What Is the Rating for Funny Girlmovie
"When a person's a stranger...they should act a little strange."
Tour-de-force for Barbra Streisand, reprising her Broadway triumph and taking over the screen as 1930s Ziegfeld singer/comedienne Fanny Brice. Streisand's incredible self-assurance and clowning poise was enough to win her the Best Actress Oscar AND tick off most of Hollywood (few in the business were prepared for someone like Streisand in 1968, except maybe those familiar with her TV work, but the results here show she didn't care what anyone thought of her). The sets look phony, the script is contrived, and Omar Sharif is somewhat miscast as husband Nick Arnstein (Sharif is wonderful in the early stages, but his wet, red eyes and mincing baby-talk grow incredibly weary); however most of the song numbers are fabulous, and Barbra is at her best when delivering a high-powered number. She's tough and unyielding even while doing a comedic bit, but during an emotional song she lets her guard drop a little (not enough to become truly vulnerable, just enough to let us share her pain). The film doesn't exhaust one the way some musical extravaganzas can; the camera-work is uneven and some sequences are overlit, but it has lots of spirit and dazzle. Most importantly, it's a film that remembers it is about a woman and a man, and never allows the show-biz glitter to suffocate the characters. *** from ****
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Brilliant Barbra
Barbra Streisand made one the biggest debuts in the history of films playing Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. She also won an Oscar as best actress of 1967 for her efforts. Although this musical bogs down a bit in the second half, Streisand keeps the viewer glued to the screen with her brilliant portrayal of this great star. Terrific musical numbers come one after another, and Streisand shifts gears effortlessly between comic gems like "I'm the Greatest Star" and "The Roller Skate Rag" and signature tunes like "People" and "Don't Rain on My Parade." Her closing rendition of "My Man" is very effective (and was copied by Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues). Big and bright and splashy, Funny Girl is one of the last great, old-style musicals produced in Hollywood. Omar Sharif, Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Kay Medford, Mae Questel, Frank Faylen, and Lee Allen co-star. Meford won a supporting Oscar nomination as the mother. Pidgeon should have been nominated for his role as Flo Ziegfeld. And I think Questel is a scream as the local yenta. But the center of this film is Streisand. Every number is a gem, and she looks great. There may be better musicals, but you'd be hard pressed to name a better performance in a musical than Barbra Streisand playing Fanny Brice in Funny Girl.
Others in the cast include Gertrude Flynn and Penny Santon as the card players, Tommy Rall as the prince in the ballet sequence, Mittie Lawrence as the maid, Gerald Mohr as the gangster, Inga Neilsen and Bettina Brenna as show girls, and Elaine Joyce in the roller skating number.
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A Lot Of Fanny, But All Barbra
There are two important things to remember about Funny Girl when writing about it or discussing it. The first is Nicky Arnstein was still alive in 1964 when it debuted on Broadway, he died the following year. The second is that Ray Stark, the producer of Funny Girl on stage and on the screen is the son-in-law of Fanny Brice and Nicky Arnstein. So off the bat you know you're going to get a sanitized version.
Not that what they created was bad, how could it be for giving Barbra Streisand the role that made her a star on both stage and screen. Fanny Brice didn't do too bad out of it either, unlike a lot of her contemporaries she lives on through the artistry and interpretation of an icon in a future age.
But was Fanny's story ever given the literary dry process cleaning. Eliminated was her brief marriage to a first husband. Changed is the fact that she knew exactly who at what Arnstein was before she married him. Arnstein was a big time con artist who had no shame whatsoever in using his famous wife's name as a come on. Fanny herself though was never involved in any of his schemes. Arnstein did in fact take the fall and never squealed on any of the ones behind him who certainly were more than capable of reprisals against him and possibly against Fanny Brice.
Jule Styne and Bob Merrill wrote the original songs for the Broadway score and added one song, Funny Girl, for the film. But still the two standouts are Barbra Streisand's classic People and Don't Rain On My Parade, a couple of standards she's made almost exclusively her own. I don't think anyone else would attempt to sing them.
Added to the film are a couple of contemporary songs that Fanny Brice made famous that Barbra reinterpreted, the classic My Man, a song she sang before Nicky Arnstein went to the joint, but still is identified as her lament for her husband in stir. She also sang Second Hand Rose, a really great comedy song, emphasizing Brice's Jewish heritage. I wish a couple of others had gotten in there. I've got Brice recordings of Cooking Breakfast For The One I Love and I'm An Indian. That last one is especially hysterical, Brice did it one of the Ziegfeld Follies dressed as an indigenous person to this continent with the last line being "I'm a Yiddishe Squaw". It's great to hear and must have been fabulous to see.
