FUNNY GIRL [1968 / 2013] [Blu-ray] [USA Release]
People Who See ‘FUNNY GIRL’ Are the Luckiest People in the World!
One of the most popular movie musicals ever made is now better than ever on Blu-ray! ‘FUNNY GIRL’ follows the early career of stage comedienne Fanny Brice, a role that earned Barbra Streisand the 1968 Oscar® for Best Actress. Only her mother believes Fanny Brice can make it in show business, but when she gets her first break at Keeney's Music Hall, her hilarious debut gets her hired as a comedienne. Fanny Brice becomes a star, falls in love and marries Nick Arnstein [Omar Sharif] a handsome gambler. The film's many memorable songs include “Don't Rain on My Parade” and the other Barbra Streisand classic “People.” Barbra Streisand is ‘FUNNY GIRL.’
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1969 Academy Awards®: Win: Best Actress in a Leading Role for Barbra Streisand. Nomination: Best Picture for Ray Stark. Nomination: Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Kay Medford. Nomination: Best Cinematography for Harry Stradling Sr. Nomination: Best Sound. Nomination: Best Film Editing for Maury Winetrobe, Robert Swink and William Sands. Nomination: Best Music, Original Song for Jule Styne (music) and Bob Merrill (lyrics) for the song "Funny Girl." Nomination: Best Music Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation) for Walter Scharf. 1969 Golden Globes: Win: Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical for Barbra Streisand. Nomination: Best Motion Picture in a Comedy or Musical. Nomination: Best Director for William Wyler. Nomination: Best Original Song for Jule Styne (music) and Bob Merrill (lyrics) for the song: "Funny Girl." 1969 American Cinema Editors: Nomination: Best Edited Feature Film for Maury Winetrobe, Robert Swink and William Sands. 1969 David di Donatello Awards: Win: Best Foreign Actress (Migliore Attrice Straniera) for Barbra Streisand. 1969 Directors Guild of America: Nomination: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for William Wyler. 1969 Writers Guild of America: Win: Best Written American Musical for Isobel Lennart. 1970 BAFTA Film Awards: Nomination: Best Actress for Barbra Streisand. Nomination: Best Cinematography for Harry Stradling Sr. Nomination: Best Costume Design for Irene Sharaff. 1970 Laurel Golden Awards: Win: Road Show. Win: Female Comedy Performance for Barbra Streisand. Nomination: Female Supporting Performance for Kay Medford [5th place]. 2009 Society of Camera Operators: Win: Historical Shot for Nelson Tyler f or the medium shot of Barbra Streisand standing on the bow, singing "Don't Rain on My Parade" then pulling back out to an amazing aerial point of view of the tugboat. 2016 National Film Preservation Board, USA: Win: National Film Preservation Board.
FILM FACT No.2: In 2016, Funny Girl was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress, and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. “Hello, gorgeous” are the first words uttered by Barbra Streisand in the film, after winning the Academy Award® for Best Actress. Since the release of the film, "Hello, gorgeous" has been referenced in several films. The line appeared as the name of the salon where Angela (Michelle Pfeiffer's character) worked in Married to the Mob. The line was also uttered by the character Max Bialystock in the 1967 film The Producers and its Broadway adaptation, but the inflection used by Zero Mostel in the film is different from that used by Streisand. The line is also regularly peppered through popular culture. Sean Harris may be known for playing darker characters in series such as "Southcliffe" or "The Borgias," but he says that he was inspired to become an actor when he saw Barbra Streisand in the stage production of "Funny Girl."
