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The production deserved its Oscars for costume, design, and make-up, and it was interesting to see how Gilbert was inspired by a Japanese Exhibition to write a libretto that convinced Sullivan to not follow through on his plan to terminate their partnership.

BUT: the script could have used some more work.
It's hard to ruin G&S completely, but the dialogue was slow, the character relationships murky, and the director was so intent on revealing the seamy side of the Victorian Theatre milieu that he made it unsuitable for younger fans.

And (of course) I would have made a few changes in his presentation of some of the dramatic elements.

However, if you are an adult unfazed by full-frontal-nudity (a brief and totally unnecessary scene) and want to know what life was like behind the curtains, then it is an interesting couple of hours' entertainment.

Most of us would do better to just watch some of the G&S operettas. ( )

(see copy 2)

http://imdb.com/title/tt0151568/ ( )