Customer Reviews

Victor/Victoria (1995 Broadway Production) [VHS]

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Knowing that his wife possessed one of the best examples of on-stage charisma in all of the theater, Blake Edwards (and company) crafted an old-fashioned musical extravaganza specifically to showcase the wonderful talents of Julie Andrews. In an unusual move, Edwards adapted his 1982 film VICTOR/VICTORIA for the Broadway stage, thereby serving up Andrews in conjunction with one of his biggest film hits, and one of her best movie roles. Adapting the farce for the theater required filling out the film's score, and re-structuring the story in order for it to work on stage. The final result was terrific fun to watch, but rather disconcerting for those who loved the movie version. Andrews was a hit, of course, and the play moved along with pace and flair. This new DVD is a high-definition tape version of a performance of the play that was prepared for Japanese television. It looks great, letterboxed at about 1.75:1, with the camera(s) moving subtly to give us different angles that we would never have seen from the theater seats.

The sound is a problem, however, in that the Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks isolate the front channels to the two left/right front speakers, with the center channel only occasionally coming into active play. This makes the sonic experience rather hollow-sounding, and oddly displaces the action. The cast and orchestra sound fine, but pulling the sonic field toward the edges, as it were, is unsettling.

But at least we have the show documented, and that is a major triumph, as this production marks the last time that Julie Andrews sang in public before losing her voice to botched vocal chord surgery. The stunning impact of that loss is shocking to think about, as it means that one of the finest, most versatile and appealing musical theater performers of the last century has been silenced. It's therefore wise to enjoy and hold onto this copy of the production, despite its shortcomings, because of what it means, and I choke even as I write this line - most likely the last we'll hear of Julie's incomparable singing voice.

Let's get the tough stuff out of the way first: No, the show ain't that great. It is, in a number of significant ways, inferior to the 1982 film. The book has a number of problems, mostly on display in the first act. However, it's pretty easy to overlook most of the show's flaws, because what it gets right it gets right in spades. The cast is impeccable: Julie Andrews, Tony Roberts, Michael Nouri, Rachel York, Gregory Jbara, and everyone else give their all and then some. The show was, for the most part, well directed. The sets are stunning. The costumes are quite good. Just about every song works onstage, and most of the new material fits into the show quite well. Perhaps most importantly, this show is stunningly produced. You really feel like you're in the theater watching the show, and you see everything you need to see, when you need to see it. Whether you like or hate the show, if you like musicals, you need to get Victor/Victoria. It is, perhaps, the best video adaptation of a stage musical ever, at once flawlessly preserving the stage production, while still being a completely "television" experience.

I am thrilled that this production,Julie's first appearance on Broadway in thirty years is now to be captured forever.Filmed at the Marquis Theatre,it boasts the entire original cast,before Julie was first replaced by Liza Minnelli,then by Raquel Welch. This was a steller production and director Blake Edwards brought out all the fun and frolic of the film version all in its gaudy glory.

***** REVISED/UPDATED REVIEW, May 2011 ******

In my original review I lamented that the sound mix on the Blu-ray is faulty and that the orchestration and audience laughter is so muffled as to be inaudible. I have to correct that: I was watching the Blu-ray with the Blu-ray player hooked to a regular TV using composite audio/video cables. Once I attached the player to a high-def TV and used an HDMI cable, everything played and sounded fine. So the sound is no longer an issue.

But there are other considerations with the Blu-ray version: The performance on this Blu-ray is a different performance than is on the DVD. Same show, different performance. The camera blocking is either different or just edited differently. And there a few quick zooms and jump cuts that look like the show was filmed live but the camera work was not edited before being committed to home video. It plays like this was a live feed (this show was taped for broadcast in Japan -- did they air a live performance live on TV and just suffer with some bad camera goof-ups here and there? If so, this is that performance. The DVD version looks much more polished and professionally shot).

The same distributor that released the DVD also released this Blu-ray, but they didn't include all the bonus features from the DVD. In fact, they didn't include ANY of them. I emailed the distributor for a comment on that but got no response.


The picture quality on the Blu-ray is very good, no question. The fact that you get a different performance from the DVD is interesting and a bit confusing (It's probably a rights issue. Maybe that's why the DVD extras weren't ported over).



I'd advise you to stick to the DVD. The Blu-ray picture is great but the performance in the DVD (and the camera work on it) is better and more polished.

