User reviews

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 ****

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.

Wow, was Barbra ever great in this one! The delivery of the songs, in which she often gets so intoxicated with the great music and lyrics that she starts swaying. The acting, which certainly is none too bad, either. The sheer beauty of her performance is indescribable. Really, I am not exaggerating. She is radiant in just about every frame of the film that she appears in; she practically glows! She is gorgeous, she really is! You cannot help but love this kid from the moment she steps onto the screen. She is funny, she is touching, she is electric, she is wonderful, and she is so many other things.

Omar Sharif certainly is suave as her leading man (And you know exactly how he feels, because you love her, too!), and Kay Medford is also good as her mother. William Wyler's direction is right on the money. And those costumes and sets! But, of course, the film belongs to Barbra. It may drag quite a bit near the end, but she pulls it through. This was her first film, before the egomania, (evident in only her second film, Hello, Dolly!), before the sappy stuff. This was made when she was a fresh young talent who had "so much to offer." And boy, did she deliver the goods in this one! If you see this, you can certainly consider yourself one of the luckiest people in the world.

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.

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.

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.

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!

The '60s was the decade of the movie musical with "West Side Story," "The Sound of Music," "My Fair Lady," and "Oliver!" all taking home Best PIcture. It's fair to say "Funny Girl" might've been on that list had it not came out the same year as "Oliver!" But the Academy had it right in giving this musical romantic comedy's one Oscar to its best attribute and greatest asset: Barbara Streisand.

Only in her mid-20s and in her big-screen debut, Streisand plays like a veteran. She brings the film to its highest points, makes it bearable through its lowest, is responsible for all of the laughs as well as all the touching moments and she does it while defying the "standards" of beauty in Hollywood.

Streisand's nose might be the most famous body part in movie history, yet she holds her head high confidently and gives the mirror a smile as she utters the film's first line "hello, gorgeous." She's an average Jewish girl from Brooklyn but here she is -- and that's what makes her perfect as Fanny Brice, the famous Zigfield Follies comedienne.

"Funny Girl" is a typical musical love story only its main character is a famous (and wealthy) musical performer and there's a bit more attention on the dramatic aspect of her relationship with Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif). As she sings about people who need people being the luckiest in the world, the story becomes less about her rise to fame and more about finding the right man and making him part of her life.

Keeping the focus on Fanny is legendary director William Wyler in one of his last pictures. Wyler keeps us focused on the talented Streisand and together they keep our attention on Fanny's story -- what's going on in her head. The love story can get awfully bland at times, but its Fanny that keeps our interests and brings the film its few poignant moments.

Streisand has many faces in this film and that's why she's so good. She's not necessarily deeply moving or able to give a truly affecting performance, but she's believable and she's honest with the part while also giving it some comedic zing with the over-the-top Jewish New Yorker routine. There might not be any notable epiphanies in her performance, but she clearly guides us through Fanny's emotions and realization of her own flaws.

~Steven C

Visit my site at http://moviemusereviews.com

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.

The movie version of the Bob Merrill/ Jule Styne musical FUNNY GIRL is notable for only one reason : Barbra Streisand. For anyone fortunate enough to have seen the young singing actress in her signature role as comedienne Fanny Brice, the experience must have been electric. The nearest experience to that event is listening to the original cast album on Capitol/ Broadway Angel which conveys the immediacy of a live stage performance and the power of Streisand's characterization .The film is definitely a horse of a different color. The entire production is geared to showcasing Streisand ( no big surprise there! ) but she seems to be wandering through the movie as if she were starring in one of her early television specials - all supporting performances in the film are just that ; every one else's role seems to have been truncated to give more screen time to the star . William Wyler, one of Hollywood''s greatest directors, leaves no personal stamp on this picture, very odd indeed as he directed such classics as WUTHERING HEIGHTS and BEN HUR. The marvelous music score is pretty much intact, but two of the stage production's greatest songs are missing, THE MUSIC THAT MAKES ME DANCE and the haunting WHO ARE YOU NOW, supplanted by the pedestrian title song (ironically nominated for an Oscar!) and the standard that dramatically closes the movie, MY MAN . As with Rex Harrison's performance in the film of MY FAIR LADY, FUNNY GIRL preserves Streisand's performance for the ages, which makes this film a notable one but not a classic on the order of A STAR IS BORN.

