THE PRINCE OF TIDES [1999 / 2020] [The Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray] [USA Release]
From One of Pat Conroy’s Best Loved Novels of Our Time!
For her acclaimed second feature as a director, Barbra Streisand crafted a sumptuous, emotionally wrenching adaptation of Pat Conroy’s best-selling novel — which Barbra Streisand also produced and starred in. Summoned to New York after his sister attempts suicide, Tom Wingo [Nick Nolte] must serve as her memory, reckoning with the traumas of their southern childhood so that her psychiatrist, Dr. Susan Lowenstein [Barbra Streisand], can help her recover. But Tom Wingo’s sessions with Dr. Susan Lowenstein will plunge him into the depths of his own long-repressed pain — and reawaken the possibility of love within him. Nominated for seven Academy Awards® and including best picture and best actor for Nick Nolte’s soulful performance, ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ is a life-affirming tale of healing and renewal from a triple-threat filmmaker with a keen and humane insight into her characters’ sorrows, joys, and yearnings.
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FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1991 Boston Society of Film Critics Awards: Win: BSFC Award for Best Actor for Nick Nolte. 1991 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards: Win: LAFCA Award for Best Actor for Nick Nolte. 1991 New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Nominations: NYFCC Award for Best Actor for Nick Nolte. 1992 Academy Awards®: Nomination: Best Picture for Barbra Streisand and Andrew S. Karsch Nomination: Best Actor in a Leading Role for Nick Nolte. Nomination: Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Kate Nelligan. Nomination: Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published for Becky Johnston and Pat Conroy. Nomination: Best Cinematography for Stephen Goldblatt. Nomination: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration Caryl Heller and Paul Sylbert. Nomination: Best Music and Original Score for James Newton Howard. 1992 American Society of Cinematographers: Nomination: ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases for Stephen Goldblatt. 1992 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards: Nomination: CFCA Award for Best Actor for Nick Nolte. 1992 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards: Nomination: DFWFCA Award for Best Picture. 1992 Directors Guild of America: Nomination: DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for Barbra Streisand. 1992 Golden Globes: Win: Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture in a Drama for Nick Nolte. Nomination: Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture in a Drama. Nomination: Golden Globe Award for Best Director in a Motion Picture for Barbra Streisand. 1992 National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA: Nomination: NSFC Award for Best Actor for Nick Nolte. 1992 USC Scripter Award: Nomination: Becky Johnston (screenwriter) and Pat Conroy (screenwriter/author). 1992 Writers Guild of America: Nomination: WGA Award (Screen) for Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for Becky Johnston and Pat Conroy.
FILM FACT No.2: Principal photography began in June 1990 in Beaufort, South Carolina. Other locations in the South Carolina Lowcountry included St. Helena Island and Fripp Island. ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ wrapped production in New York in September 1990. Pat Conroy gave Barbra Streisand a copy of his novel “The Prince of Tides” with the inscription: "To Barbra Streisand: The Queen of Tides...you are many things, Barbra, but you're also a great teacher...one of the greatest to come into my life. I honour the great teachers and they live in my work and they dance invisibly in the margins of my prose. You've honoured me by taking care of it with such great seriousness and love. Great thanks and I'll never forget that you gave ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ back to me as a gift."
