AllMovie

Few late 20th and early 21st Century actors have projected the stylistic or genre versatility of Briton Michael Crawford. The star of such movie blockbusters as The Knack .. and How to Get It (1965), How I Won the War (1967) and Hello, Dolly! (1969), Crawford also reigned supreme on stage. He effortlessly evoked the title role in the original production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera, portrayed master showman P.T. Barnum to critical raves in Barnum, and later spent years at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, alternately playing Merlin the Magician, H.G. Wells and Harry Houdini. And yet, Crawford received his formal training in opera; he made his original show business debut in a musical by Benjamin Britten. As directed and edited by Tony Palmer, the documentary The Fantastic World of Michael Crawford carries viewers inside of the remarkable life and career of Crawford, a man who, the film argues, remains the most popular British entertainer of all time in the United States.