Cast: Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford, Anne Francis, Walter Pidgeon, Lee Allen, Mae Questel, Gerald Mohr, Frank Faylen, Mittie Lawrence, Gertrude Flynn, Penny Santon, John Harmon, Thordis Brandt, Bettina Brenna, Virginia Ann Ford, Alena Johnston, Karen Lee, Mary Jane Mangler, Inga Neilsen, Sharon Vaughn, Lillian Adams (uncredited), Peter Adams (uncredited), Leon Alton (uncredited), Kristin Andersen (uncredited), Al Avalon (uncredited), Chela Bacigalupo (uncredited), Al Bain (uncredited), Bobbie Bates (uncredited), Richard S. Baughn (uncredited), Donald Bradburn (uncredited), Paul Bradley (uncredited), Phyllis Brown (uncredited), Buddy Bryan (uncredited), Fletcher Bryant (uncredited), Barbara Burgess (uncredited), Nancee Charles (uncredited), Noble 'Kid' Chissell (uncredited), Robert Christian (uncredited), Roy Clark (uncredited), Sterling Clark (uncredited), Ruth Clifford (uncredited), Beverly Cole (uncredited), Jerome Collamore (uncredited), Gene Columbus (uncredited), Daniel Cook (uncredited), Cis Corman (uncredited), Chris Cranston (uncredited), Leon Daniels (uncredited), Tony Dante (uncredited), Diane Davis (uncredited), Gayle Davis (uncredited), Hal K. Dawson (uncredited), Lavina Dawson Margarita de Saá White (uncredited), Pepe J. DeChiazza (uncredited), Jack Del Rio (uncredited), John Dennis (uncredited), George DeNormand (uncredited), Joanna DiGiovanna (uncredited), Joseph Dolphin (uncredited), Pat Doty (uncredited), Barrie Duffus (uncredited), Kevin Edwards (uncredited), Edith Emelyne (uncredited), Sheila English (uncredited), Lynn Fields (uncredited), John Frayer (uncredited), Ralph Gambina (uncredited), Larry Gelman Lloyd Gough (uncredited), Janet Hadland (uncredited), Dann E. Hadzick (uncredited), Viola Harris (uncredited), John Hawke (uncredited), Howard Henderson (uncredited), Hildegard (uncredited), Barbara Houston (uncredited), Linda Howe (uncredited), Craig Huxley (uncredited), Jeri Jamerson (uncredited), Rini Jarmon (uncredited), Michael Jeffers (uncredited), Howard Jeffrey (uncredited), Elaine Joyce (uncredited), Jack Kassabian (uncredited), Paul Keith (uncredited), Sherwood Keith (uncredited), Ingeborg Kjeldsen (uncredited), George LaFave (uncredited), Sherry Lansing (uncredited), Avram Lax (uncredited), Frances Weintraub Lax (uncredited), Pam Leho (uncredited), Robert Locke Lorraine (uncredited), Arlyn E. Loynd (uncredited), Freeman Lusk (uncredited), Sonya Mahler (uncredited), Michael Mark (uncredited), Katherine Marking (uncredited), Kathy Martin (uncredited), Mark Maskin (uncredited), Sally Mason (uncredited), Frank Mathias (uncredited), Diane Mayer (uncredited), Pat McCaffrie (uncredited), Lee Meredith (uncredited), Richard Monahan (uncredited), Barbara Monte (uncredited), Tom Noel (uncredited), Charlie Peterson Ron Poindexter (uncredited), Tommy Rall (uncredited), Teresa Ravid (uncredited), Hanne-Marie Reiner (uncredited), Alex Rodine (uncredited), Françoise Ruggieri (uncredited), Jack Bowen Saunders (uncredited), Jeffrey Sayre (uncredited), Yvonne Schubert (uncredited), Darryl Seamen (uncredited), Jet Sharon (uncredited), Johnny Silver (uncredited), Harry Stanton (uncredited), Geoffrey Steele (uncredited), Nancy Stone (uncredited), Frank Sully (uncredited), Bunny Summers (uncredited), Earl Sydnor (uncredited), Judy Taylor (uncredited), Arthur Tell (uncredited), Rita Thiel (uncredited), Bob Thompson (uncredited), Victoria Thompson (uncredited), Pat Tribble (uncredited), Terri Tucker (uncredited), Kaye Turner (uncredited), Caprice Walker (uncredited), John Warburton (uncredited), Carol Warner (uncredited), Joni Webster (uncredited), Sandra Wells (uncredited), Shari White (uncredited), Marc Wilder (uncredited), Caroline Williams (uncredited), Christine Williams (uncredited), Susan Williams (uncredited), Sally Winn (uncredited), Dick Winslow (uncredited), Nancy Woods (uncredited), Charles Woolf (uncredited), Beverly Yates (uncredited), Joe Yore (uncredited), Enid Yousen (uncredited) and John Zimeas (uncredited)
Director: William Wyler
Producer: Ray Stark
Screenplay: Isobel Lennart (based on the musical play and screenplay )
Composers: Jule Styne and Walter Scharf (uncredited)
Cinematography: Harry Stradling Sr. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio: English: 5.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
French: 5.0 Dolby Digital
Spanish: 5.0 Dolby Digital
German: 5.0 Dolby Digital
Italian: 5.0 Dolby Digital
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Arabic, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Thai and Turkish
Running Time: 155 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: In 1968, everybody knew that Barbra Streisand was just about the greatest star in the world. Not only had she soared to the top with a series of smash TV specials, hit recordings and the popular stage musical “Funny Girl,” but when she made the transition from stage to screen in her first great vehicle, she changed the conception of what a screen queen could look like. Although always the epitome of glamour and a natural clothes horse, Barbra Streisand's unconventional features were far from the standard set by such early musical queens as Doris Day and Rita Hayworth. But when she first stepped on screen as Ziegfeld Follies star Fannie Brice, audiences couldn't take their eyes off her.
