...while he had the actors, musicians, costumes, etc. at his disposal. You would think that since he took all the time in the world for reheasals, etc. he could have said, "Why don't we just keep the cameras rolling and do the whole show?" I would have bought the DVD.
shareI've thought the same thing myself having listened to some CD performances of The Mikado and been disappointed by the performance when compared to the performances in the film. I suppose the answer is - money.
I just love this film - I've got the DVD but would love a special DVD edition with lots of extras.
I would think that there would be considerable disparity in the production values and creative skills required to produce and direct the entire play for film compared to using only certain scenes from the play to illuminate the story of the making of the Mikado.
shareI do agree that the numbers from the film that we do get to see are perhaps the greatest G&S we'll even see on film or televion. Most have ranged from mildly disappointing to embarrassingly dreadful (almost all of the nine operas filmed for British television in the 1980s fall into the latter category. Awful, almost without exception.)
The reason the entire producion of "The Mikado" wasn't filmed has already been mentioned--that dreaded word "money".
It is posterity's loss but we should be greatful for what we have.
I only wish Leigh would consider making another film involving a different period in their career--perhaps "Pinaforemania" or the infamous carpet quarrel that ended with them against each other in court. At least we would be treated to a few more of Leigh's remarkable stagings of their work, instead of leaving it to well-intentioned second-rate amateurs.
They Got Guns
We Got Guns
All God's Chillun' Got Guns!
It seems to me that if Mike Leigh wanted to film the whole play he wouldn't have spent the first hour of the film focusing on the disappointment of Princess Ida and the struggles G&S were having working together before Gilbert got the inspiration for the Mikado. It seems Leigh wanted to focus on the creative process and the behind the scenes goings-on that surrounded The Mikado, rather than just filming the entire play.
while I do think that fans of this film, G&S and The Mikado would be perfectly happy to watch the entire play and this film combined (I know I would.) Leigh would either have had to make about a 5 hour film to combine the two, or he would have had to cut out most of the behind the scenes stuff. I do think a Leigh directed version of the play would be fantastic and better than most of the filmed versions. I wonder how much more of the play he filmed that didn't make it into the movie, though. And I think a dvd that had the movie and a filmed version of the play separately would be awesome. There needs to be a better dvd anyway.
That's just my thoughts on it.
More than that, he was in their very theater! Perhaps that was an issue? I don't know if the D’Oyly Carte Company would have refused to let Leigh film in the Savoy if he tried to shoot an entire production of the work.
shareBecause the movie was about the making of the play, not the play itself. Filming the entire play would have taken time away from the backstage drama and rehearsals. The Mikado has been performed since the 1800s, this is the only film created to shown how it was developed, and that interests me far more than the play itself.
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Could have.done both.
share