Cast: Nick Nolte, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner, Kate Nelligan, Jeroen Krabbé, Melinda Dillon, George Carlin, Jason Gould, Brad Sullivan, Maggie Collier, Lindsay Wray, Brandlyn Whitaker, Justen Woods (age 6), Bobby Fain (age 10), Trey Yearwood (age 13), Tiffany Jean Davis (age 6), Nancy Moore Atchison (age 10), Kiki Runyan (age 13), Grayson Fricke (age 9), Ryan Newman (age 13), Chris Stacy (age 16), Milton Clark Jr., Bonnie Johnson, Dottie Soracco, Bob Hannah, Norman Max Maxwell, R.D. Oprea, Rebecca Fleming, Sandy Rowe, Alan Sader, Frederick Neumann, Nick Searcy, Kirk Whalum, Marilyn Carter, Yvonne Erickson, Lee Lively, Ann Pierce, Francis Dumaurier, John Arceri, Warren Kremin, Robert Baglia (uncredited), Marianne Hettinger (uncredited), John Simmit (uncredited) and Leon Watkins (uncredited)
Director: Barbra Streisand
Producers: Andrew S. Karsch, Barbra Streisand, Cis Corman, James T. Roe III and Sheldon Schrager
Screenplay: Pat Conroy (novel) (screenplay) and Becky Johnston (screenplay)
Composer: James Newton Howard
Costume Design: Ruth Morley
Costume and Wardrobe Department: Debra Stein (costume assistant), Mark Burchard (wardrobe: men) and Shirlee Strahm (wardrobe: women)
Cinematography: Stephen Goldblatt, A.S.C., B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Stereo Audio
English: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 132 minutes
Region: Region A/1
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Columbia Pictures / The Criterion Collection
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ [1999] is the high-water mark in a long and distinguished career in cinema. From the phenomenally successful 1968 musical ‘Funny Girl’ through her meticulous 1983 rendering of ‘Yentl,’ Barbra Streisand had earned her place among the most respected artists in Hollywood even before she set out on a three-and-a-half-year quest to bring ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ to the screen. In the end, the complexity of this portrayal of the human heart riven and tormented by impossible passions owes as much to Barbra Streisand’s personal struggle to achieve her vision as it owes to the story itself. Yet her achievement doesn’t receive the same reverence among the triumphs of the era.
The movie begins when Tom Wingo [Nick Nolte] learns that his sister has attempted suicide in Manhattan. Tom Wingo’s marriage to Sally Wingo [Blythe Danner] is on the rocks and at the urging of his estranged mother; Tom Wingo goes north to care for Savannah Wingo [Melinda Dillon]. There, he meets his sister’s therapist, Dr. Susan Lowenstein [Barbra Streisand], a no-nonsense New Yorker married to a world- famous violinist Herbert Woodruff [Jeroen Krabbé]. Lowenstein forces Tom Wingo to explore the traumas of his past as they both fall in love.
Barbra Streisand evocatively captures two distinct settings in her film and South Carolina is a place of lush marsh, shrimping boats, lonely seascapes and sweaty cruelty. Meanwhile, New York City unfurls in panoply of honking cars, elegant restaurants, walkable neighbourhoods and claustrophobic quarters. Tom Wingo begins the movie hating the city and soon adapts as he stays on, partially to help Savannah and partially because Sallie admits to an affair and he doesn’t know whether he should return home.
The powerhouse performance by Nick Nolte as a man troubled by his past carries this film version of the Pat Conroy novel, as brought to the screen by Barbra Streisand and some negative critics felt Barbra Streisand as Dr. Susan Lowenstein was miscast as Nick Nolte's shrink and love interest. Barbra Streisand work behind the camera is much better here and sadly it was not acknowledged by the Academy with at least a nomination.
Nick Nolte gives a career-best performance as the suffering Tom Wingo. Cast mainly in comedies and action films prior, Nick Nolte is believable and nuanced as ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ marches towards Tom Wingo’s dark secret. Barbra Streisand, on the other hand, does not possess the same range but matches Nick Nolte’s wild energy with her more tightly-wound take on Dr. Susan Lowenstein. The role, a Jewish New Yorker, feels tailored to Barbra Streisand’s strengths. But Barbra Streisand’s character doesn’t have it easy either. The Dr. Susan Lowenstein is also in a difficult marriage and finds solace in the brash Southerner.
In the move ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ we have the unspoken trauma at the story’s centre, where we find out that Herbert Woodruff [Jeroen Krabbé] character is a control freak and treats his son as a bully, who is Dr. Susan Lowenstein’s vain and self-centred cruel husband, who has no depth and feels like a villain plucked from the film ‘Die Hard’ or some other Eurotrash central casting call. We also have the sequences involving Tom Wingo training Dr. Susan Lowenstein’s teenage son Bernard Woodruff, who is played by Jason Gould (Barbra Streisand’s son with Elliott Gould) and gives us another view of another family with also lots of troubled hidden hang-ups.