Funny Girl got seven nominations which included Best Picture, Best Sound, Best Song, Best Musical Scoring, Best Editing, Best Cinematography and a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Kay Medford, the only other player from Broadway besides Streisand to be in the film. But the only Oscar it got was a shared one when Barbra Streisand tied for Best Actress with Katharine Hepburn. One of the very few times someone got an Oscar for their very first big screen effort.
Of course two things helped Barbra greatly. One was a role she had made her own and the second was direction by William Wyler who has won Best Director three times in his career and directed more players to Academy Awards than any other. Barbra was his last. Oddly enough he wasn't nominated for Best Director.
Those who are interested in seeing Fanny Brice as she really was can see her in The Great Ziegfeld, The Ziegfeld Follies, and Everybody Sing all of which are out on DVD and/or VHS. I think Barbra channeled more of Fanny into Funny Girl than the sequel Funny Lady, but I'll let you the viewer be the judge of that.
You can't go wrong seeing and hearing Barbra Streisand do some of the best material ever written for her in both films.
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A Funny Girl Happened on the Way to the Follies.
There are not enough superlatives in the world to bestow on Barbra Streisand for her rags-to-riches portrayal of 20s Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice. To say she gives the single most triumphant musical performance ever showcased on the silver screen could be close. I am constantly bowled over with each viewing at how the 26-year-old Brooklyn novice ever pulled off this incredible stunt. Cinderella playing Cinderella. Even the finicky Hollywood powers-that-be, who NEVER use untried screen talent for such a weighty role (Julie Andrews and "My Fair Lady" come to mind), knew that nobody but Barbra could inhabit this part. She won the Oscar, naturally, and it was befitting that the newcomer should share this honor with perhaps the greatest screen legend ever, Katharine Hepburn.
Barbra's Fanny Brice first conquered Broadway where she lost the Tony award to another irrepressible talent, Carol Channing, for "Hello Dolly!" She got her revenge of sorts years later when she won the coveted screen role of Dolly due strictly to her auspicious debut in "Funny Girl." Transferred to celluloid, the movie loosens its bustles quite a bit and grants more breathing room for Barbra to expand her natural comic and dramatic talents both keenly and intimately amid the elaborate sets and costumes.
The timing of this film couldn't have been better for Streisand. The late 60s ushered in a new legion of stars. The rash of talent coming to the forefront purposely lacked the super-model good looks and incredibly-sculpted physiques of their predecessors. Audiences now clamored for realism...human imperfection. What less attractive guys like Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino did for the men, Barbra did for the distaff side. She dragged out her own Cinderella version, making a virtue of her odd looks and gawky gait while laying out her two big trump cards -- she was a supreme song stylist and a gifted, self-deprecating cut-up.
Hardly ever off screen, Streisand totally immerses herself in the role of chorus clown-turned-Ziegfeld headliner, weaving a spell around each and every song she touches. From the stubbornly optimistic "I'm the Greatest Star" to the profoundly touching "My Man", the actress matures Brice into the glowing swan of her own dreams, while exposing a deep, personal vulnerability she never recaptured (or allowed) again on screen -- to her detriment.
Despite heavy critical lambasting, I still say exotically handsome Omar Sharif was indeed the consummate choice to play wanderlust husband and card shark Nicky Arnstein. Polished, prideful and totally in his element as the global-gambling playboy, one can believe the ungainly Fanny (or Streisand, for that matter) placing this glossy god on a pedestal. It may not appear to be much of a stretch (in real life, Sharif was a world-class bridge player), but he owns the part as much as delightful Kay Medford does as Brice's droll Jewish mama. Everyone else, however, is pretty expendable. It's been said that Anne Francis blamed Streisand for her supposedly top featured role being butchered. If it's true, she has an open-and-shut case. Francis was left with a nothing part.
Highly fictionalized and weak as biography, Streisand champions above the sometimes grandiose material from the moment she utters her first classic words: "Hello, gorgeous!" And so she is.
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Bad Biography...Great Musical
Every time a film is made about a real-life figure, particularly a show business figure, people love to complain that the movie is not accurate regarding the facts of that person's life. If the truth be told, if movie biographies were strictly about the facts, no one would go to see them, because for the most part, the facts don't make for great entertainment and Fanny Brice is no exception. The 1968 musical FUNNY GIRL has been maligned for years because it is not a very accurate representation of the facts of Fanny Brice's life. If you want to learn about Fanny Brice's life, read a biography or go on the internet, but if you want to see an amazing movie musical spotlighting a legendary performer at the beginning of her amazing career, then you can't beat FUNNY GIRL, the 1968 musical based on the 1964 Broadway musical that made Barbra Streisand a star. Streisand tied with Katharine Hepburn for the Best Actress Oscar for this charismatic star turn as the young girl from Henry Street who becomes a big star of the Ziegfeld Follies and has a heartbreaking romance with a charming gambler named Nick Arnstein, played by Omar Sharif. Streisand is in practically every frame of this film and never makes you wish otherwise...one of the great performances in the history of cinema...whether she is defying Florenz Ziegfeld by refusing to appear in the finale or chasing an ocean liner to be with Nick, Streisand gives the one-woman performance of a lifetime here. Directed by Oscar-winner William Wyler, Streisand is lovingly photographed and effectively showcases the Jule Styne-Bob Merrill score, which includes classics like "People" and "Don't Rain On My Parade". Some changes have been made in the score from the stage musical but Streisand makes it all work and the finale "My Man" is just devastating. It's not an accurate biography of the vaudeville legend, but as a dazzling and entertaining movie musical, it's hard to top this one.
