As a young child, Frederic had been apprenticed to a pirate by mistake when he should have been apprenticed to a pilot. Now, having reached his 21st year, Frederic's indentures are at last over and he happily leaves the service of the pirates. When Frederic meets the beautiful Mabel, one of the many daughters (or wards in Chancery) of Major-General Stanley, they fall in love and decide to marry. However, complications arise when the pirates decide to marry the rest of the Major-General's daughters, themselves - and Frederic's birthdate turns out to be not all it seems.
The Pirates of Penzance (1983) is a comedy, music, romance and adventure film directed by Wilford Leach, released on February 18, 1983 with a runtime of 1h 52m. It stars Kevin Kline, Angela Lansbury, Linda Ronstadt and George Rose. Viewers rate it 6.0 out of 10 across 51 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for The Pirates of Penzance before you stream it.
Kevin Kline
as The Pirate King
Angela Lansbury
as Ruth
Linda Ronstadt
as Mabel
George Rose
as Maj. Gen. Stanley
Rex Smith
as Frederic
Tony Azito
as Sergeant
David Hatton
as Samuel
Tim Bentinck
as Pirate
Mike Grady
as Pirate
Andrew Paul
as Pirate
Louise Gold
as Edith Stanley
Teresa Codling
as Kate Stanley
Directed by Wilford Leach, written by Wilford Leach and William S. Gilbert, produced by Joseph Papp.
Average viewer score of 6.0/10 from 51 ratings.
We start off as a band of pirates approach the town, and the citizens all rush to seek shelter in buildings that are clearly made of canvas and greasepaint... I found that to be quite an useful introduction to this film version of Gilbert and Sullivan's 1870s operetta; it made it clear that this was going to be a stage version on film, rather than any attempt to recreate the story for the cinema. Expectations…
Reviewed on June 8, 2023
1986
1976
1967
1985
2000
2005
1987
2001
2019
1952
2023
2018
1999
2007
2016
2009
2025
2021
2001
2016
1977
2019
1970
1996
1948
1986
1940
1984
2007
2004
Movie
2014
1940
1962
1950
2024
1974
2004
2021
2017
The Pirates of Penzance (1983) is currently available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube and Fandango At Home. No subscription streaming option is listed right now, so availability may change.
The main cast of The Pirates of Penzance (1983) includes Kevin Kline, Angela Lansbury, Linda Ronstadt, George Rose and Rex Smith. The film was directed by Wilford Leach. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
The Pirates of Penzance was released on February 18, 1983 and runs for 1h 52m.
The Pirates of Penzance (1983) holds an average rating of 6.0 out of 10 from 51 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy comedy, music and romance films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official The Pirates of Penzance trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