There are many elements that make ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ still watchable today. Yet, for a film dealing with a very dramatic trauma, but there is certainly some light relief with the gravitas of the subject matter, especially with Eddie Detreville [George Carlin] as the comic relief in the form of Dr. Susan Savannah’s gay neighbour. Worst of all, James Newton Howard’s sappy composed film score makes everything all feel so damned sentimental. If you are able to look past the excess of the era, there are some really strong moments and ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ remains important as the wellspring of a woman director/star that held her ground against the boys club of the Hollywood system and ultimately came out on top.
The movie ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ is supremely edifying entertainment; an eloquent elegy to everlasting love, made by a master film-maker/star who capably understands the type of heartfelt movies that can sell tickets almost singularly on her box office clout alone. And, to be sure, Barbra Streisand never disappoints in her proficiency in front of or behind the camera. We think it easy to be star, director and executive producer, well think again and then try it sometime. What Barbra Streisand has achieved herein is nothing short of lyrical, smart and sexy; a beautifully crafted, and solidly acted film, exquisitely photographed and superbly underscored masterpiece; the way all movies based on best-selling novels ought to turn out, though far too few actually do.
Barbra Streisand and her co-star, Nick Nolte have great on-screen chemistry; conceived in mutual antagonism but ultimately burgeoning with more subtly nuanced threads of mutual respect, and, tinged with flashes of comic relief. Nolte commits to some of the finest acting in his entire career, running the gamut of emotions and really getting under the skin of his alter ego. It’s an adult performance, which sounds rather condescending, except that far too few male leads in American movies – then or now – actually give us reflections of adulthood from the masculine perspective.
Now what we generally get to see in this movie is tough guys or boys behaving like they think they are “real men” ought to be; the clichéd swagger and boastfulness of a guy’s guy, too self-involved and thinking muscle tissue and testicles the mantra for self-professed paragons, distilled into cock of the walk. Nick Nolte, however, gives us “a real man” – warts and all; imperfect, damaged, sensitive, and utterly terrified of being found out as anything less than. It is a real tour de force performance for which Nick Nolte was passed over at Oscar time: We will forgive the Academy this time round.
THE PRINCE OF TIDES MUSIC TRACK LIST
Cavatina, Opus 13 (Written by Howard Brockway) [Performed by Pinchas Zukerman]
Praeludium and Allegro (Written by Fritz Kreisler) [Performed by Pinchas Zukerman]
DIXIE (Written by Daniel Decatur Emmett) (uncredited) [Performed by Pinchas Zukerman]
Fui Tu Caceria (Written by Margarita Pinillos) [Performed by Arabella]
MONKEY (Written by George Michael) [Performed by George Michael]
KEEP ON MOVIN’ (Written by Jazzie B aka Beresford Romeo) [Performed by Soul II Soul]
THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU (Written by Ray Noble) [Performed by Red Garland]
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU (Written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill)
HONEY DON’T (Written by Carl Perkins) [Performed by Carl Perkins]
THAT’S WHAT I LIKE ‘BOUT THE SOUTH (Written by Andy Razaf)
FOR ALL WE KNOW (Written by Sam Lewis and J. Fred Coots)
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Columbia Pictures and The Criterion Collection presents us the film ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ with a new Blu-ray edition, featuring the film in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on a dual-layer disc. The new presentation has been encoded in 1080p/24hz high-definition and comes from a new 4K restoration conducted by Sony Pictures Entertainment and was approved by director Barbra Streisand. A new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Scanity film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative and restored at Prasad Corp in Hollywood. The film isn’t that old, so in reality I shouldn’t be at all that surprised with the end results, but this has still turned out to be far better than I would have ever expected! The opening shots and moments of the film are incredibly striking, thanks to the rich oranges of the sunsets, and despite a dreamlike haze that makes an appearance the image still manages to come off unbelievably crisp and clean. The rest of the film looks just as good, sharp and crisp, outside of a few shots where filters have been applied, and the image handles the finer details just fine, right down to sand on a beach or stray hairs on a head. Black levels are very deep and pure, but a handful of low lit shots closer to the end are weak in delivering shadow detail. I was surprised by how grainy the picture is but the grain looks exceptional, rendered cleanly with no sign of noise or blocky patterns. And the restoration has cleaned up all damage, outside of footage that is supposed to represent home movies. It still looks exceptional.