Okay I don't know much about Fanny Brice's life. This movie is quite a tribute to the Funny Lady that had a funny face. In this film, Barbra Streisand earned her Academy Award for playing Fanny Brice from aspiring singer to comedienne and singer on stage. Fanny's brash talent for singing and comedy go hand in hand at a local stage hall before she makes it big with the Ziegfield Follies. The numbers are big splashy musical numbers with lots of dancing, costumes, and scenery. This film has a first rate cast with Omar Sharif playing Fanny's love interest, Nick Arnstein; Walter Pidgeon as Florenz Ziegfield; Lee Allen as her friend, Eddie Ryan; and others to mention. This film has great sets, costumes, and art direction but I felt it was missing something and that was the script. The script was weak without the singing and it could have been better. Anyway, it's a great classic film.

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.

Not a musical but an extended personal appearance by Barbra Streisand, grinding away at her aren't-I-cute routine so relentlessly that it seems only natural one of her comedy skits has her playing a four-year-old. Omar Sharif has no more charm--or activity--than a store dummy, with his prissy little features and his simpering that's supposed to represent understated class. There's no texture in this movie, no ambiance, no sense of period of even much of a sense that there are any other people around besides Fanny and Nick, and much laundered versions of both (they lived together for six years before getting married, while he was married to someone else, and before the bond robbery he had already done two years in Sing Sing for illegal wiretapping). The script is leaden and clumsy, without a single laugh. The tone matches Streisand's phony self-deprecation--the movie presents her to us as if she's a favourite grandchild, smugly saying, oh, look, isn't she marvelous.

While all this is tedious, what is really offensive is the hammering on the point that beauty is all, and that Fanny is quite right to crawl to a man who does her the big favour of sleeping with her and marrying her. Streisand may not win any Liz Taylor look-alike contest, but she's a good-looking, vivacious woman, so the constant put-downs are as phony as they are distasteful, especially given what a bum Nick is. Though he is greatly cleaned up(in real life, unlike the movie, he had no compunction about spending as much of his wife's money as he could get his hands on), he is still portrayed as a man who gambles for a living. He even complains in one scene that his wife's fame is interfering with his "work"! And yet he is someone we're supposed to sympathise with, and sympathise with Fanny for loving him. At a time when women were starting to take up real careers of their own? Please! I always thought People was a ridiculous song--you're lucky if you need people? Who doesn't need other people? It's not luck, it's necessity. This peculiar sentiment ties in with Fanny needing Nick so much that she overlooks his aversion to real work and his involvement with gangsters. In other words, the more needy you are, the better, because that means you'll ignore what is wrong with your man. It's an all too appropriate song for a movie that says a woman should be a doormat.

...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.

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 !

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.

There is no doubt that Ms. Streisand steals the show here, and rightfully so. I'll never forget the positive audience reaction to her strong final number, "My Man." This was during a Sunday matinée showing of "Funny Girl" at a fancy cinema in Dublin, Ireland, in the summer of 1969. Women shoppers wearing hats and white gloves thought it was a show-stopper, and so did I, a teenage American boy sitting next to a young Jewish-American princess from Somerville, New Jersey. Gee, I felt like my girlfriend was up on the screen!

I liked Omar Sharif very much in "Dr. Zhivago" but I had to ask myself why a zany lady like Fanny Bryce would be so interested in the Nick Arnstein character that Sharif played. He almost put me to sleep. Perhaps I was simply not keyed into his suave, masculine charms.

As good as Barbra Streisand is in this film, I think she uses her natural comedic talent even better in "Hello, Dolly" (a film with even nicer musical numbers). "Funny Girl" does slow down in the second half, and I think the blame is with the screenplay more than the director or actors. I get the distinct impression that "Funny Girl" just managed to get the nomination for Best Picture at the last second. Another vote or two would probably have ranked it sixth and, therefore, out of the running in the Best Picture category. However, I fully agree that Barbra Streisand deserved her Oscar in this film, and Katharine Hepburn was slightly less deserving for her 50% of the take.

Our local community theater group in Reston, Virginia, performed "Funny Girl" this past year. I was surprised to see that the wonderful song, "Second Hand Rose," was not in the stage version. You mean the Broadway version did not have it either?

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.

