The Movie:

The team of Gilbert and Sullivan wrote many popular musicals, many of which are still being produced today, well over 100 years after they were penned.  The H. M. S. Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzeance are excellent works of thiers, but their best work is arguably the 1885 opera The Mikido.  Inspired by a group of native Japanese who set up residence in Knightsbridge, (and became quite an attraction) this works has both partners at the height of their respective crafts.  It is laugh out loud funny as well as containing many entrancing songs.

This version of The Mikado was put on by the English National Opera in 1987 and stars Eric Idle (of Monty Python fame) as Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner.  While this is a funny and enchanting play, this production and the filming of it has several significant flaws that make this a less than desirable disc.

As the opera opens, a traveling musician, Nanki-Poo, arrives in the town of Titipu.  He's looking for Yum-Yum, a girl he had fallen in love with a year ago.  At the time he couldn't marry her since she was betrothed to her guardian, Ko-Ko the tailor, but in the year that has passed Nanki has discovered that Ko-Ko was convicted of flirting, a capital offense.  He hopes to win the heart of the young Yum-Yum and marry her.

Unfortunately when he soon learns that Ko-Ko was not executed.  Instead he was made Lord High Executioner.  Since the death sentences have to be carried out in order, and he's the next in line, no one can be killed until Ko-Ko chops off his own head.  Of course that's hard to do, and it's suicide, which is against the law.  That makes flirting a little less dangerous.

Things aren't so easy for Ko-Ko however.  He receives a letter from the Mikado, the undisputed ruler of the land, who is upset that there have been no executions in the past year.  He decrees that if someone isn't put to death within a month, the results will be disastrous.

Since Ko-Ko still plans to marry Yum-Yum, Nanki-Poo falls into a deep depression and contemplates suicide.  When Ko-Ko finds out about this, he makes a deal with the man.  Nanki-Poo can marry Yum-Yum for one month, at the end of which he'll be publically executed.  Then the city will be saved, and Ko-Ko can marry Nanki-Poo's widow.

Being a Gilbert and Sullivan opera, there are a few wrinkles that pop up though, like the fact the Nanki-Poo is actually the Mikado's son in disguise, and that he's fleeing an older woman who wants to marry him.  A woman who shows up in Titipu at just the wrong time.

This is a very funny and entertaining play, but this production leaves a lot of be desired.  First off, they changed all of the costumes.  Instead of being in traditional Japanese dress, the cast is outfitted in 1930's style western suits.  In Japanese garb, the absurd names and plot seem easy to swallow, but in western dress the play just doesn't work.

The setting also appears to be the lobby of a hotel, at least the chorus is dressed as bellboys.  This is another disconcerting choice which will only serve to confuse people who aren't familiar with the opera.  The set and all of the props are painted white too, for reasons I haven't been able to comprehend.

As far as the acting goes, it was good, but not great.  Eric Idle hams it up quite well, and adds a lot of humor to the production, but he seems a little too over the top in some parts.  The same goes for the rest of the cast.  They really try to sell each and every joke, throwing subtlety to the wind.  While this works for the most part, I couldn't help think that the opera would have been much more humorous if they toned it down a notch or two.

Which brings up another problem.  This isn't a movie of the opera, it's the recording of a performance.  As such, the actors seem to be playing to the cheap seats, which doesn't work if there's a camera recording every little gesture.  They didn't tone down the makeup for this filming either, and everyone looks like a badly made up clown.  From 20 rows back I'm sure they look fine, but on screen you can see the lines on the side of the actor's faces where the make stops and the excessive lipstick, eyeshadow and rouge look horrible.

While a play can be successfully filmed (Sweeney Todd for example), this one wasn't.  The camera work is fairly poor, with jerky movements in parts and people not being centered like they should be. Additionally, the director felt that people wouldn't be entertained by just watching the play (which begs the question why did he choose to film it?) and so he added some wacky lens effects.  Seeing multiple copies of the same image and rotating kaleidoscope effects doesn't add to the play though, it just distracts from it.

Audio:

The stereo soundtrack wasn't that good.  They apparently didn't mic any of the actors which was too bad.  The lyrics to the songs come across as muddled and the words don't stand out over the orchestra.  Viewers really have to concentrate on the songs to make out the lyrics.  The song the chorus of girls sing when Yum-Yum is introduced is very melodious, but it's nearly unintelligible. Of course since this is an opera, most of the plot is revealed in song so this is a significant defect.

There is also some distortion unfortunately, mainly when the audience is applauding.  Aside from that, there is a fair amount of range, and the music is reproduced well.  Overall a less than average sounding disc.

Video:
 
The full frame video quality isn't that great either.  The sets, props and nearly all of the costumes are white, and the white levels weren't properly set.  The highlights are way too bright and washed out and there are more than a few instances of blooming.  There is some aliasing, especially on Pish-Tush's suit that has fine lines cris-crossing it.  To add insult to injury, a heavy amount of edge enhancement was added to the picture.  Not a very good looking disc.

Extras:
 
This disc also includes a nice making of documentary: A Source of Innocent Merriment: the Making of the Miado.  This nearly 40 minute featurette follows the cast and crew as they rehearse and prepare for the production.  In addition there are text biographies of the actors and the full Libretto in .pdf form that is accessible with a computer equipped with a DVD-Rom drive.

Final Thoughts:

This is a very entertaining and enjoyable opera.  It's survived for over 100 years, and it will surely go on being produced for years to come, but in spite of this version rather than because of it.  The changes in set and costume, hammy acting and poor direction make this a lesser production.  In addition the poor sound and video quality make this DVD a chore to watch.  Even fans of this play will be hard pressed to enjoy this production.  Skip it.