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Columbia Pictures and The Criterion Collection brings us the film ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ with a 2.0 DTS-HD Master Stereo Audio presentation and was remastered from the 35mm original Dolby A stereo magnetic master by Sony Pictures Sound Department. Please be sure to enable the Dolby Pro Logic decoding on your receiver to be able to properly play the 2.0 Dolby surround soundtrack. James Newton Howard’s 1990’s composed score swells and rises appropriately and is mixed well enough to the other speakers, but outside of that it’s not a showy soundtrack. Most of the film’s audio is focused to the front speakers, with only some background and ambient effects spreading out, like the scene in Grand Central Station. But range is pretty wide, dialogue is easy to hear, though I admit I had trouble with Nick Nolte’s southern drawl on occasion, and the audio tack is clean and free of distortion.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
New 4K digital restoration, supervised by actor, producer, and director Barbra Streisand, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Special Feature: Audio Commentary featuring Barbra Streisand [1991 / 2019] [1080p] [1.85:1] [000:00] With this featurette, we have this audio commentary that features the actress/director, and star Barbra Streisand and was recorded for the 1991 NTSC LaserDisc release, with additional content Barbra Streisand recorded and updated in 2019 for The Criterion Collection. To listen to the audio commentary while viewing the movie ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES,’ press the AUDIO button on your remote control and select the 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio experience. As the movie starts, Barbra Streisand says that she first saw the view of the wetlands location in Beaufort, South Carolina from looking out of the airplane window, but when going to look for locations, and found it so visually interesting, and wanted to capture the beauty of the place, the marshes, the sounds of the south, but most of all, Barbra Streisand wanted to capture the beauty of Pat Conroy’s novel and the opening line, which is, “my wound is geography.” Barbra Streisand says that the house she found that you see at the start of the film, says that they had to change the roof, and had to age the house, but also says she loved the look of the land and the Spanish moss hanging from the trees. Barbra Streisand also says, that she loves the crane shot over the children playing with their pet dog, and wanted to show the mother with her children playing around her, but mainly showing children having fun, and looked so idyllic. Barbra Streisand says that she is always fascinated by the mystery of appearances, what you think is one thing, and yet there is another thing underneath the surface. Barbra Streisand talks about the father character and his violence, and asked the father actor to stroke his son’s blonde hair that you see them on the boat sailing on the water. Barbra Streisand comments that why does it leave you wondering what is the story about. Barbra Streisand also says, one of the reasons I didn’t put a lot of credits at the start of the film, that she wanted the audience to pay attention to the visuals and it was also important to set up the childhood of the young family. Barbra Streisand says that she wanted to cast young children who were great swimmers and the scene with the three young children swimming underwater was filmed in a tank and it took two weeks to get the colour just right, but when Barbra looked through the lens of the camera and said, “oh my god, we forgot the weeds,” and when the three young children came to the surface and the title ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ appears, this is where Barbra Streisand want the credits to appear, and especially the title of the novel. Barbra Streisand says that she wanted to do, is to film the early morning scene with the three young children coming out to the sea, then she wanted to follow up with filming in the late afternoon light, that brings us into the present day setting. Barbra Streisand says that she loves filming long scenes, so it gives the actors to perform well, because Barbra Streisand the director mentions the fact that originally was a performer in the theatre. Barbra Streisand says she likes to layer the sound, like when it comes to conversations going on in the background, but at the same time having conversations in the foreground, because in real life this is what happens. Barbra Streisand says that in the novel Pat Conroy describes the wife as being normal and ordinary, but that is why her husband Tom loves about his wife, and there is something very warm and homely about the wife, and she is easy to talk to and felt the actress was right for the role. Barbra Streisand says that can’t you see how the three young children are comfortable sitting on their father on the couch, and Barbra Streisand wanted the three young children get to know the actor Nick Nolte, so they look like an actual natural family, and not as actors, and Barbra says when you see them together in rehearsals, they looked totally delicious. Barbra Streisand also says that she never wanted the dialogue to stop. And now we are being