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The Greatest Star?...
...Perhaps not. But for nearly 2 1/2 hours in "Funny Girl," Barbra Streisand at least makes a convincing case for herself.
Forget about the television airings you've seen. Throw away your old video cassette copy. Instead, see the restored, widescreen, road show version now in limited theatrical release. It is the ONLY way to truly appreciate the talents of Ms. Streisand and, more notably, the film's brilliant director, William Wyler.
Movies today no longer look like movies. The highest compliment one can pay "Funny Girl" is that it is a grand, glorious MOVIE in the truest sense. Wyler's brilliance is never more evident than in his glorious treatment of the "Don't Rain on My Parade" sequence, the stunning camerawork of "The Swan," and the incredibly effective set-up of the "My Man" finale.
Ms. Streisand doesn't really give a performance; she simply is Barbra. Every "Barbra-ism" that we have come to know, love and hate over the years is already crystallized at this point. Her brashness can be off-putting, but by the end of the movie, one is completely won over by the sheer enormity of her talent and presence. Yes, you can see the beginnings of the blind egomania that has marred her performances for the last 20-odd years (to be generous); but you cannot deny her brilliance, either. And to see her extraordinary face in full-screen close up is breathtaking. Kudos to the director, lighting director, and make-up artist for making Streisand appear so wonderful in this.
From the sweepingly orchestrated titles to the high-drama impact of the showstopping finale, this is Entertainment with a capital E. About 20 minutes could have been trimmed, and exactly why Omar Sharif was cast remains a mystery; but at the end of the picture, these quibbles are trivial. Did I laugh? Yes. Did I cry? Yes. Was I thrilled, excited, entertained? You betcha.
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The Greatest Star
Quite simply, Barbra Streisand's extraordinary, scintillating Oscar-winning debut in this classic is one of the finest musical-comedy performances ever committed to celluloid. Better than that...I'd venture to say that alongside Vivien Leigh's masterful performance in "Gone With The Wind," Barbra's portrayal of vaudeville icon Fanny Brice may be one of the most ambitious, captivating turns by a lead actress ever captured on film. Even Barbra-phobes would have to concede that the woman completely knocked herself out with "Funny Girl" and her renditions of "I'm The Greatest Star," "My Man," "People" and especially the pulse-jolting "Don't Rain On My Parade" rank right up there with the best of Judy Garland ("Over The Rainbow," "The Trolley Song" and "The Man That Got Away."). Because Streisand has been an exalted Hollywood legend for many decades, people tend to almost take her remarkable talents - both as an actress and as a singer - for granted now but this opulent musical, sparkling score and her thrilling, take-no-prisoners performance will endure as a testament to what pure show business, high octane theatricality and legitimate talent are all about. Sing Proud, Barbra!
