- Actors: Alfred Marks, Joel Grey, Elizabeth Gale, Claire Powell, David Hillman
- Directors: Dave Heather
- Writers: William S. Gilbert
- Producers: George Walker, Judith de Paul
- Format: Classical, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Import
- Language: English
- Region: (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- MPAA Rating:
- Studio: Paradox
- Release Date: Oct 29 2002
- Run Time: 115 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00006JU6I
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
The Yeomen of the Guard, one of Gilbert and Sullivan's least satiric and most charming works, largely stars its rich, operatic score. The story, set at the Tower of London during Tudor times, is also beautifully constructed, with terrific pseudo-Shakespearean language. For such a vibrant piece, this video (part of the Opera World series of Gilbert and Sullivan works, made for the BBC in 1982) is strangely drab. The weakest element is Joel Grey as the melancholy clown Jack Point. The series mixes musical-comedy performers with opera singers, Americans with Brits. Grey's Broadway background isn't a drawback; in fact, some show-biz sparkle might have done him good. His sour, lethargic performance misses the potential for sunshine at the character's heart. Even his singing is doubtful--he has a hard time staying on key. Other actors are equally lackluster. David Hillman as Colonel Fairfax, around whom the plot's twists (and the two leading ladies) revolve, is fatally without charm. One redeeming presence is Alfred Marks as the dimwitted jailer Wilfred Shadbolt. Preposterously sure of himself, with a marvelous deadpan, this Wilfred comes to life more than anyone else on screen.
For television, the operas in this series were restricted to a two-hour length. Most easily met that limit, but Yeomen underwent deep cuts. The result is both disappointing and confusing, with some major plot developments excised. And the film has been sloppily edited: dead moments mark a couple of junctures where songs, no doubt previously filmed, were snipped out. --David Olivenbaum
From the Producer
This video is part of a series produced originally for BBC.TV. With a production budget of $1,000,000 per opera, a special film set was created for each, and top stars from the world of opera and comedy were recruited for the leading roles. Here, Joel Grey is Jack Point, David Hillman is Colonel Fairfax, and Claire Powell is Phoebe. The London Symphony Orchestra and the world-acclaimed Ambrosian Opera Chorus perform Sullivan's music with exuberance and precision. A brief introduction by Douglas Fairbanks Jr explains the origins and context of the opera. New digital remastering has produced both picture and (hi-fi stereo) sound of exceptional quality.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, but still worth seeing,
By wvmcl "wvmcl" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Yeomen of the Guard - Gilb (DVD)
I hope someone someday will release a definitive video of Yeomen. This one is not it, although it is better than nothing and seems to be the only version available. Yeomen should be much better known, both to serious opera lovers and to G&S fans. Hoever, it is almost never performed outside Britain, and not very often there. There are two main problems with this version- it was cut to fit a TV length and Joel Grey was miscast as the jester Jack Point. There are several numbers missing from the middle of both acts. Act two in particular has a very abrupt and truncated feel. Joel Grey is a fine musical comedy performer, but he is out of his league in this more operatic work. This is particularly noticeable in his duets with Elizabeth Gale as Elsie and Alfred Marks as Wilfred- both of them very strong singers. The casting of comedians or Broadway performers in G&S productions might work for The Mikado or Pirates of Penzance, but not for Yeomen. Another quibble with the whole Opera World series - for the DVD release, why didn't they do optional English subtitles for the musical numbers? It probably would have been easier and cheaper than including a printed libretto with each disc.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent in parts, but far from being a definitive version,
By
This review is from: The Yeomen of the Guard - Gilb (DVD)
In general this is an excellent production, with high quality music and singing in the best D'Oyly Carte tradition. Elizabeth Gale as Elsie Maynard and Elizabeth Bainbridge as Dame Carruthers are both superb. They capture the parts to perfection, both in singing and acting. Geoffrey Chard as Sergeant Meryll, Peter Savidge as the Lieutenant, and Alfred Marks as Wilfred Shadbolt are also excellent. But I've given this version only 4 stars because there are some definite problems with it. Joel Grey is good, but somehow his rendition of Jack Point just doesn't quite work. The part of Phoebe is a good example of how *not* to do it - fake accent, very poor acting, and excessively operatic singing. The introduction by Douglas Fairbanks reaches an apex of inanity, but it's easy to skip it. More importantly, several songs and some parts of the dialog are cut. I don't know how anyone with a heart, or with any feeling for G&S, could have cut 'Is life a boon?' from the Yeomen of the Guard. The words are even engraved on Gilbert's tombstone. Still, on the whole, I'd say it's definitely worth watching.
1.0 out of 5 stars
about 80% of Yeomen,
By
This review is from: The Yeomen of the Guard - Gilb (DVD)
This is by far the least satisfying of the "made for TV" G&S productions. Luckily, I still own my D'Oyly Carte LPs and can listen and visualize. In fact, I hope that the Australian Opera releases a version of this and of Ruddigore and the half-dozen they've not yet recorded. The barrier is very low.
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