introduced by the mother of Nick Nolte’s character, and Barbra thought this was great to see her now at the age of 65 years old, and it was funny to try and make the actress look right for her older self, and you will also see that we started the actress off with a grey wig and of course getting the make-up just right to make the actress look older and Barbra felt that they had got everything just right. Barbra Streisand says that Kate came to read for the part of Sally, but Barbra didn’t believe she was right for that part, and thought she was beautiful and so strong and so right for the part of the mother and younger, and Barbra was shocked when she suggested that, but Barbra thought it would be a tour de force for an actress like Kate. Her reading of her psychological force, she was just brilliant, as well as her accent, especially throughout the film, even though Tom in the film does not like his mother, he is like his mother, so he’ll come to new York and have the same attitude about psychology, and give the therapist a very hard time. Barbra Streisand thinks the mother should amount to more, but why, why can’t teaching be good enough, and as the boy Bernard will tell Tom later on in the film, “what would you do that is better that being a teacher?” and Barbra Streisand feels that to, that is because Barbra’s father was a teacher, so Barbra feels teaching a great profession, and especially to teach children. Barbra Streisand felt a certain scene was hard to shoot, and especially with the husband and his wife sitting on the steps outside the house, because we had to use a Steadicam on the night when it was very windy and the wind as you know makes an enormous sound in the microphone and the guy filming could not keep the Steadicam steady and so some of the filming as the couple walk on the sand the image tended to go out of focus sometime, but there is nothing I could do about it, and Barbra felt the audience will either blink and miss it or they will think it will be to do with their TV or devices or something like that, and Barbra feels there is so many devices today. Barbra Streisand says that there is a beautiful passage in Pat Conroy’s novel about running, that went “where can a man run when he has lost the excuse at games, where can men run when he looks behind him and sees that he is only pursued by himself,” and that passage is what is the power of the image of Nick Nolte running on the sand. That was the reason why I had Nick Nolte running, running, and then the next scene dissolves into the city of New York from the air, which turns into the next phase of Tom’s life. The tone and flow of this Barbra Streisand director’s audio commentary track is very different from others, having more of a stream-of-conscience feel to it, with Barbra Streisand popping in and out over the film to talk about it, which has the unfortunate side effect of leading to a number of dead spots, but in an odd way that suits the vibe of the track and of the film. Throughout the audio commentary track Barbra Streisand simply explains her reasoning behind just about every choice she made for the film, right from why she opened the film the way she did, why she chose certain colours, why she chose certain costumes and outfits, why she made an edit where she did, why she set a scene in a certain location, why she altered a detail from the book, so on and so forth. And it’s not at all in defensive way; it’s just Barbra Streisand explaining why she felt these choices were the best way to tell the 500+ page book in a more visual manner and in an appropriate time limit, while retaining the novel’s impact. Barbra Streisand also likes to talk about the various versions of the film she would create at every step of the process, even during filming, which led to her having to do many takes for scenes so she would have more options to play with while editing the film. This was aided, in part, where Barbra Streisand had a video recorder was connected into the film cameras so she could have instant “dailies” of sorts that she could look at immediately, even edit quickly and make decisions on the fly, eventually editing scenes on video and passing them on to the editor, who would then edit the negative directly. Unfortunately, Barbra Streisand does not talk constantly, leaving frequent pauses, but when she has a thought, it feels fully-formed, a complete piece of information, without hesitation or meandering. The resulting audio commentary track falls in a comfortable middle ground between the rigid structure of a commentary that is pre-written and an improvised track, with Barbra Streisand doing a fine job of outlining individual choices and shining light onto the genesis of certain moments and details. Listening to the track, what feels like the biggest distinction between what I suspect is the Laserdisc-era audio commentary and the 2019 audio commentary is that Barbra Streisand sounds more relaxed, and casual as well as occasionally making brief reference or allusion to something that transpired in the last 20 years. The audio commentary feels as if it shifts once or twice as well. Barbra Streisand's perfectionism was once widely mocked, but I think it's kind of amusing that Barbra Streisand perfected her director's audio commentary, too. As we get near to the end of the film, Barbra Streisand