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Topsy-Turvy

6.4

337

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Original title

Topsy-Turvy

Year

1999

Running time

160 min.

Country

United Kingdom

Director

Mike Leigh

Screenwriter

Mike Leigh

Cast

Cinematography

Dick Pope

Producer

Thin Man Films, October Films, The Greenlight Fund, Newmarket Capital Group, Goldwyn Films

Genre

Drama. Musical | 19th Century

Synopsis

Director Mike Leigh's high-minded telling of the story of legendary musical team Gilbert & Sullivan is one of the director’s most thorough, highly ambitious efforts. Concentrating mainly on the tumultuous period just before the conception and production of the pair's THE MIKADO (first staged in 1885), Leigh’s film rings true with an authenticity that transports the audience back to Victorian England with remarkable ease. Leigh, who comes from an extensive theater background, researched this period in English history exhaustively, from etiquette to the costumes to the production numbers. Both Jim Broadbent (as the negative-minded William Schwenk Gilbert) and Allan Corduner (as the "genius," Arthur Sullivan) deliver impassioned, entirely believable performances, as do the supporting players--particularly Kevin McKidd, Lesley Manville, and Leigh regular Timothy Spall. Notably different from the director's previous brutally realistic, modern day examinations (such as NAKED and SECRETS AND LIES), Leigh's film bears genuine affection for the work of Gilbert & Sullivan, which shines through in every frame. Successfully blending comedy, music, historical drama, and human emotion, TOPSY-TURVY proves that Leigh is not just a brilliant chronicler of modern class conflicts in England; he is a thorough, sensitive filmmaker with a tight grasp on the human condition.
Ranked #2 in Rolling Stone's "Ten Best Movies of 1999".

Awards: 1999: 2 Academy Awards: Best Costume Design, Makeup. 4 Nominations

1999: BAFTA Awards: Best Make-up. 5 Nominations, Including Best British Film

1999: Venice: Best Actor (Jim Broadbent). 2 Nominations

1999: Independent Spirit Awards: Nominated for Best Foreign Film

1999: New York Film Critics Circle: Best Film & Best Director. 4 Nominations

2000: British Independent Film Awards (BIFA): 2 Nominations incl. Best Director

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User history

Topsy-Turvy

1999

Mike Leigh

6.4

(337)