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Well worth watching to see one of the greatest film debut performances ever
Funny Girl for me did drag in the second half and fairly badly and some of the script is contrived with some lines in the second half that may make one cringe. However, Funny Girl is a beautifully done film and without a doubt one of Barbra Streisand's best films. And Fanny Brice gets my vote as her best performance, it's a fantastic performance that was fully worthy of the joint Oscar and it is from personal view one of the greatest film debut performances ever. Her singing cannot be faulted, a big, well-supported and beautiful voice that was capable of much emotion as can be heard in My Man, and acting-wise she does do funny and poignant brilliantly, just love her facial expressions as well. Omar Shariff is handsome and ultra-smooth in his role, and the two do show some passionate chemistry together, while Mae Questel is hilarious, Kay Medford has sincere fun in her small role and Walter Pidgeon is endearingly curmudgeon. Anne Francis doesn't have a whole lot to do but is very charming. Other than Streisand the other high points are the score and songs. The score is lushly orchestrated with lots of bombastic energy and pathos without ever being syrupy. The songs are equally marvellous, the rousing Don't Rain On My Parade and the truly emotional My Man being the highlights. The way the numbers are staged are not static nor are they overblown, an achievement seeing as there are a few lengthy ones in there, People is particularly well-done in this regard. The story has pacing issues but still manages to be fun(with some very cute jokes from Streisand), charming and touching, and there are some very good production values particularly in the opulent costumes though the colourful sets and fluid cinematography are notable too. This may be the first and only musical William Wyler made but as far as directors-who-only-directed-one-musical Funny Girl does stand out as one of the better ones by quite some way, never pedestrian or heavy and there is at least a sense that he knew what he was doing. All in all, not perfect with the pacing and scripting issues but it is well worth seeing for Streisand, whose performance alone is worth two stars already. Adding the music, supporting cast, production values and how to me emotionally investing the story was Funny Girl for all its comparatively small imperfections is a great film. 9/10 Bethany Cox
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a (hello) gorgeous debut for Barbra Streisand
In one sense, "Funny Girl" is a little hokey, but it's really good nonetheless. In an Oscar-winning role, Barbra Streisand makes her film debut as Fanny Brice, who wanted dearly to be a Ziegfield Folly. Brice wasn't particularly good-looking, but she was sassy enough to have what it took (as certain scenes show). Accompanying her was gambler Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif), whose habits eventually went too far for his own good.
Both Streisand and Sharif do a great job, as does director William Wyler. As someone who doesn't usually like musicals, I have to speak positively of this one. It's a real treat in every sense. This is what classics are all about.
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Great early Streisand...a reminder of how Babs was before egomania set in...
Mention the name BARBRA STREISAND to me today and I can only think of the insane utterances she's made about President Bush and all Republicans and the war in Iraq and her stance as a Democratic activist. But back in '68, I was justly impressed with her work under William Wyler's firm direction in FUNNY GIRL.
Watching it again, I haven't changed my opinion. Her Fanny Brice is indeed as perfectly in character as any musical star performer in memory and she carries the film to heights it never would have reached with a less gifted actress/singer. Sad to say, this can't be said of her later characterizations.
I don't understand criticism leveled at OMAR SHARIF as Nicky Arnstein. He looks magnificent, even if his singing voice leaves something to be desired, and plays his role extremely well. The chemistry between him and Streisand is evident, giving credence to the rumor of an affair while filming. Their duet in "You Are Woman, I Am Man" is deliciously staged in a fancy restaurant setting. In fact, all of the settings glow under the technicolor lights.
The score is riddled with fascinating show tunes, all of them sung and staged in the best manner possible. I particularly enjoyed the early Roller Skate Rag where Streisand's comic abilities are shown off to such advantage. The supporting players do outstanding jobs, including Kay Medford as her Jewish mother and Walter Pigeon as Flo Ziegfeld whose first encounter with Streisand is played for laughs while establishing the boundaries between them. Poor Anne Francis is given only limited screen time, but even she is worth watching in a role that must have suffered from too much editing. And Streisand's first big scene in a Ziegfeld musical is hilarious, hiding a pillow beneath her wedding gown to the extreme shock of Mr. Ziegfeld while the chorus girls can hardly stifle their laughter.
Highly recommended as a film musical that put Streisand on the map. She even looks beautiful in certain close-ups and camera angles, glowing under the artistry of cameramen skilled in photographing her imperfect face in the most flattering manner. As noted by others, the hairdos and styling do not always suggest the 1920s period, but in a musical where so much talent is on display, it hardly matters.
What is really striking is that Streisand is so confident and assured in every phase of her performance that it is hard to believe this was her first chore before the cameras. How much of this is due to the craftsmanship of William Wyler, I don't know. Her work here has to be ranked as one of the greatest acting "firsts" ever for a musical star performer. Streisand fully deserved the Oscar and should not have been in a tie with the much over awarded Katharine Hepburn's LION IN WINTER--as annoyingly false as any of Hepburn's later performances were bound to be.
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A really memorable film but one that plays fast and loose with the facts.
Broadway and Hollywood have a long history of creating stories about real life characters that play fast and loose with the truth and "Funny Girl" is no exception. If you are looking for the history of Fanny Brice or, particularly, Nick Arnstein*, then you should read a book! And, since I am just in the mood to sound like a retired history teacher....I'll just skip my complaints about the accuracy of the film! But, if you don't mind that the details are often just plain wrong, the film is exceptionally entertaining.
Barbra Streisand was apparently NOT a pleasant person to work with if you read through the IMDb trivia. However, considering she'd been doing the show on Broadway for years and won the Oscar, perhaps in hindsight her diva-like demands were for the best. The film is filled with wonderful songs by her as well as a nice comedic touch. In fact, pretty much all of the film was excellent except for one odd thing--why Omar Sharif?! His singing was passable but to be playing a sophisticated Jewish con-man and gambler, Sharif just seems all wrong. Perhaps Streisand insisted because she thought his being in the film wouldn't overshadow her or would complement her character. I dunno...but it did seem odd. Aside from that, a lovely film--even with its historical lapses (for one, by the way, Streisand was just too pretty to be playing Ms. Brice).