says, my job was to figure out how to take a 576 page novel and turn it into a well over a two hour movie, and finding the essence of the story that Barbra Streisand wanted to tell, and when I first started working on the script, there were no flashbacks, and I kept visualising the to go from the present to the past and back to the present, and just seemed like the most natural way to go, to tell a story, after all it is the way we think. I was always trying to honour the novel, what Barbra loved so much and past Languages in the novel was so beautiful and poetic, but people in everyday life don’t speak in poetry, except for Shakespeare and that was one of Barbra's job, to make the dialogue local and believable, and as a director I wanted to know everything about the characters and I felt the best way of knowing Tom, was to get to know the man and who created him and so Barbra invited Pat Conroy to come to her New York apartment for a couple of weeks and we both read the script out loud, and many times, so that Barbra could hear how the words sounded in his voice and make sure Tom’s lines had exactly the right cadence and capture that lovely Beaufort, South Carolina lilt, and Pat Conroy told Barbra the most extraordinary thing, because Pat Conroy said, “you know, I listen to music when I write, and I was playing Barbra’s album “Songbird” while I was writing the novel, so it feels right to me that you should be directing the movie,” and Barbra was so happy about directing the film. Barbra Streisand then says, basically the novel is a love story, it is about the love between brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, parents and children, and men and women, and ultimately I think it is about learning to love oneself, love enhances, and love heals, it transforms the soul, and I wanted to make a film where all the characters end up stronger, with more depth and more appreciation of life itself and especially with all the complexities, and sorrows, and finally, I have always been drawn to stories about transformation, and love and loss, and the secrets that can destroy one’s life, and I personally believe in the power of therapy, to help bring those secrets into the light and open the door to healing. As the copy I put on ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ film poster and said, “It is a story about the memories that haunt us, and the truth that sets us free,” and leads to the main theme of the movie. This is forgiveness, of being able to except and understand, and finally embrace people, with their flaws, including their own. At that point the audio commentary featuring Barbra Streisand ends. Please Note: Due the amount of special features there are with this Criterion Blu-ray release, I have sadly had to edit this amazing Barbra Streisand audio commentary, so I hope it will not spoil your enjoyment in what you have read so far.
Special Feature: Introduction: Visions and Versions: With this featurette, we are informed that Barbra Streisand’s filmmaking requires command of a highly technical process, but for Barbra Streisand it also requires inspiration and instinct. Calling herself the “version queen,” Barbra Streisand embraces these challenges by keeping various alternative lives through production. This approach encourages a constant organic evolution of the film. Barbra Streisand’s unique process combines roles of producer, writer, director, and star; as Barbra deftly handles the balancing act of competing needs.
Special Feature: Pat Conroy: With this featurette, we get three items relating to the novelist Pat Conroy and here is what you get to view:
Conroy and Streisand [1992] [480i] [1.37:1] [0:54] After an eight-year hiatus from filmmaking and following Barbra Streisand’s directional debut with the film ‘Yentl,’ something clicked for Barbra Streisand when she read Pat Conroy’s 1986 best seller “The Prince of Tides.” In order to turn a 576 page novel into a just over a two hour film, Barbra Streisand had to find the essence of the story she wanted to tell. Barbra Streisand schooled herself in her subject matter, visiting the South and spending time with the author to get to know the man, whose personal experiences inspired the character Tom Wingo. During the screenwriting process, Barbra Streisand asked the “The Prince of Tides” author Pat Conroy to teach her the Shag, a dance performed in the flashback scene in the film. Barbra Streisand recorded the following footage with an 8mm video camera. You have the added bonus of hearing an audio commentary by Barbra Streisand herself. Sadly, the quality of the 8mm video is totally atrocious.
Conroy on Cinema Showcase [1992] [1080i] [1.37:1] [7:00] Pat Conroy discusses how he met Barbra Streisand and how she wanted to do an adaptation of his novel as well as Barbra Streisand's take on the original material, and how pleased he was how the film ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ turned out.
Conroy Writes to Streisand [1992] [1080p] [1.37:1] Presented here is a copy of the original letter to Barbra Streisand. To navigate the images of the correspondence from author Pat Conroy to Barbra Streisand, you have the press the right arrow on your remote control to move to the next image and the left arrow to move backward to the previous image. All in all, you get to view exactly 8 images.
