Funny Girl
Directed by William Wyler
Written by Isobel Lennart based on her musical play
1968/US
IMDb link
Repeat viewing/YouTube rental
[box] Fanny Brice: [singing] Life’s candy and the sun’s a ball of butter.[/box]
What an absolutely unique voice and talent Barbra Streisand had! To top it off, William Wyler proves once again that he could direct in any genre.
The story is very, very loosely based on the life of comedienne Fanny Brice. In this version, Brice (Streisand) struggles to achieve her show-business dreams in spite of her unconventional looks. She has sufficient chutzpa and talent to succeed and reach the pinnacle of success as a headliner in the Ziegfeld Follies.
Simultaneously, Brice begins an off-again on-again relationship with wealthy, handsome gambler Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif). After several years, they marry and have a child. But when Nick runs into a prolonged losing streak, we move into A Star is Born territory. With Kay Medford as Fanny’s mother and Walter Pidgeon as Florenz Ziegfeld.
The soundtrack album was on constant rotation a couple years later, when I shared an apartment with two Streisand-obsessed roommates. She explodes on screen and became one of the only actresses ever to win an Oscar for her film debut. I love the music too. Recommended to musical lovers.
Barbra Streisand won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a tie with Katharine Hepburn for A Lion in Winter. The film was nominated in the categories of Best Picture; Best Supporting Actress (Medford); Best Cinematography; Best Sound; Best Film Editing; Best Music, Original Song (“Funny Girl”) and Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture.
Restoration Trailer
“Don’t Rain on My Parade”
