************************************************************** RECOMMENDED August 2002 **************************************************************
Henry MANCINI
Victor Victoria
Rhino R2 78248 [78:54]
In all its incarnations, Victor Victoria has always been about one thing – Julie Andrews' performance. Even in stage versions without her, fans and critics still fall back on making the comparison. When the movie opened in 1982, her squeaky clean persona from Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music preceded her enough to raise many an eyebrow at the role. A woman impersonating a man impersonating a woman? With singing? Really?
Yes, yes and yes. And Andrews was magnificent in the part. Like either of those other 'cleaner' movies, what's lasted in the memory are the songs. So thank you Blake Edwards for your long-standing relationship with Hank Mancini. The Pink Panther series is carped on about endlessly, but what was achieved here eclipses almost all those comedies put together. The songs range in style enormously. Andrews is more than up to scaling that range. The music itself is often smirk-inducingly witty.
This is a complete issue of the soundtrack, filling in gaps from previous versions. It still sounds terrific, and being Rhino, you can also rest assured the packaging and booklet of information is of top-notch value too.
So go wild and immerse yourself in the "Crazy World" as soon as you can can!
Paul Tonks
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