Special Feature: Preproduction: With this featurette, we get to view seven video featurettes and they are as follows:
Children's casting [1990] [480i] [1.37:1] [5:09]
Rehearsals: Tom's Daughters [1990] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:20]
Rehearsals: Shrimp and Dog Food [1990] [480i / 1080p] [1.78:1] [1:33]
Rehearsals:/Blocking: Leaving Eddie's Party [1990] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:18] As an added bonus you have interview clips [1990] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:09]
Rehearsals: Manhattan Dinner Party [1990] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:22]
Streisand Costume and Make-up Test [1990] [480i] [1.37:1] [0:24]
Nelligan Costume and Make-up Tests [1990] [480i] [1.37:1] [0:55]
Special Feature: Production: With this featurette, we are presented with four video featurettes of footage from the production process, with raw segments showing Barbra Streisand directing, violinist Pinchas Zuckerman working on the violin scenes, deleted scenes and they are as follows: Siblings Underwater; Making Music; Alternate Scenes and Photo Album [With this last featurette you get to view 64 images].
Special Feature: Postproduction: With this featurette, we get to view four video featurettes and they are as follows:
Deleted Scenes [1990] [480i] [1.37:1] [6:44]
Alternate End Credits with Vocal [1990] [480i] [1.37:1] [4:30]
Negative Cut Revisions [1990] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:10]
Gag Reel [1990] [480i] [1.37:1] [2:02]
Special Feature: Barbra Streisand Interviews: With this featurette, we get to view two special featurettes and they are as follows:
Aspel & Company [1992] [1080i] [1.37:1] [35:14] With this featurette, we are informed that on the 22nd February, 1992, Barbra Streisand appeared on the British ITV Television programme “Aspel & Company” for a lengthy interview with Michael Aspel about the film ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ and career overall.
The Director's Chair [2018] [1080p / 480i] [1.78:1] [11:08] With this featurette, we get to view an excerpt from a 28th November, 2018 with filmmaker Barbra Streisand interview with Robert Rodriguez’s TV programme “The Director’s Chair” for the El Rey Network. "The Director's Chair" is a series of specials featuring El Rey Network Founder and Chairman Robert Rodriguez sitting down with the industry's most iconic directors and engaging in a revealing and unexpected exchange about the world of filmmaking and sits down with one of the most legendary pioneering women in film, Barbra Streisand.
Special Feature: Featurette [1990] [480i] [1.37:1] [6:39] This is an in-depth documentary from a Columbia Pictures vaults with a behind-the-scenes of filming ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES,’ plus we lots of clips from the film.
Special Feature: Trailers: With this featurette, we get to view two theatrical trailers for ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ and they are as follows:
Teaser Trailer [1991] [480i] [1.37:1] [1:28]
Theatrical Trailer [1991] [1080i] [1.37:1] [3:02]
BONUS: An illustrated essay by film historian Bruce Eder entitled “THE ARTIST’S MIRROR” and does an in-depth look at the film ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES.’ It also includes BARBRA STREISAND WOULD LIKE TO THANK. SPECIAL THANKS. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. ABOUT THE TRANSFER. PRODUCTION CREDITS and a few black-andwhite and colour photographs.
PLUS: Blu-ray Cover based on an original theatrical poster
Finally, ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ confirmed Barbra Streisand as a triple-threat filmmaker, but, perhaps more significantly, it broke important ground for American mainstream cinema, charting new territory, a more challenging emotional and moral landscape than Hollywood had explored before. Moviegoers who would never set foot in a revival house suddenly flocked to the theatre to take in the kind of elegantly charged filmmaking usually associated with Welles or Marcel Carné. For Barbra Streisand, it must have been a vindication of the faith she had in the art of film itself, its ability to uplift an audience and draw from it the highest human feelings. Whenever a picture comes along that debunks the commonly held box-office wisdom, it represents a victory for film art as a whole. ‘THE PRINCE OF TIDES’ is that rarity in modern Hollywood, a work of passion and inspiration, a mirror of the artist’s own grand aspiration, her long struggle and now indisputable success. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
