Eight years before Barbra Streisand appeared in the 1976 version of A Star Is Born, she dazzled audiences in William Wyler’s Funny Girl with an awe-inspiring performance of intense vulnerability and carefully modulated broad humor that announced to the world that she was, much like her character, Fanny Brice, born to be a star. Released in 1968, several years after the death knell of the classic musical had been rung, Funny Girl endures—unlike other bloated, big budget musicals of the era like Camelot, Hello Dolly!, and Oliver!—precisely because of the strength of Streisand’s magnetic performance.
Whether flailing around on roller skates across the stage or triumphantly belting out “Don’t Rain on My Parade” as she recklessly flees her starring gig at the Ziegfeld Follies to meet her lover, Nick (Omar Sharif), Streisand’s Fanny is a woman possessed with ungodly charisma and talent. It was Brice’s singularly sly,...
Whether flailing around on roller skates across the stage or triumphantly belting out “Don’t Rain on My Parade” as she recklessly flees her starring gig at the Ziegfeld Follies to meet her lover, Nick (Omar Sharif), Streisand’s Fanny is a woman possessed with ungodly charisma and talent. It was Brice’s singularly sly,...
- 11/27/2024
- by Derek Smith
- Slant Magazine
Beginning with The Student Nurses in 1970 and culminating with The Candy Stripe Nurses in ’74, these softcore sex films appealed to a broad audience and helped start an entire subgenre: the young nympho professionals. Thanks to the boxoffice success of The Student Nurses, (the first title ever released by New World Pictures), films surrounding the sexual exploits of stewardesses, teachers and every other female-dominated occupation became ubiquitous throughout the decade.
What set the Corman Nurse titles apart from the rest was the surprising social and political commentary that was often intertwined within the sexual escapades. Indeed, several of the nurse films touched upon such weighty issues as abortion, civil rights, pollution, drug addiction and group therapy. Corman was a shrewd businessman and knew what kind of hot button topics would appeal to the young exploitation audience.
He would essentially give young filmmakers free reign with the script, as long as they delivered certain non-negotiable elements.
What set the Corman Nurse titles apart from the rest was the surprising social and political commentary that was often intertwined within the sexual escapades. Indeed, several of the nurse films touched upon such weighty issues as abortion, civil rights, pollution, drug addiction and group therapy. Corman was a shrewd businessman and knew what kind of hot button topics would appeal to the young exploitation audience.
He would essentially give young filmmakers free reign with the script, as long as they delivered certain non-negotiable elements.
- 4/7/2012
- by Bradley Harding
- Planet Fury
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