PIRATES OF PENZANCE, THE (1983)
Special Features: 40th Anniversary
Despite a badly botched theatrical release, this film version of Gilbert and Sullivan's beloved 1879 comic opera has earned an ardent following over the years, beginning in the early cable TV and VHS eras. In this romantic musical farce, young Frederic is mistakenly apprenticed to a pirate (instead of a pilot) due to a misunderstanding by his nursemaid, Ruth, who is hard of hearing. Now of age with his apprenticeship behind him, Frederic hopes to marry the maiden Mabel, until unexpected complications arise. Angela Lansbury makes a wonderful Ruth alongside most of the cast from Joseph Papp's acclaimed 1980-81 Broadway revival: Kevin Kline as the Pirate King, Linda Ronstadt as Mabel, Rex Smith as Frederic, Tony Azito as the Police Sergeant and George Rose as "the very model of a modern Major-General." Wilford Leach, the Tony Award®-winning director of the stage production, also directs the film. DIR/SCR Wilford Leach, from the operetta by Sir William Schwenck Gilbert; PROD Joseph Papp, Timothy Burrill. U.S./UK, 1983, color, 112 min. RATED G
AFI Member passes accepted.
Run Time: 112 Minutes
Opening Date: Saturday, April 22, 2023
Genre: Musical comedy