Musical Collectables, the marketing arm of the annual Gilbert and Sullivan Festival,
has re-issued the eight Gilbert and Sullivan For All films on video. After the first
four (Pinafore,
Pirates, Yeomen,
and Gondoliers) came out, I wrote a review, which
may be found on the G&S For All films page.
I found these to be far more enjoyable to watch than
the original four. When I saw the original batch I was very put off by the
quality, and even on re-viewing after a lengthy passage of time, I was still
put off, because my memory of the initial shock was still in my mind
with the pictures I was viewing. This was not the case with the second batch.
I knew the quality would be a bit 'crumby' and was ready for it.
At the moment, I have only watched these on mono equipment, which does not show
up the inadequacies of the sound quality as much as if I was to hear the
soundtracks on good stereo equipment, so although the sound quality is not
good, I did not suffer the audio uneveness that was apparent between old film
and new links when I watched the other tapes. This made it a much more
pleasant listening experience than before. Until I watch these on better
equipment, I will not know if the uneveness is still there on this
second batch. However, the sound quality of the original film is still not good.
A short while ago, I compared the LP of
Pinafore to the video soundtrack and
found that they were indeed indeed the same sound source, although the LP had
been cut down a little in parts. For example, at one point the LP track
finishes, but the film sound continues with Deadeye ringing the ship's bell. I
think there were also occasional sounds to be heard on the film that are not
on the record, but nevertheless it is definitely the same recording that is
being mimed to. Every slight nuance seems to be the same between the two
different sources, which would be very difficult to repeat exactly the same if
two recordings were made. I was able to adjust the speed of the LP suitably
so that I could turn the film sound off and watch the pictures with the stereo
LP recordings in sync, and this brought much more life to the whole
experience.
The poor editing and many of the visual technical faults in changeover from
film to video that were evident in the first reissues are still there,
including occasional 'clipping', but these do not seem to be as drained of
colour as the first batch was. I don't suppose anything has been done to
improve on the last batch though. This is probably because the originals of
these films have worn better — certainly better than Pinafore,
which had the worst colour quality of the last batch. There appear to be
fewer problems with keeping the sound in sync with the pictures. This was a
major problem when it happened on the earlier issues (particularly in the "Very
Model of a MMG"). I think the only syncing problems to be found here are down
to the artists miming to the sound, but this is generally done pretty well.
A question has now been answered for me, which was whether
Trial would be complete or cut into sections.
The other operas have banded tracks on the LPs as per the filmed segments, but
Trial is complete and unbanded, and this led me to wonder if this meant
that the film ran straight through, and I am happy to find that this is
the case. Trial runs through without any breaks, pauses or
interruptions and very good it is, too.
I think Donald Adams comes over
particularly well. I am a great admirer of this artiste, not only from some
of the superb performances on record, but also of personal experience of
seeing him live, and I was quite disappointed that the earlier issues did
not do him justice at all. He came over better as Deadeye than in any of the
other roles — certainly his Pirate King did not come over as well as it should
have in the film presentation. Quite often, I thought that these films did not
do him justice at all, and I really don't know why this should be, but here
his full personality is captured as the Usher, and his is the best Usher I
have seen, and is a joy to watch.
Tom Round as Edwin does not look any
different to his Edwin as seen in the film,
The Story of Gilbert & Sullivan, despite
a difference of two decades. The Judge in this instance is played by Lawrence
Richard, who plays the 'Pooh Bah' roles in the other films (or in most of them).
I still prefer
the role to be played by a lighter voice, but his portrayal was most adequate,
and I don't think it would have been any different had John Cartier played the
role, as although he is the usual patter man in these films, I think that his
voice is too heavy for the roles.
I shan't give full reviews but here are a few snatched comments:
One unexpected moment is to be found right at the end of the "Blameless
Dances" sequence in Ruddigore which I
thought was hysterically funny, but I will not spoil this for future viewers
The men's chorus in Ruddigore Act One are restored to military uniforms
(which I have never used seen on stage) rather than the "civvies" which
later replaced these costumes in DC performances. The fairies in
Iolanthe are played straight and are the better
for it. The opening chorus is quite a delightful balletic sequence.
KK and NP wigs in The Mikado look awful.
In the introduction to the Mikado film, Tom Round tells the story of
his own personal introduction to the operas and how he joined the D'Oyly Carte
Company. Those who have seen his one man show will know this story, but it is
nice to have him telling it on video. It is a shame that his shows given at
the Festivals have not been issued on video.
In general, despite the technical imperfections and limitations (that I was
now ready for), I found the second batch of films to be very enjoyable.
Perhaps after seeing and enjoying these I will now be able to go back to the
first four films and enjoy them more than I have done in the past.