The leap from Broadway stardom to Hollywood stardom is not an easy one to make, but the 1960s saw two actresses do just that while winning cinema's highest honour in the process. Julie Andrews had been on the New York's stages for nearly ten years when cameras started rolling on her film debut, Mary Poppins. That musical would become a massive hit and Julie Andrews would win the Best Actress Academy Award® over ‘My Fair Lady' with Audrey Hepburn, who was chosen to fill the role Andrews had originated on Broadway. Just a few years later, Barbra Streisand, already a Grammy-winning musician and an Emmy-winning television special star, would follow the second of her two stage musicals to the big screen. This too would result in box office success and a Best Actress Oscar win.
‘FUNNY GIRL’ was the brainchild of producer Ray Stark, whose wife was Fanny Brice's daughter by first love Nicky Arnstein. Ray Stark commissioned Isobel Lennart, a screenwriter noted for crafting strong female roles in films like ‘Love Me or Leave Me' [1955] and ‘The Inn of the Sixth Happiness' [1958], to create a suitably reverent script. Jule Styne, composer of such classics as “Small World” and “Just in Time,” wrote the music, while Bob Merrill, who had done both words and music for the stage hit Carnival, provided the lyrics. With standards like “People” and “Don't Rain on my Parade” written into the score and with a star-making performance by Barbra Streisand, the show became a sensation when it opened in 1964. Barbra Streisand would go on to play Fanny Brice for two years on stages in New York and London.
The first and still one of the best regarded of Streisand's nineteen narrative film acting credits, ‘FUNNY GIRL’ is based on the real life of Fanny Brice. A popular comedian, singer, and actress of stage, radio, and screen from the onset of adulthood to her death in 1951 at age 59, Brice could easily be one of the many yesteryear entertainers whose names and faces grow unfamiliar as those alive during their fame grow scarce. Instead, Fanny Brice would be immortalised in the Tony-nominated 1964 musical and again in this high profile 1968 adaptation from legendary director William Wyler for ‘Ben-Hur,’ ‘The Best Years of Our Lives,’ and ‘Roman Holiday.’
A working class Jew from downtown New York City, Fanny [Barbra Streisand] is neither attractive nor talented in traditional ways. Her attempt to break into a burlesque act finds her getting fired almost immediately, as she is unable to keep up with the dance moves besides being plagued with skinny legs and a large nose. But Fanny's impassioned song earns her another chance and while she is a disaster on stage in roller skates, she is one that thoroughly entertains the crowd. Soon, she gets invited to join the famed “Ziegfeld Follies” of powerful impresario Florenz Ziegfeld [Walter Pidgeon].
Florenz Ziegfeld is horrified to see one of his lavish/gaudy straightforward musical numbers turned on its head and into a comedic bit by a fast-thinking Fanny and a serendipitous pillow, but the audience's enthusiastic response keeps Fanny employed and her instincts respected. Among Brice's many newfound admirers is Nick Arnstein [Omar Sharif], a wealthy and handsome man who makes his living as a gambler. After a few years, Nick and Fanny manage to get on the same page and be married. Their marriage is anything but ordinary, with Fanny flourishing as a somewhat unprecedented comedienne and Nick accruing substantial debts when his ordinarily good luck runs cold. Those conflicting fates create tension that Fanny cannot ease by bearing some of the family's financial burdens. The proud Nick resists a lucrative business opportunity Fanny planned to secretly bankroll and winds up in serious legal trouble shortly thereafter.