The young Fanny Brice (Barbra Streisand) desperately wants to be a success in show business and after a shaky start thinks she has made it when she lands a part in a big Ziegfeld show. Ziegfeld (Walter Pidgeon) and Fanny clash over various matters due to her strong personality but her talent shines through and she does eventually become a major star. She meets gambler Nicky Arnstein (Omar Sharif) and falls madly in love with him. Unfortunately his gambling habits get him in trouble with the police causing Fanny much sadness and anguish. However, she overcomes these problems to concentrate on her career and manages to realise her ambition to become a big Broadway star.

The film of "Funny Girl" was awaited with much anticipation after all the tremendous publicity given to Barbra Streisand following her stunning portrayal of Fanny Brice in the hit Broadway show. An "unauthorised" version of the Fanny Brice story had been filmed once before as "Rose of Washington Square" (1939) starring Alice Faye, Tyrone Power and Al Jolson but Fanny Brice was not happy about the film and sued 20th Century Fox for invasion of privacy.

"Funny Girl" received a total of eight Oscar nominations but only picked up the one (for Best Actress) which Streisand had to share with Katharine Hepburn for "The Lion in Winter". Personally, I thought this was a real shame as Hepburn had just picked up the Best Actress Award the previous year for "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and had also won back in 1932 for "Morning Glory". In my opinion Streisand (in her first film) had worked tremendously hard on "Funny Girl" and given an excellent portrayal of Fanny Brice and her singing at the time was sensational. To have to share the award with Hepburn was bad luck for Streisand and must have taken away some of the pleasure of winning.

The film was directed by the legendary William Wyler and produced by Ray Stark (who was in fact Fanny Brice's son-in-law!). The film had a superior supporting cast including Kay Medford (recreating her Broadway role as Rose Brice), Anne Francis (Georgia James), Lee Allen (Eddie Ryan), Gerald Mohr (Branca), and with Frank Faylen as Keeney.

What a marvellous collection of songs this film contained: "People", "Second Hand Rose", "Don't Rain on My Parade", "My Man" and "I'm the Greatest Star" are just five gems from a really wonderful score.

Some favourite lines from the film:

Barbra Streisand (to her reflection in theatre mirror): "Hello gorgeous".

Lee Allen (to Streisand): "Are you sure you can rollerskate?". Streisand: "Can I rollerskate??".

Streisand: "I'm a Ziegfeld girl!".

Streisand (to Walter Pidgeon): "O.K. you win. You don't win fair but you win!".

"Funny Girl" was one of those rare occasions when the perfect part came along with the perfect star to play it. One of the last of the great Hollywood musicals. 10/10. Clive Roberts.

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

Wow. That best describes this movie. I don't tend to be a big fan of musicals but this one defies the pattern. I absolutely LOVE Barbra and almost anything she is in I love (excluding Hello, Dolly and its sad attempt to recapture the classic, yet horrid, musicals of the 1950's). This movie is just another time for Barbra to shine. The scenes are cute and the dance numbers will charm any audience, young or old, and provide a laughter and tears.

All the vocals are fantastic (specifically the last number, which Barbra insisted not be a voice-over.) This movie will satisfy the any lover of musicals and anyone who can appreciate quality acting.

I only watched this out of curiosity and because my 88 year-old mother had a hard time following parts of the story when we saw it in New York last week and also there are not a lot of good movies for this age group. The movie is quite good if you can get past the first few minutes (why is she pretending to shoot a machine gun with her fingers like a 9 year-old?) Also the film editing is so old-fashioned at times. For instance when she first meets Nick Arnstein and is smitten with him the scene then freezes for several seconds. This may have been cutting edge film-making back in the 1960's but you would never see that in a modern film. For a truly great version of this story go to the August Wilson Theatre in New York City. It is perfection from beginning to end. Every scene is outstanding and all of the actors are terrific, especially Lea Michele. She is absolutely fantastic as Fanny Brice. I understand it runs until 9/3 on Broadway and then goes on nationwide tour.

I rented this movie from my library along with "Hello, Dolly!" because I'm a huge Barbra Streisand fan. So I watched this movie first to see if it was gonna be great like people said.

Well, I was kind of wrong. The movie started off great, but then during the part where Nick returns, the movie went downhill at an almost "out of this world" speed. It got boring and dragged along.

One thing I did love about this movie were the songs. My favorites are People, Don't Rain on my Parade, and His Love Makes Me Beautiful, but that was it. The only thing I liked were the songs.

If you're a Streisand fan, this movie is definitely for you. But for some Streisand fans like me, it can get pretty boring.