*Okay, I will go on a BIT of a rant. The real life Arnstein was from all reports a thoroughly despicable jerk. A crook, a cheat and a man who horribly used his wife. This is nothing like the likable rogue in the film who almost by accident got into trouble with the law! But, having the main character in love with scum wouldn't have been romantic, so I guess I can understand why they so thoroughly sanitized the guy.
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Streisand is the greatest star
The ultimate showcase for an actress, Barbra Streisand's highly publicized film debut in FUNNY GIRL met every single expectation and then some. The film was the highest-grossing film of 1968, and it's very easy to see why. The film has many great qualities: It's expertly directed by three-time Academy Award winner William Wyler (the finale of the "Don't Rain On My Parade" number is just as astonishing as the chariot race in Wyler's BEN HUR), the storyline is extremely compelling, Omar Sharif is an incredibly suave and charismatic leading man, the supporting players are perfectly cast (particularly Kay Medford, Lee Allen, and Walter Pigeon), and the song score (primarily by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill) is first-rate.
However, virtually everything that FUNNY GIRL has working for it would be worthless without Barbra Streisand's absolutely phenomenal performance. I honestly cannot think of enough good descriptive adjectives to do justice to her amazing performance in this film. She handles drama, comedy, music numbers, and tearjerking sentiment with equal aplomb, and she does it all better than any actress before or since. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had no choice but to honor her with the Oscar for Best Actress (in an extremely rare tie with academy favorite Katherine Hepburn; only the second tie in Oscar history to date), it is a performance that is nothing less than perfect.
Fittingly, one of FUNNY GIRL's major asset is it's phenomenal song score, which ranks among the all-time best of any play or film. The songs "I'm The Greatest Star," the Top 5 hit "People," "You Are Woman," "Sadie, Sadie," and especially "Don't Rain on My Parade" have justifiably become instantly recognizable standards, and the lovely "I'd Rather Be Blue Over You" and the stunning "My Man" (two of Fanny Brice's standard numbers) are worked into the score and prove to be highlights. This is quite an impressive list of 24 Karat-standards, and each number is vividly brought to life by Streisand's incomparable voice. It is truly acting when Streisand sings, and it is no surprise that she received the Academy Award for best actress for her work in this film.
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A Fanny Bryce story
Barbra Streisand made her film debut as singer, actress, comedienne Fanny Brice and bagged a Best Actress Oscar (co-win.) She is aided by big song numbers such as 'People,' 'My man' and 'Don't rain on my parade.'
The first part of the film starts off brightly as Fanny tries to get into showbiz from being a chorus girl and finds out that she steals the show from her bad roller skating.
She is brash, determined, single minded, strident and gets her own way which even the Great Ziegfeld soon finds out.
The film is then soon bogged down with the love story with Omar Sharif (Nick Arnstein). Although Streisand and Sharif make a good couple, this heavily fictionalized part of the story is just humdrum.
You just know that as Brice becomes more famous and rich. She and Nick, her gambler husband will drift apart before he gets involved in something shady.
Streisand shows the film world her talents. Although her singing is spectacular you cannot help wondering whether she could had stretched herself as an actress.
Streisand kept on mining the same type of character. The single minded, domineering woman who wanted to be a somebody.
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The Greatest Star
Few have been able to wake up one day and discover they are famous overnight. Lord Byron was one - he discovered that his poetry opened the floodgates to fame that his title had never opened (Byron's family was prominent, but not of the aristocratic elite of the early 19th Century). For our purposes it was Barbara Streisand. She had worked hard in productions, most notably in I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE, where she sang "Miss Marblestein". Then she got the role of Fanny Brice, the great Ziegfeld Follies comedienne and star of the turn of the century, and she was a star on Broadway. She got the role in the movies, and won (in the only tie vote for "Best Actress" in Academy Award History) the "Best Actress" Oscar with the same role. I may add, although she has won another Oscar for "Love Soft as an Easy Chair" in her version of A STAR IS BORN, she has never been the recipient of another Oscar for an acting award since then, nor has she been nominated for her three directing jobs (YENTL, THE PRINCE OF TIDES, and THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES). Despite that she did become "the greatest star".
Streisand's insistence on doing her films her way has become legendary, and has built up a negative image legend of egomania gone amok. That her ideas have worked out to be successful more frequently than not is overlooked. It shouldn't be.
