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Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1, Commentary, Biographies, Director's Cut
One of the world's most talented and best-loved performers, Julie Andrews reaches new heights in the most challenging role of her career as a woman pretending to be a man impersonating a woman! Filmed on the Broadway stage, the immensely popular Victor/Victoria is a warm, funny, wildly energetic look at the nature of love, gender perceptions and the battle of the sexes. Written and directed by Blake Edwards, with an unforgettable score by Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse, Victor/Victoria tells the story of an out-of-work singer whose life changes when she meets the flamboyant Toddy (Tony Roberts). With his help, she becomes "Victor," an overnight singing sensation in the nightclubs of Paris. But success becomes hilariously complicated when she meets the love of her life, King Marchan, a macho Chicago gangster (Michael Nouri). Adding her two cents to the couple's troubles is Marchan's ex-girlfriend, the ditzy Norma Cassidy (Rachel York). From the electrifying excitement of "Le Jazz Hot" to the contemplative "Crazy World," from the humor of "Chicago, Illinois" to the touching "Almost a Love Song," this truly classic musical has it all.
"Blake Edward's cockeyed crowning achievement." Vicnent Canby, The New York Times
"...full of snappy tunes and sophisticated hilarity......" Find-A-Video
"Robert Preston is wonderful..." TV Guide Online
"Lucious music and sets." VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever
Editor's Note
Blake Edwards tones down the broadly farcical style that is his signature with this sly musical comedy starring Julie Andrews as British entertainer Victoria Grant. She and an older friend, gay impresario Toddy (Robert Preston), are close to starvation in 1930s Paris. Desperate for work, he changes her image, introducing her to the cabaret world as Polish female impersonator Victor/Victoria. Victoria, now a woman pretending to be a man in drag, becomes a huge success in the nightclub world. Chicago gangster King Marchan (James Garner) becomes especially intrigued by Victor/Victoria while visiting Paris with his dim-witted girlfriend, Norma (Lesley Anne Warren), and his ever-faithful bodyguard, Squash (Alex Karras), who's more than a little concerned by his boss's interest in a transvestite. As Marchan tries to get to the source of his attraction to the entertainer, trying to uncover the truth behind the rhinestone headdress, the farce commences, and the meaning of gender and sexual preference comes into question for all the characters. A director who often shows a willingness to let the seams in his work show for comic effect, Edwards has opted for stylish smoothness here while opening himself to questions of gender that his earlier films had anxiously mocked. Robert Preston steals the film as Victoria's graceful Svengali.
Plot Summary
A down-and-out female singer takes a job as a female impersonator and to her surprise becomes the toast of Paris cabarets in the 1930s, delighting her gay mentor and confusing an American admirer. Academy Award Nominations: 7, including Best (Adapted) Screenplay, Best Actress--Julie Andrews. Academy Awards: Best Original Song Score.
| Features | Languages: English, French | | Trailer | | Cast/Director Highlights | | Format: Widescreen (16x9 Panavision 2.35:1) | | Feature Length Commentary by Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards | | All-New 2001 Digital Transfer | | All-New Dolby 5.1 Audio |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner |
| Release Date: 4/22/2003 |
| Running Time: 133 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1982 | | Catalog ID: 65203 | | UPC: 00012569520325 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, French Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Chinese | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1983) |  | Leslie Bricusse, Henry Mancini, Winner, Best Music, Original Song Score And Its Adaptation Or Best Adaptation Score | | | Julie Andrews, Nominee, Best Actress | | | Patricia Norris, Nominee, Best Costume Design | | | Robert Preston, Nominee, Best Supporting Actor | | | Lesley Ann Warren, Nominee, Best Supporting Actress | | | Blake Edwards, Nominee, Best Writing, Screenplay Based On Material From Another Medium | |
Golden Globe (1983) | | Julie Andrews, Winner, Best Actress In A Motion Picture-Comedy/Musical | | | Robert Preston, Nominee, Best Actor In A Motion Picture-Comedy/Musical | | | Lesley Ann Warren, Nominee, Best Actress In A Supporting Role-Motion Picture | | | Henry Mancini, Nominee, Best Original Score-Motion Picture |
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| | Professional Reviews | Variety
"...VICTOR/VICTORIA is a sparkling, ultra-sophisticated entertainment....This is undoubtedly Andrews' most rewarding role in years..." 03/17/1982New York Times
"Get ready, get set and go -- IMMEDIATELY -- to [Blake Edwards's] chef d'oeuvre, his cockeyed, crowning achievement, his DUCK SOUP, his CHARLEY's AUNT, his HOTEL PARADISIO, his SOME LIKE IT HOT, his urban AS YOU LIKE IT, and maybe even his CITIZEN KANE....[Andrews is] at peak form..." 03/19/1982 p.C8 Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide 8 of 10
Sophisticated, often hilarious comedy, with Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse earning Oscars for their song score and adaptation.
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