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Writer-director Blake Edwards, who reaches for high notes and often falls painfully flat, achieved perfect pitch in this comedy musical matching Julie Andrews (his wife) with a brilliant cast of supporting players, including Robert Preston and James Garner. Andrews portrays Victoria Grant, a talented soprano struggling to find work in Depression-era Paris whose encounter with nightclub singer Carroll Todd (Preston) during a failed audition leads to a new lease on life. The life she leases (actually, one conjured from whole cloth by "Toddy"), is that of Count Victor Grezhinski, a female impersonator. As a woman impersonating a man impersonating a woman, Andrews dazzles pretty much from start to finish, displaying both her comedic charm and vocal virtuosity, as Count Victor becomes the toast of the town. The great complication at the plot's center is introduced when Garner, portraying a macho American gangster named King Marchan, finds himself curiously and uncomfortably smitten with the Count. Twisting the plot into a fine, farcical mess are Lesley Anne Warren (as Marchan's moll, a talented singer-dancer and relatively dim bulb) and Alex Karras (as Marchan's closeted bodyguard). Edwards, who successfully reworked the material for Broadway in 1996, lets this gender-bending bouillabaisse bubble along at a crisp pace, building to a deeply satisfying climax. Released in conjunction with the film's 20th anniversary, the DVD affords feature-length commentary from Edwards and Andrews and has been remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1, all the better to appreciate Henry Mancini's delightful score. Mancini's work (with Leslie Bricusse) earned an Academy Award, the film's sole win among its seven nominations, including nods for Andrews, Warren, Preston, sets, costumes, and adapted screenplay (for Edwards). Greg Fagan

All Movie Guide

On the verge of starvation in 1930s Paris, erstwhile entertainer Victoria (Julie Andrews) is rescued by gay cabaret performer Toddy (Robert Preston). What she needs to succeed, opines Toddy, is a gimmick. What if she becomes a male impersonator? Better still: what if she becomes a male impersonator, pretending to be a female impersonator? As "Victor/Victoria," s/he becomes the toast of Paree, and an object of fascination for big-time Chicago gangster King Marchan (James Garner), who can't quite understand the teasing sensations he experiences whenever watching her in action-especially since he, like everyone else, assumes that she is a he. Enjoyable though the stars of Blake Edwards' comedy may be, the film is stolen by Lesley Ann Warren, who won an Oscar nomination as King's screechy-voiced moll, and Alex Karras as King's chief henchman, who, assuming that his boss is "that way," literally comes out of the closet. Victor/Victoria was a remake of the 1931 German film Viktor und Viktoria, which had previously be reworked in 1937 as the Jessie Mathews vehicle First a Girl. In 1996, Victor/Victoria was transformed into a Broadway musical, again directed by Edwards and starring Andrews. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 012569520325
• Source: TURNER HOME ENT
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: English, Français, Español, Portugais, Japanese
• Time: 2:13:00
• Sales Rank: 8,407

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