new coat of paint, this show is bursting with Ausie energy and fun. The opening is a little confusing, unless you are aware that Essgee have also produced Mikado and Pinafore, but once they into their swing there's no stopping them. Jon English as the Pirate King, can swash a buckle with the best, even taking on the MD. (Not sure who wins) and leading a never to be forgotten rendition of 'With cat like tred'. Derek Metzger as The Major general is a delight, with a great sense of comic timing, almost outdone by Tim Tyler as the Police seargent. I swear he's made of rubber.The diction throughout is excellent, you can hear every word, and only Toni Lamont as Ruth betrays her Australian roots. Watch out for the scene where she loses control.The Major General's daughters have to be seen to be believed. But what really made it for me was the wonderful singing of Helen Donaldson and Producer/actor Simon Gallaher as Mabel and Frederic, they are just Fabulous.(That Note is about 25 seconds). I could and do watch this again and again, it is a real tonic. JP.

Having watched this a few times on Sky we had to buy our own DVD copy. Yes it has been updated but in essence it is very much the comic operetta from Gilbert & Sullivan - the Victorian 'in-jokes' that have now lost their meaning have been replaced with something more apt for the 21st century as have some of the choreography but nothing detracts.Everything is there and what has been added just makes this a fast paced performance which we have you laughing along along with toe tapping at the music.One of those DVD's that will be watched again and again. This is the first of three Gilbert & Sullivan works from Simon Gallagher his Essgee Company - it proved to be an outstanding hit so they went on to perform The Mikado and HMS Pinafore with equal success. Having enjoyed this so much I managed to track down The Mikado and Pinafore direct from Essgee and can only recommend that once you have enjoyed Pirates you let the internet do your walking and sit back and enjoy this cast in their further roles.

This 1994 Aussie production of The Pirates of Penzance is an odd animal. It seems to be a mix of a serious version and a parody version, with the two young leads, Frederick and Mabel, as the (mostly) serious and professional bit, and just about all the rest as a deeply tongue-in-cheek interpretation, bordering on pastiche. The orchestra, even, is not a classical one, but a row of synthesizers - clearly this is from the era when synthesizers was still considered a hot property, possibly due to the success of those multiple "Synthesizer Greatest" CD albums.So in many ways this production does not live up to a serious version of the operetta; there is too much silliness. I realize, of course, that comedy is the whole point of this work, but this production takes it so far that it seems it does not appreciate the original, opting instead to contribute a great deal of new comedy of its own. And while this must make a purist skeptical abd reticent, I (not quite being a purist, although I incline in that direction) have to admit that the cast gets enormous fun out of these shenanigans. The sheer cheerfulness is infectious, even if some of the comedy is a bit, well, low.A fun experience, to be sure, but not really something that can quite replace a more traditional production.

If someone has told me a few months ago that I would be continuously humming Gilbert & Sullivans music, I would have told them not to be so daft. I love classical music but G&S's operetta's were definitely not for me.BUT....then came Essgee's version onto our TV screens. I decided to purchase a copy and I have watched this DVD time and time again. Each time I find that there is something I missed the time before, something new to laugh at. I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone who loves music and most importantly loves to laugh. I have since bought Essgee's The Mikado and H.M.S.Pinafore. Money very well spent. I cannot decide which of the three I enjoy most, so I am therefore watching each in turn, over and over again. This makes quite a number of tunes. The question always is - name that tune.

Jon English was a great talent supported by equally good artists

I am a big G&S fan, and know this show very well. This is defiinitely an Australian twist on the show, with some brilliant singing and an overall hilarious presentation. I am very pleased I bought it!

Yes, at some time or another in this production, every cast member does some mugging for the audience. Some more than others. Some of it is down right shameless. The thing is, I saw a portion of this on the ARTS cable network before I bought it and read the reviews here so I had an idea what I was getting. I got exactly what I expected. This DVD gives you excellent performers (maybe not great actors) but fantastic performers. The biggest ham is John English as the pirate king. His interplay with the conductor is terrific and as other reviewers have stated, he is not taking his role seriously. If however, you watch the performance it is obvious that every move has been rehearsed over and over and that all these spontaneous acts come off flawlessly. Derek Metzger as the major-general was a bit annoying with his extra antics, but I could live with that. Tim Tyler as the sergeant did a nice job but I especailly enjoyed his bit with (I think they were ping-pong balls)after his first entrance. Simon Gallaher as Frederic was great and Helen Donaldson was the first Maybel I've ever seen that actually seemed to have a personality. Most Maybels are just there looking cute and singing. She actually used expressions starting with her first entrance: Yes it's Maaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy Bel! Then she got in to the part with the marching song. Hmmm..Good acting and a nice voice. Nice concept. I also would be neglectful if I did not mention the 3 daughters of the Major-General. They indeed tend to chew up the scenery when they were on, but those ladies had some talent!!! This DVD provided exactly what I expected and what I hoped for when I ordered it. This is just 115 minutes of fun. Even the opening overture starts out with the cast having fun with Gilbert and Sullivan. I've read that G & S purists might not like this production. I don't know what a G & S purist is. I love Gilbert and Sullivan and this version did not offend me at all. Maybe I'm not a purist. If you're not a 'purist', don't miss this version of Pirates of Penzance. If you enjoy it once, you will want to watch it again...and again...and again...and...well, you get it. This is an easy DVD to recommend.

Also schon mal vorweg: mit dem Werk "Pirates of Pensance" von G+S hat diesesgrottenschlechte Machwerk absolut nichts gemein. Eigentlich kann es sich nurum eine Parodie handeln, allerdings im Stile so mancher "Comedians": billigerKlamauk. Nicht mal ein Orchester bekommt man geboten, lediglich einen Band -Elektronik - Mix. Ich habe die CD nach den ersten 20 Minuten herausgezogenund sofort entsorgt. Schade für das Geld !

I like all of it. An A1 cast and performance.