This fantastic DVD sets the standard for all Broadway DVD presentations!

Filmed at the Marquis Theatre, VICTOR/VICTORIA was filmed for Japanese television broadcast by NHK. This remarkable transfer boasts a dynamic 5.1 sound mix and a flawless picture.

Starring the entire original cast led by Julie Andrews, Tony Roberts, Michael Nouri, Rachel York, Gregory Jbara and Tara O'Brien, it is one of the most delightful musicals ever written.

This will probably be Andrews' last musical role; after completing her run and handing over the role to Liza Minnelli, she was admitted to hospital with throat problems. During the run she was frequently out with the flu or vocal problems.
Similarly, Liza Minnelli was frequently out with vocal problems relating to the show. Raquel Welch stepped in and closed with the show. VICTOR/VICTORIA ran for almost three years on Broadway.

This classic, old-fashioned musical will be a God-send to die-hard Broadway and musical theatre fans. Buy it today!

The stage version of "V/V" is inferior to the film. Among the problems: Rachel York---a terrific talent who deserved better---was clearly encouraged to imitate Lesley Ann Warren's performance from the film rather than create a character on her own, and the new songs are mediocre or worse. But fans of Julie Andrews will no doubt enjoy it, and Blake Edwards (in his stage directing debut) excels in the comedy sequences (the sequence in the second act which has many of the characters sneaking in and out of hotel bedrooms without being detected is classic Edwards). Very smooth filming of the show---the hi def transfer looks great. Note that the filming occured early in the show's Broadway run, and Edwards continued to make major changes to the show in the months following the opening. For example, Edwards cut the "Louis Says" number that opens the second act (the number was not replaced) and brought back the balloon act that was used during the show's Midwest tryouts but dropped prior to the Broadway opening. The DVD has "Louis Says" but no balloon act.

On December 2, 1995, I was lucky enough to be in New York City and saw "Victor-Victoria" on Broadway. The excitement and anticipation of seeing Julie Andrews on Broadway was so great-- I'll never forget that. We would have applauded and cheered like mad if Julie had merely appeared on stage and read from the phone book. Naturally, I was thrilled when the Broadway production was released on video. The show is excellently presented in wide-screen format. I'm still in awe of Robin Wagner's wonderful set designs-- one of the production's best assets. Andrews is well supported by Tony Roberts as Toddy. Michael Nouri is super sexy as King Marchan, and Gregory Jhbara is endearingly sweet as his gay bodyguard. Rachael York is extremely funny, but, in retrospect, the best she can do in the role of Norma is give a carbon-copy of Lesley Ann Warren's inspired performance in the 1982 film. Despite what some have said, the Broadway production does flow and move well, with just as much sparkle and bounce as the 1982 film (in some cases, perhaps more). These are professional actors. They know what they're doing, and they give their very best. Let's face it: either you like Julie Andrews (with all her amazing stamina and energy; thankfully captured here before her devastating 1997 throat surgery) and "Victor-Victoria" or you don't. Not much more needs to be said. Having this video in my collection is like having my wonderful night in New York City over and over again. A real treat-- if you were "there" or not.

I suppose there would be those who would see this 1995 Broadway production of "Victor/Victoria" starring Julie Andrews who did not see the 1982 movie "Victor/Victoria" starring Julie Andrews, but that has to be a rather insignificant minority. That matters because the chief enjoyment here is watching Andrews in what turned out to be her swan song as a performer. We all know the story about a woman pretending to be man impersonating a woman, so it is going to be the star, the performances, and the music that matter.

The music is actually the weakest part of this music once you get past the "Jazz Hot" number from the original film. Henry Mancini was writing music for the show when he died and Frank Wildhorn was called in to write some more songs, but none of them are standout show tunes. "Paris by Night," the opening song is okay, but it comes back as a tango and then again as a reprise, and each time it just flat out loses something. Then there are the lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, which manage at one point to rhyme "sexy" with both "apoplexy" and "taxi." There are lots of instances of the lyrics getting too cute and most of the songs are trying to provide psychological insights into the characters instead of being nice declarations of feeling and intent set to music that you at least want to hum out loud.

