Victor Victoria
by Blake Edwards
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VHS Tape Cover Information
Actor: Alex Karras, James Garner, Julie Andrews, Lesley Ann Warren, Robert PrestonDirector: Blake Edwards
Cinematographer: Dick Bush
Producer: Blake Edwards
Writer: Blake Edwards
Producer: Gerald T. Nutting
Producer: Tony Adams
Writer: Hans Hoemburg
Writer: Reinhold Sch?nzel
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog; French (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
Running Time: 132 minutes
Release Date: 1997-02-11
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
VHS Movie Reviews of Victor Victoria
Movie Review: This is one hot number...
Summary: 5 Stars
For anyone who thinks that Julie Andrews is nothing more than a mere song and dance routine, or the voice behind that infectiously annoying `hills are alive' song I have only one thing to say to you; watch `Victor/Victoria'. I happened to stumble onto this film last night and I have thought of nothing else since. Sure, it has yet to be 24 hours but honestly, it is the ONLY thing that I have thought of since the credits began to roll. As a whole the film is adorable, but its strongest part is none other than Julie Andrews. Her astonishing performance is quite probably her finest moment (although I am very partial to `Marry Poppins') and she chews up each and every scene with her charm and grace.
Victoria Grant is a down-on-her-luck soprano singer willing to `sell her virtue for a meatball' when she runs into the flamboyant Carroll Todd. After becoming quick friends Todd (also down-on-his-luck) suggests that Victoria disguise herself as a man impersonating a woman in order to make some extra money. So that she does, donning the persona of the Count Victor Grezhinski, and she quickly becomes a sensation.
Then walks in King Marchand.
Marchand is a gangster who happens to fall for the spell of Victoria only to become baffled when he is informed that she is a he. Convinced that his initial instincts are not wrong (and that he could in no way be attracted to a man) Marchand makes it a point to uncover Victor's true identity. Marchand's whiney girlfriend Norma feels betrayed, yet his trusty sidekick Bernstein is somewhat empowered by his friends choices.
The question remains; will Victoria be able to keep her secret?
Like I said, the film as a whole is delightful. The script is tight and the plot points are never muddled by excess or dragged out by lack of interest; everything seems to flow wonderfully together. The direction is spotless and engaging and the song and dance numbers are nothing short of stellar (this is the impeccable singing talent known as Julie Andrews mind you). The performances are also all incredibly credible. Julie Andrews is undoubtedly the star here, sinking into her character with real gusto and charm. Robert Preston is also phenomenal as Toddy, giving his flamboyant character enough natural sparkle to make him a standout character. Lesley Ann Warren captures the whiney ex-girlfriend brilliantly, scratching her annoying voice down the chalkboard of our minds with precise authenticity, and Alex Karras is warm and touching (surprisingly) as Bernstein. James Garner is a great actor, but he seems like the odd man out here. He does a good job but he is easily overshadowed by the rest of the cast.
The film, much like `Tootsie' (which was released the same year) broaches on the relationships between men and woman and the whole `equal rights' aspect of things. Once King and Victoria progress into their relationship it becomes apparent that the mans feelings are given greater concern, at least in his mind, and this leads to a nice little sub-thought on the weight given to the battle of the sexes. It is never fleshed out to an extreme because it is not the true focus of the film, but it is there for those who are interested in finding it.
`Victor/Victoria' is a wonderfully entertaining film that nails each and every gag, soaring to the skies with its infectious combination of comedy, drama and romance. This is a near perfect movie that touches every one of our senses and plants itself in our memories and in our hearts. You can place this on the shelf next to `Cabaret' as one of the best musicals of all time.
Summary of Victor Victoria
Blake Edwards's delightful Victor/Victoria may be one of the last of the great, old-style movie musical comedies--it is so good, it was turned into a hit Broadway stage musical years later. And both versions starred Edwards's wife Julie Andrews (the former Mary Poppins) in the title role--as Victor and Victoria. She's a down-and-out singer who hooks up with a flamboyantly gay theatrical veteran (Robert Preston), and together they become the toast of 1934 Paris by dreaming up a provocative nightclub act in which Victoria assumes the identity of a man in drag. So, in other words, Andrews plays a woman playing a man playing a woman ... and that's only the beginning of the sexual identity confusions that provide the fuel for this splendidly classy slapstick musical farce. (Yes, it's all those things.) James Garner, as a Chicago club owner, finds himself strangely besotted with this stylish, androgynous creature--even though he thinks Victor/Victoria is a man. Legendary Hollywood composer Henry Mancini (a longtime collaborator with Edwards) won his last Oscar for the score; Andrews, Preston, and Lesley Ann Warren, as Garner's cheeky girlfriend, were also nominated. Musical highlights include Victor/Victoria's sizzling "Le Jazz Hot" (in which Andrews shows off her incredible vocal range); another showstopper for Victor/Victoria, "The Shady Dame from Seville"; Preston's witty ode to "Gay Paree"; Warren's hilarious burlesque number, "King's Can-Can"; and a charmingly casual yet elegant side-by-side number, "You and Me," done in a small club by Preston and Andrews in tuxedos. --Jim EmersonArt House & International VHS Video
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