FUNNY GIRL was directed by William Wyler, and Wyler was notorious for doing his films his way until they were gotten right. He would do and redo a scene for the closest thing to perfection he could get. It is notable that he and Streisand did not end up at loggerheads on the set but worked pretty nicely together. It is as though they understood precisely what would work for the film in the same way.
Streisand is quite gifted in comedy as well as singing, so that her performance as Fanny is quite on target (such as the sudden dropping into "Yiddish" sch tick - like referring to her "schwans" instead of "swans" in the mock ballet in the Follies). She happens to be better looking than Fanny, but that is not unexpected in any movie. For that matter the handsome Omar Shariff is far better looking than Nicky Arnstein was. Shariff, by the way, is given sufficient time on screen to fill out his character - a good natured man driven by humiliation and desperation to commit fraud. Kay Medford (as Fanny's mother) and Walter Pigeon (as Flo Ziegfeld) give very effective performances in the film as well.
Not all the songs from the show are in the movie. "Cornet Man" is replaced by "I Want to be Blue". The song "Find Yourself A Man" is reduced to a dance tune at Mrs. Brice's saloon. A song sung by Fanny's mother and her friend Eddie, "Who Taught Her Everything She Knows" was dropped (one wonders if it was ever shot). And (as pointed out on this thread) "The Swan" replaced the World War I spoof "Rat-a-tat-tat" ("I'm Private Schwartz bin Rockavay!").
I only have one little comment to make. Nicky Arnstein was a professional gambler, and had worked closely with Arnold Rothstein on several jobs. Rothstein (renamed Peterman here) was responsible for the fraud that snared Nicky. But Nicky was fully aware of the fraud in the sale of the bonds. He was also aware that the powerful Rothstein was someone you did not threaten in a law court by blaming for a fraud. Rothstein would have retaliated - against Fanny and their daughter Frances. So it makes plenty of sense that Nicky took the blame for the fraud. Two years in prison versus potential physical danger to his loved ones - well I can fully appreciate why he made his choice in court.
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Fanny's Marital Problems Aren't Minor
ngu 4 December 2004
I've seen this film many times,and I've always thought it was one of Barbra Streisand's best films because it allowed her to use her strengths as a comedian, singer, and dramatic actor. It's clear that her presence dominates the movie; however, there are some excellent supporting players, including Kay Medford as Fanny Brice's mother Rose and Walter Pigeon as Florenz Ziegfeld, two very fine character actors. Rose is particularly likable because, unlike her daughter Fanny, she sees things as they are and not the way they should be. This applies to her comment about Nick Arnstein, the handsome gambler that Fanny marries, despite the fact that Rose perceives him to be a "sponge."
Fanny, as shown in this film, is also very likable not only because of her humor but for her generosity and thoughtfulness. Her ambition, of course, is to conquer the stage and she does so fairly quickly after making a great mess of a roller skate number at the local dance hall. Before long, Fanny is auditioning for Ziegfeld, the famous impressario and she wins him over with her talent and charm. Nick Arnstein, a man about town, always seems to be around Fanny when she triumphs on the stage and this time is no different. He buys her a beautiful bouquet of roses with a note, "Dear Star, I told you so." Very soon, Fanny and Nick become involved in a relationship which is often on and off until Fanny literally proposes to him. What follows is a heartbreaking story of a young woman whose desire to be loved for herself alone and her passion for a happy domestic life is thwarted by fate and some wrong choices.
After a montage of the first year of their marriage together, problems start affecting the Arnstein marriage. It is true that they are wealthy people; however, their problems aren't minor. Nick begins to lose heavily at the gaming table and everything he tries ends in failure. Fanny, on the other hand, continues to be successful on the stage and Nick starts to resent her. Suddenly, all of his gentlemanly charm and good manners disappear as if by magic; he's rude to Fanny, making her upset over things that a truly married couple would find a way to resolve. Indeed, he starts ignoring her deliberately and places his interests and needs above hers. After a while, the marriage collapses not because of Fanny's career but the way in which Nick looks at their relationship (we discover this near the end of the film.) He also conceals his financial problems from her, shutting Fanny out of his life as though she didn't exist.
All of this culminates in Nick's unfortunate involvement in a shady bond scheme which sends him to prison for two years. I would say that these problems are rather huge. I don't want to give more away because I feel others should have the opportunity to see the film and judge for themselves. But I have to say that the ending of the movie, is, in my opinion, one of the most heartfelt, dignified, and classiest moments ever put on film. And Barbra Streisand makes the most of it, touching us not only with her excellent performance of the song "My Man" but also by the way her Fanny carries herself, taking responsibility for her choice and showing that she will go on with her life, despite what's happened to her.