Most of the songs do not test Andrews' voice all that much and I got the real sense that she was measuring herself throughout the show, the way an actress who does eight shows a week would have to in order to avoid disappointing her fans. Fortunately it is only when the Street Singer (Tara O'Brien) comes along to belt out a tune that you realize the star does not have the best voice in the show, which is not that surprising we are talking about someone returning to Broadway after being away for three decades. But the show is supposed to be a love fest for the star, and there is nothing wrong with that.

I liked the performance of Tony Roberts as Carol Todd (Toddy), where he brought a casual ease to the role and made it work by doing it quite differently from how Robert Preston did in the film. Michael Nouri also plays King Marchand in a lower key while Rachel York's Norma Cassidy goes way over the top and pretty much steals every scene in which she appears. Ironically, her one big number is the only place in the film where it becomes all too much, but she does get the biggest laugh in the show when she follows up on a sudden desire to become a nun. The other key member of the supporting cast, Gregory Jbara as Squash Bernstein, also does a solid job and has the best moment in the big finale as well.

Usually a musical where you do not care for the music is not going to be worth catching, but while this version of "Victor/Victoria" is not as much fun as you would like it to be it is enjoyable enough. Just do not be surprised when watching it makes you want to go back and watch the original movie again or to go back and listen to the original Broadway cast recordings of some of the classic musicals that Julie Andrews was in way back when.

In cinematic history, studios have quite frequently gone to the theatre stage as a source of inspiration. More and more, lately, the reverse is proving true with the likes of Broadway and London's West End attempting to put the screen on stage. From the Lion King, to The Graduate, and now, Victor/Victoria.

The 1982 film was one of Blake Edward's most successful in a long history of filmmaking. Never really a musical, as such, it used music and musical numbers in a purely natural setting; singing in a cabaret act for example, but never did it cross the barrier into pure musical-dom by having casts of characters all singing the same song in the middle of a street for no apparent reason.

Given the nature of Victor/Victoria, it seems almost natural to carry it through to a stage version. And for the most part, the attempt succeeds. (Although, knowing the film version well, it was difficult to see the actors breaking the wall of musical numbers between cabaret acts, and bedroom antics.) The new musical numbers are well written, witty, and fun. Everybody does an exceptional job with the singing and are able to belt out the numbers with confidence. The dance routines are sparkling, and the orchestrations exquisite.

Where the stage version begins to falter, is the slapstick routines that only barely worked in the film. Blake Edwards is known for and is keen on slapstick. We have seen this in his previous works such as The Pink Panther series and The Party. There is always a poor sap getting his hand caught in a door, falling off a stepladder, tripping over a rug. The breath of fresh air in Victor/Victoria, the film, is that this was kept to a minimum, and the central story remained the focus. In the staging of the musical, however, the slapstick never quite works and we are left wondering why it was allowed in the first place. The character of Henri Labisse is not used effectively as the one who discovers that the he/she is actually a she/he/she and is left confusing the audience as to his real purpose. At times, this grand musical is reduced to a bedroom farce that went out of style in the early seventies. Perhaps a complete re-working of that character would have been in high order.

When watching a staged filming, bear a few things in mind. Acting (and directing) for the stage is far different than for the screen. Makeup is thicker, whispers are non-existent, the voice is bolder, and the facial expressions are constantly trying to reach the back row of the theatre. What is intended to be a 3 dimensional experience for an audience, is left 2 dimensional when filmed, and the 'magic' of the cinema cannot be captured from the stage. Conversely, there is nothing more magical than being in a theatre and viewing the changing sets, the extreme dance numbers, and being drawn past the 'fourth wall'. Unfortunately, it is near impossible to create the magic of the theatrical stage on screen.

That being said, the production qualities of this particular Victor/Victoria is exceedingly well done. They do not allow stagnant camera angles or allow their cameras to be locked down. All the focus is where it should be, and rarely is the screen cluttered up with extraneous peripheral which would steal from the focal point.

There is no doubt that Victor/Victoria on Broadway was a stunning success and, I repeat, the actors and dancers are marvellous. I am certain that, if I had watched it in the Marquis Theatre on Broadway, my opinion would be that of sheer delight. However, on a television screen, the result is not only second best, it's second rate.

Unlike some people, I've adored this show on stage with both Julie and Liza (I didn't see Rachel Welch) This transfer looks and sounds superb, thanks to High Definition videotape

A MUST HAVE for any lover of musicals ... The score, sets, costumes, and cast are all outstanding