Product Description

Blake edwards brilliantly bubbly gender-bending comic musical about a singer who pretends to be a female impersonator and becomes the toast of the 1934 paris cabaret scene. Special featuers: subtitles in english french spanish portuguese japanese chinese thai and korean: and much more. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 04/22/2003 Starring: Julie Andrews Robert Preston Run time: 133 minutes Rating: Pg

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3459 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2002-06-04
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Digital Sound, Dolby, Widescreen
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Taiwanese Chinese
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 132 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
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 Emerson

DVD features
With warmth, pride, and laughter as well as the ease of a long-married couple, Blake Edwards and Julie Andrews settle in to record the DVD commentary for their 20-year-old creation Victor/Victoria. They discuss costars Robert Preston, James Garner, and Lesley Ann Warren; Andrews's fear of cockroaches; and comparisons with the Broadway stage version and with their 1970 musical Darling Lili. Andrews mentions how Henry Mancini wrote one of her favorite songs, "Crazy World," specifically for her vocal range, a comment made poignant by the fact that her voice is still rough from her ill-fated vocal-cord surgery in 1997. The commentary track is the lone feature on the DVD, though the remastering is sharp and the Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is good; however, the mild rear-speaker output won't make you feel like you're inside the club. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

This is one hot number...
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.

Ensemble Perfection
Other comedies might be funnier, but few compare to the nearly perfect total ensemble performance turned in by the principals, supporting and bit characters in Blake Edwards's Victor Victoria.

Julie Andrews plays Victoria, a down and out singer in gay Paris, circa 1934, who, with Toddy, dreams up a nightclub act in which Andrews feigns a male in drag to become the toast of Paris. Robert Preston's portrayal of the flamboyant gay veteran of the stage, Toddy, is perfect, sometimes cliche, but never over the top. James Garner plays King Marchand, a Chicago nightclub owner, who is taken by Victoria -- until she reveals she is a man -- but he isn't totally taken in by the ruse and so sets out to prove, as much for his own male ego as for the romantic spark he feels for Victoria, that the "he" Victor portrays is really a "she." Garner's expressions throughout the film are hilarious -- first when Victoria reveals, onstage, that she is Victor, a male drag queen, later as he watches, concealed in a closet, as Victoria strips for a bath and he realizes he was right all along, and later when his bodyguard, Squash (played Alex Karras), comes out of the closet.

It's clear that the three principals, Andrews, Preston and Garner, had the time of their lives in this movie. Garner and Andrews's shared scenes are all noteworthy, particularly their bedroom scene as they discuss the sexual identity confusions that are sure to result from his being seen in public with a male drag queen.

Andrews, Preston and Lesley Ann Warren, as Garner's annoying moll, were all nominated for Oscars, as was Henry Mancini's musical score.

Musical highlights include "Le Jazz Hot" (which tests even Andrews's vocal range); "Gay Paree" (Preston); "You and Me" (an Andrews/Preston duet that is sheer brilliance in its improvised presentation); and my favorite, the haunting "Crazy World," the lyrics made poignant by Andrews's vocal-cord surgery in 1997.

Everything conspires to make this one of the best musical comedies ever filmed -- the cast, the score, the script (clearly a Blake Edwards creation, with a touch of Pink Panther slapstick subtly interspersed here and there), the costumes, the period automobiles, even the set (it's interesting to note that the entire movie was shot in a studio -- even the street sequences of 1934 Paris).

Highly enjoyable and listenable, a delightful view.

fantastic film
This film always makes me smile. It is a joy to watch. I enjoy showing this film to all of my friends and family. What a joy to watch. Julie Andrews and James Garner and Robert Preston and Alex Karras are so great in this film. I loved it !!!!