For many musicals, story and characters are secondary to entertainment value. Song performances are treated as the main attraction and the content linking them can range from incidental to pure afterthought. ‘FUNNY GIRL,’ however, possesses an unmistakable interest in its dramatic, comedic, and romantic material, using songs sparingly and never at the expense of its storytelling. Isobel Lennart, adapts her own libretto with clear respect for the real people it dramatises and a good understanding of how to keep it palatable for viewers.
Though William Wyler had been directing shorts and features since the 1920s, he managed to stay relevant by not resisting the industry's stylistic movements and technical advances. It's tough to see much separating this film, William Wyler's penultimate, from something like ‘Finian's Rainbow,’ a Broadway musical adaptation from the same year directed by young, rising Francis Ford Coppola, soon in the helm of ‘The Godfather.’ In his mid-1960s, William Wyler is comfortable with quick edits, acrobatic camera movement, and more realistic sets, all things that tended to be eschewed for the first several decades of the medium. Obviously, technique alone is never enough, but attached to Isobel Lennart's sharp script and the charismatic lead performances by Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif, the results are quite pleasing.
‘FUNNY GIRL’ adheres to the standards of the day, running 155 minutes with overture, intermission, and restoration credits. But that is far from the endurance challenge it implies, with enough human interest substance to keep you engaged throughout. Sure, what was considered funny in the 1910s and 1920s doesn't draw many laughs today and being filtered through the late 1960s doesn't change that. You can question those in Fanny Brice's heyday would not. Besides, who watches old comedy films expecting to slap their knees and split their sides? That isn't to make excuses for ‘Funny Girl' or suggest it's any less relevant or entertaining than today's films. Barbra Streisand's overwhelmingly positive contributions to the role. Barbra shares a wonderful chemistry with screen legend Omar Sharif who handles the part of the gambling addicted playboy brilliantly. The two are a perfect match, looking as good on the screen as most any other couple in Musical memory. Their contributions are not to be overshadowed by the picture's Oscar-nominated cinematography and editing and Director William Wyler's for ‘Ben-Hur' who’s effortless work behind the camera in bringing the film's best assets to the forefront.
Even with her first film, Barbra Streisand was building a reputation as a perfectionist who demanded control over every aspect of her films. During pre-recording, she demanded extensive retakes of her songs until she got them just right. On the set, she often disregarded veteran director William Wyler to express her opinions about costumes and photography. She also had most of her scenes with Anne Francis cut, the latter was a noted Hollywood beauty who played a Ziegfeld Follies chorus girl and Fanny Brice's best friend. As a result, Anne Francis asked to have her name removed from the credits.
FUNNY GIRL MUSIC TRACK LIST
OVERTURE (uncredited) (Music by Jule Styne)
I’M THE GREATEST STAR (uncredited) (Music by Jule Styne) (Lyrics by Bob Merrill) [Performed by Barbra Streisand]
IF A GIRL ISN’T PRETTY (uncredited) (Music by Jule Styne) (Lyrics by Bob Merrill) [Performed by Barbra Streisand, Mae Questel and Kay Medford]
ROLLERSKATE RAG (uncredited) (Music by Jule Styne) (Lyrics by Bob Merrill) [Performed by Barbra Streisand and the Rollerskate Girls]
HIS LOVE MAKES ME BEAUTIFUL (uncredited) (Music by Jule Styne) (Lyrics by Bob Merrill) [Performed by Barbra Streisand and Company]
PEOPLE (uncredited) (Music by Jule Styne) (Lyrics by Bob Merrill) [Performed by Barbra Streisand]
YOU ARE WOMAN, I AM MAN (uncredited) (Music by Jule Styne) (Lyrics by Bob Merrill) [Performed by Omar Sharif and Barbra Streisand]
DON’T RAIN ON MY PARADE (uncredited) (Music by Jule Styne) (Lyrics by Bob Merrill) [Performed by Barbra Streisand]
SADIE, SADIE (uncredited) (Music by Jule Styne) (Lyrics by Bob Merrill) [Performed by Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif]
THE SWAN (uncredited) (Music by Jule Styne) (Lyrics by Bob Merrill) [Performed by Barbra Streisand]
FUNNY GIRL (uncredited) (Music by Jule Styne) (Lyrics by Bob Merrill) [Performed by Barbra Streisand]
MY MAN (Mon Homme) (Music by Maurice Yvain) (French lyrics by Albert Willemetz and Jacques Charles) (English lyrics by Channing Pollock) [Performed by Barbra Streisand]
SECOND HAND ROSE (By James F. Hanley and Grant Clarke) [Performed by Barbra Streisand] (uncredited)
I’D RATHER BE BLUE OVER YOU (Than Be Happy With Somebody Else) (As I'd Rather Be Blue) (By Fred Fisher and Billy Rose) [Performed by Barbra Streisand] (uncredited)