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A memorable Musical Bio
Funny Girl, first released in 1968, remains, a very enjoyable and most entertaining musical biography. Beautifully performed by Streisand, its possibly her best film, (some will argue that The Way We Were is her best performance,as an actress)/ Its is magnificently staged and photographed. Streisand's talents are emphasized, and displayed to perfection. This role (Fanny Brice) will forever be associated with her!! IT is to her credit that @38 years have passed and they have not revived this great musical on Broadway ... A recent revival at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn , N.J. was very successful, and there's talk of taking that production to NY, and Leslie Kritzer (new,unknown) was excellent, but more like Merman,than Streisand!! William Wyler, an underrated film director, handles the production like the true master he was. This ranks with one of his great films (Ben Hur, Mrs. Miniver, The Little Foxes etc). The score ,by the immortal, Jule Styne is and remains beautiful & memorable. People, Dont Rain on My Parade, The Greatest Star are standards. My Man,(not by Styne) a true tour de force conclusion, is a beautiful addition to the film, though ,in the original production, The Music That Makes Me Dance, worked very well also.. Ths supporting cast is excellent, especially, Omar Shariff, looking absolutetly "gorgeous" as Nicky Arnstein, and plays this role well. Kay Medford, as Mama, is terrific, and provides, many memorable moments. A Film to see again and again, makes you laugh and cry, beautiful to look at, and Barbra, is and will always be a treasure!!I rate this film a 10!! and feel it should rank higher on memorable film lists. The Musical film is a lost genre today (Moulin Rouge,is not a true musical in the classic sense) Its too bad!!Young audiences should be exposed to musicals, and Funny Girl should be seen by all !
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Funny???... You Think???
With the exception of Streisand's delivery of two songs (People & My Man), I think the rest of this movie, including Streisand's character, was utterly intolerable.
This movie didn't even come close to being an accurate account of Fanny Brice's life. Brice never had the vocal talents of Streisand. Brice was actually a really gifted comedienne. Streisand was not. Streisand was so painfully bad as a comedienne that it made me wince and cringe whenever she cracked another 'funny'.
About the only thing that I found 'funny' (actually hysterical is more like it) in this movie was Streisand's wigs. She never wore the same wig twice and each time she donned a new one it seemed like her head was getting longer and longer until by about two-thirds of way thru' this musical mess she started to remind me of Ridley Scott's "Alien" whenever she turned sideways in profile. I wonder if her inflated head was any indication of how inflated her ego was getting as film production continued. Could be.
My trashing of this movie would never be totally complete without a word, or two, about Omar Sharif and I'm sorry to say but words like 'Gorgeous!' (as Streisand referred to him in the movie) ain't the kind of words that come to mind. 'Blech!' is more like it.
Sharif really gave me the creeps, big time. I hated-I hated-I hated his big, droopy eyes. They always looked so watery and yucky. Apparently women in the 70's drooled like fiends over Omar and his watery eyes and they happily slept all night long with his picture tucked safely under their pillows. He was a big box-office draw back then, but his career was short-lived. Thank goodness for that.
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Disappointing Epic
Weird-faced Fanny Brice (Barbra Streisand) rises to stardom on the New York Vaudeville Stage and maintains a turbulent marriage with suave gambler Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif).
So maybe this is supposed to be one of the classics. I appreciate the attempt to tell the story of Fanny Brice... but geez, this is just bad. I am sorry that everyone in the world disagrees, but wow. First of all, way too long. I don't mind overtures and intermissions... but for this? And Streisand... just awful. Who thinks she's a good actress? Wow.
I feel bad rating this so low, but it just was not enjoyable... it was almost unbearable to watch. I would not recommend this to anyone, even my worst enemies.
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Funny ... how?
First things first, I was not aware of the person Barbra Streisand is portraying here. I also had no idea there was a sort of sequel to this, 7 years after this was made. Will get to it at some point I reckon. But back to this ... if you are not so much into musicals or movies about musical stars, this may not be for you in the first place. The cast overall makes up for some of that fear you may have though, the costumes are exceptional and either you like the ... background or you don't.
Still this is very well made. With classic opening, middle break and ending as they used to make them. With music and all that. Modern audiences may not be used to that, but a lot of movies had those. Which made quite the experience one can imagine in the theatres back in the day. Get in the mood and enjoy this if you can
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WARNING: SUPERLATIVES UP AHEAD
I've decided to purchase all of Omar Sharif's movies of the 60s and have myself an Omar Sharif film festival, thanks mainly to this movie! Sure, Barbra has always been my favorite songbird, and without a doubt, after seeing her here, hello--she deserved that Oscar, hands down. But "it" boy of the 1960s Omar Sharif was just achingly splendid as suave, cultured gentleman and card shark Nick Arnstein. No big stretch for the guy though, who was schooled in French and English schools, in addition to being a professional bridge player and, like Nick Arnstein, also owns racehorses (much later in life, he too almost lost his shirt to gambling). The chemistry between both stars work very well, and the seduction scene was quite funny (what nonchalance indeed, putting beds in restaurants) and and Mr. Sharif could have, should have pursued a singing career with that wonderful voice and patented accent! Rumors were rife that both were having an affair while filming. Barbra, you certainly were on a roll. Note to Omar: I am woman...and YOU'RE THE MAN!
