Snore

Perhaps some Americans don't like the English ... hmm.
I just realized that you must be referring to the English people rather than to the language that English people speak. I find the dialogue funnier each time I see the movie, for example, the discussions among Gilbert, Lily, Grossmith, and the costumier.
Although I have never found the film boring, I was initially impressed by the amount of time Mike Leigh took to bring us to Gilbert's moment of inspiration. It seemed to me a very British way of retelling the story, and it reminded me of the one time I saw 'Young Winston' at the brash age of 20. I remember marveling that anyone could expend so much footage on the minutiae of the life of the British Empire during the Victorian era. And the film only takes us as far as young Churchill's attainment of a seat in Parliament! Now, I only say bravissimo to Leigh (and to 'Young Winston's' director) for taking a painstaking approach to retelling such a truly remarkable story.
Boring? Not at all!

Your message is a bit paradoxical, as you mention an English film that won the best picture Oscar (not to mention the plethora of British actors and films that have won Oscars over the years).

I realize that you invented the language, and that Yanks are responsible for all of the evils that befall it, but west of the Atlantic we capitalize the word Oscars and refrain from placing apostrophes in our plurals.

Amadeus was good but Shakespeare was crap. How the *beep* it won all the oscars at the academy awards I will never know. Elizabeth was released the same year, and in my mind should have won all the oscars that Shakespeare won. Gwyneth's performance was nowhere near as good as Cate's. And sonny I am not a Gilbert and Sullivan fan by the way, but I thought this was a brilliant movie. Did you watch the movie The Cradle Will Rock, directed by Tim Robbins I think?? Also a superb movie which didn't get the credit it deserved. You guys are obviously not into this type of movie.

Granted, I'm a Mike Leigh fan. But, I enjoyed this movie because I like great dialogue. I don't get boring, but then again I can't watch a Will Smith or Adam Sandler movie. Who knows? Movies strike a chord or they don't. Still, my favorite Mike Leigh film is "Life is Sweet" Check it out.

Turn it Up! Bring the Noise!
The 1st Rule of Fight Club is....

<finishes reading the above post>...And now I am blind.

I'll to agree that while the film is rather dry in places, the underlying references, humor and tension make it a supreme success. Whether or not it is "entertaining" is based on viewer preference. It was a great deal unlike the edgy, thriller films I was used to, but most of my favorite films are from outside the usual fair.

I was actually transferring from theatre to film studies when I got to see this film for the 1st (but not last) time, so it struck a very personal chord with me. Much of the intimate moments about artistic creation/success/failure were very true to life, despite their anachronistic surroundings. That's where I thought a great deal of the timelessness came from.

For a lot of people, the manner of speech and events can be very dull and/or disorienting, and all those musical interludes don't help, but the film is a real triumph in achieving its primary story of Gilbert & Sullivan's waning career, and then the world that surrounds them.

The first time I "saw" this movie was on an overseas flight in a tiny screen attached to the airplaine seat in front of me. I found it boring.
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However, it eventually showed up on cable and my 25" television screen with loud enough sound and an obviously big enough picture and I found it absolutely spellbinding. We see so much into these peoples' minds and hearts and we like them all so much...in addition to that, the sets are breathtaking and the music lovely. I hadn't a clue there was so much singing talent. It blew me away to realize it was really Timothy Spall, et al. doing their own singing. I love two scenes in particular - where Lely (Kevin McKidd) blows his stack over the insult to his wife and and family during the costuming incident and his Scottish accent comes back full-force - and of course, the scene at the end where all the support players really show their support behind the dismissal or Mr. Temple's only solo (a bit which I thought was quite amusing).

It also provides a fascinating portrait of life in that era - too often all we see is a "Jack the Ripper" London and it was charming to see the lives of the slightly more privileged.

If someone doesn't like this movie, I'd only say that perhaps they haven't probably viewed or heard it. It's brilliant!


"Nobody's perfect."