HENRY STREET (uncredited) (Music composed by Jule Styne)
PEOPLE (Reprise) (Music by Jule Styne) (Lyrics by Bob Merrill) [Performed by Barbra Streisand]
FINALE (uncredited) (Music by Jule Styne)
Swan Lake Suite, Op. 20: Scène, Lake in the Moonlight (uncredited) (Written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
Blu-ray Image Quality – ‘FUNNY GIRL’ is brought to us via a brilliant encoded 1080p image transfer, lovingly restored from the original negative in 4K, and dazzles on the Blu-ray release. The aspect ratio 2.35:1 framed print is meticulously clean, showing not a speckle, hair, or any sign of wear and tear. Light grain beautifully floats over the image, giving it a desirable film-like texturing. It's ever-so-slightly soft on the whole, with a handful of shots looking a bit fuzzy, but the overall quality of the image is otherwise practically above reproach. Details are exquisite; the many rich, lavish backdrops, as well as some of the more homely and worn down elements, reveal intimate textures that are beautifully clear and lifelike. Skin textures aren't often deeply intricate and especially Barbra Streisand in particular takes on a very smooth, but naturally so appearance, but do show some natural lines and details in close-up shots. Colours are beautifully reproduced. The balance is striking, whether the film is showering the screen with a parade of bright hues or showcasing some plainer brown and other earthen tones. Black levels are deep and stable, while skin tones appear even. This is everything a catalogue title should be, a miraculous presentation that's sure to please all comers.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – ‘FUNNY GIRL’ features a fundamentally 5.0 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack experience. It's a naturally airy, light affair throughout, at its best during the introduction and intermission when musical dominance offers a big, smooth, room-filling sound that's heavily focused up front with the accompanying surround information largely lost in the shuffle but nevertheless crucial in creating a more richly realised special presence. Clarity is exceptional through the entire range. Later musical numbers prove quite a bit less aggressive; for the most part, but still retain the base clarity and smoothness. Some of the supportive sound effects, such as crowd applause, come through as somewhat tinny and unfocused; as the camera shifts, the audible dynamics change drastically and with a sudden jarring sensation, effectively pulling the listener out of the moment. Dialogue plays smoothly and with a command of stage and clarity befitting a film of its period. All in all, this is a good soundtrack, not quite at the top of the heap but a fine presentation nonetheless.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Barbra in Movieland [1968] [480i] [1.37:1] [10:09] A retro documentary piece, that looks at shooting "Don't Rain On My Parade" sequence from the film ‘FUNNY GIRL’ which was one of the film's musical numbers at the abandoned Jersey Central Railroad Station and as experienced through the eyes of its station caretaker, Charlie Peterson. With optional English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish subtitles.
Special Feature: This is Streisand [1968] [480i] [1.37:1] [5:34] Here is another retro documentary piece, that takes a look at the life and career of Barbra Streisand, her work in the film, and starring alongside Omar Sharif and explaining her background and introducing her to the world of cinema. Contributors include: Herbert Ross, Omar Sharif, Ray Stark, Barbra Streisand and William Wyler. This special feature contains the same subtitle options listed with the special feature above.
Sneak Previews: Additional Sony Pictures Entertainment releases that includes ‘Playing for Keeps' [2012] and ‘Amour' [2012].
Finally, ‘FUNNY GIRL’ is among the 1960s musicals that hold up really well. Barbra Streisand's Oscar-winning debut may be more important to her many fans world-wide than for film buffs. But this dramatization of one of show business's first comediennes has more going for it than just that. Sony's Blu-ray adds two original special features, but also delivers a dynamite feature presentation that can be considered a benchmark for films of this era. This Blu-ray disc will not disappoint fans wanting to own the film with its best picture and sound available. Ever since I say Barbra Streisand performing on the London Stage for the theatre production of “Funny Girl,” I fell under Barbra Streisand's magic spell and have not stopped liking this brilliant actress come songstress and that is why this particular Blu-ray disc has now gone pride of place in my ever increasing Barbra Streisand Blu-ray Collection. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