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A Star Is Born (For Real, This Time)
"Funny Girl" may as well be called "A Star Is Born," because that's what audiences at the time were witnessing, right before their very eyes. This is the film that introduced Barbra Streisand to film audiences and catapulted her into mainstream stardom, and nearly 40 years later, she remains pretty much the only reason to watch this musical. Movie musicals have always been notorious for having flimsy scripts, but "Funny Girl,"s is probably one of the flimsiest. Too often, the transition from stage to screen only serves to magnify the original stage version's biggest problems, and that's the case here. "Funny Girl" is epic in length, but not in scope or substance, so it's one of those movie musicals that feels like it's over before it ever starts.
On top of that, it has a bland actor as its leading man (Omar Sharif, who never again captured the intensity he brought to his role in "Lawrence of Arabia"), an unmemorable score, and a rather ungainly look, courtesy of veteran director William Wyler, who perhaps was unused to the mechanics of making musicals.
Streisand is the show, the whole show and nothing but the show, and if the film's final shot, the one truly memorable moment in the whole movie, conveys nothing else, it conveys that.
Grade: C+
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Overblown
This biography of Fanny Brice focuses on her rise to stardom in the Ziegfeld Follies. It is a fitting companion piece to the series of overblown musicals that were fashionable during the 1960s. The story is fairly standard show business fare, with parallels to "A Star is Born." The main interest here is the film debut of Streisand, who snagged an Oscar not so much for her acting skills as for her musical performances. Sharif is smooth as her ill-fated husband. Wyler, who replaced Sidney Lumet (an odd choice to direct a musical), was a brilliant director who excelled in every genre but he had never done a musical and he struggles here to breathe life into this never-ending film.
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Splacing The Mainbrice
Warning: Spoilers
Even as late as 1968 Hollywood couldn't help buying Broadway musical hit shows and tampering with them. In this case they inexplicably jettisoned what was arguably the best ballad in the score, The Music That Makes Me Dance as well as several lesser numbers. That said the film itself delivers from the two leads down to the support and on to production values. Barbra Streisand is assured in her movie debut and Kay Medford is outstanding as the epitome of the Jewish mother and if Frank Faylen is 1) wasted and 2) barely recognizable he is at least competent leaving Walter Pigeon to complete the main casting and compete for acting honours. Virtually the only jarring note is the truncated (for a major musical) score and it's as good an example as any of the Hollywood late-blooming musical.
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(IMO) - Streisand Is Far From Being A "Funny Girl"
When talking about Barbra Streisand's exceptional singing talents. - Yes. - That's certainly one matter in itself.
But, on the other hand - When one is seriously trying to appreciate Barbra's highly-questionable acting abilities. - Man-Oh-Man! That's definitely something else all together.
And, when you've got a big-budget production (like "Funny Girl") where too much time is focused on Streisand's character portrayal of comedienne, Fanny Brice (rather than centering its attention on her belting out another song ) - That, to me, makes for one of the most miserable movie-experiences imaginable.
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Funny Girl, Wonderful Girl (1968) ****
Barbra Streisand detailing the heart-breaking life of Fannie Brice in "Funny Girl."
Starting out life on the lower east side, Brice achieved stardom being going to the Ziegfeld Follies. She soon proves herself to be a formidable match to Florenz Ziegfeld himself, played by the wonderful Walter Pigeon. She matches wits with him and in the end does a part the way she wants it done. Hilarious and outrageous at best.
Of course, the film deals with the romance and her marriage to gambler Nickie Arnstein, a remarkable Omar Sharif.
Kay Medford plays her mother and in a very funny scene, Arnstein plays poker with the girls including the late Mae Questel. Out of kindness, he lets the ladies win.
Naturally, there is plenty of heartbreak in this great musical film. Shady dealings leads Arnstein to prison. When he comes out, he decides to end the marriage as he felt that the two were just not good for each other. This leads Streisand to belt out on stage the classic My Man. There's not a dry eye in the house after her beautiful rendition.
Streisand wonderfully captures Brice's antics as Baby Snooks and other routine sketches. Her Jewish accent is way up to par and for all this she tied with Katharine Hepburn for "The Lion in Winter," for best actress.
Streisand sings like a beautiful bell in this rich William Wyler production.
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Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062994/reviews
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