The Pirates of Penzance (1983)

Directed by

Wilford Leach

Genre

swashbuckler film, romantic comedy, musical film, pirate film

Country

United Kingdom, United States

Runtime

1h 52m

Rated

G

Rating

6.1 of 10 from 49 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A young pirate apprentice named Frederic leaves his band of tenderhearted orphans in 1870s Penzance. He falls in love with Mabel, the daughter of a bumbling Major-General, but a birthday twist keeps him bound to the pirates until 1940.

whimsicaltheatricalplayfulfar-fetchedupbeatmusicallightheartedromantic

What happens

The Pirates of Penzance is a 1983 musical romantic comedy swashbuckler film written and directed by Wilford Leach based on Gilbert and Sullivan's 1879 comic opera of the same name. The story takes place in the 1870s and centers around the pirate apprentice, Frederic, who leaves a Penzance-based pirate band of tenderhearted orphans and soon falls in love with Mabel, the daughter of an incompetent Major-General. But it turns out that Frederic was born on Leap day and is still apprenticed to the pirate band until he reaches his 21st birthday in 1940. His alliances shift back and forth between the pirates and "respectable society" until the pirates' maid-of-all-work, Ruth, reveals a fact that saves the day. The film, starring Kevin Kline, Angela Lansbury, Linda Ronstadt, George Rose, and Rex Smith, is an adaptation of the 1980 Joseph Papp production of Pirates. The original Broadway cast reprised their roles in the film, except that Lansbury replaced Estelle Parsons as Ruth. The minor roles used British actors miming to their Broadway counterparts. Choreography was by Graciela Daniele. It was produced by Papp and filmed at Shepperton Studios in London. Universal Pictures made the unprecedented decision to release the film simultaneously with a release on pay TV, and the film was a box-office bomb, despite generally warm reviews. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Nate and Hayes (1983)
• Captain Blood (1935)
• Lady Libertine (1983)
• Naughty Marietta (1935)
• Krull (1983)
• The Little Bunch (1983)
• Le brigand gentilhomme (1943)
• The Crimson Permanent Assurance (1983)