Yentl

( 16 )

Overview

Barbra Streisand's directorial debut, Yentl, is a musical adaptation of a story by the beloved Jewish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer. Yentl Streisand is a young woman who wants nothing more than to study religious scripture. She is denied that possibility because she is a woman. She moves, passes herself off as a male named Anshel, and then begins her studies. She becomes close to fellow student Avigdor Mandy Patinkin, eventually falling in love with him, although she can not reveal her true self as she would then ...
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More About This Product

Overview

Barbra Streisand's directorial debut, Yentl, is a musical adaptation of a story by the beloved Jewish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer. Yentl Streisand is a young woman who wants nothing more than to study religious scripture. She is denied that possibility because she is a woman. She moves, passes herself off as a male named Anshel, and then begins her studies. She becomes close to fellow student Avigdor Mandy Patinkin, eventually falling in love with him, although she can not reveal her true self as she would then be expelled. Avigdor is in love with Hadass Amy Irving, but religious law forbids him from marrying her. Avigdor attempts to fix Anshel up with Hadass, leading to Hadass falling in love with Anshel. Yentl received four Academy Award nominations, including two Best Song nods.
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Special Features

Disco One: An introduction by Barbara Streisand; Audio commentary by Barbara Streisand and co-producer Rusty Lemorande; Deleted scenes; Disc Two: An introduction to disc two by Barbara Streisand; The director's reel featurette; The rehearsal process with materials from Barbara's archives; My wonderful cast and crew featurette; Deleted song storyboard sequences; Barbra's 8mm concept film with option narration; Still galleries
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler
Barbra Streisand's first directorial effort, Yentl, was met with wildly divergent reviews, with some viewing it as a deeply moving work of art and others deriding it as a ridiculous vanity production that played fast and loose with the Isaac Bashevis Singer story upon which it is based. There's plenty of evidence for both points of view. Detractors can point to an abundance of close-ups for the star, a story line which gives short shrift to the other characters and a score that is sung totally by Streisand. Proponents can counter that the narrow focus is appropriate to the story, that the director draws forth expert performances from Amy Irving and Mandy Patinkin and that the film's defects are made up for by some exceptional cinematography (including a marvelous swirling camera in "Tomorrow Night"), beautiful design, and skillful staging of the musical sequences. The truth is that both sides are right, that Yentl is a fascinating but flawed and uneven film that both benefited from and was damaged by its creator's deeply personal feelings about and interpretation of the material. The attachment Streisand feels to the movie is clear in every frame, but she therefore is unable to distance herself enough to view her work (in all departments) objectively. In addition to the flaws cited above, the movie is overlong, and many of the lyrics are awkward or banal. As usual, Streisand is in spectacular voice, and she acts with great commitment. Critics were generally more receptive to her next directorial effort, The Prince of Tides, which received a Best Picture Oscar nomination.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 2/3/2009
  • UPC: 883904117766
  • Original Release: 1983

    • Rating:

  • Source: Mgm (Video & Dvd)
  • Region Code: 1
  • Presentation: Director's Cut / Wide Screen
  • Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
  • Language: Français
  • Time: 2:17:00
  • Format: DVD
  • Sales rank: 2,748

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Barbra Streisand Yentl/Anshel
Mandy Patinkin Avigdor
Amy Irving Hadass
Nehemiah Persoff Papa
Steven Hill Reb Alter Vishkower
Alan Corduner Shimmele
Ruth Goring Esther Rachel
David de Keyser Rabbi Zalman
Frank Baker
Robbie Barnett Tailor's Assistant
Lynda Barron Pesche
Danny Brainin
Gary Brown
Teddy Kempner Student
Jack Lynn Bookseller
Doreen Mantle Mrs. Shaemen
Miriam Margolyes Sarah
Ian Sears David
Kerry Shale
Bernard Spear Tailor
Anna Tzelniker Mrs. Kovner
Peter Whitman
Technical Credits
Barbra Streisand Director, Producer, Screenwriter
Alan Bergman Score Composer, Songwriter
Marilyn Bergman Score Composer, Songwriter
Tessa Davies Set Decoration/Design
Larry de Waay Executive Producer, Producer
David Hildyard Sound/Sound Designer
Jerome Kass Screenwriter
Steve Lanning Asst. Director
Michel Legrand Score Composer
Rusty Lemorande Producer
Gillian Lynne Choreography
Judy Moorcraft Costumes/Costume Designer
Terry Rawlings Editor
Jack Rosenthal Screenwriter
Isaac Bashevis Singer Source Author
Les Tomkins Art Director
Roy Walker Production Designer
David Watkin Cinematographer
Alan Whibley Special Effects
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Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Yentl
1. Village Life [:14]
2. Forbidden Books [3:27]
3. Against the Rules [1:24]
4. Where is it Written? [3:57]
5. Great Pride and Pleasure [3:23]
6. Transformation [1:41]
7. Papa, Can You Hear Me? [3:07]
8. If Not Now, When? [3:06]
9. Young Scholars [3:42]
10. Come to Bed [6:29]
11. Yeshiva [3:14]
12. This is One of Those Moments [3:17]
13. No Wonder [1:33]
14. Adam and Eve [4:06]
15. The Way He Makes Me Feel [5:48]
16. Avigdor's Pain [1:46]
17. The Replacement [1:57]
18. No Wonder (Part II) [3:51]
19. Hopeless Love [6:36]
20. Tomorrow Night [1:12]
21. ...Is Now Tonight [4:49]
22. Wedding Secret [4:13]
23. Husband and Wife [2:11]
24. Dinner Guest [1:18]
25. Will Someone Ever Look at Me That Way? [2:40]
26. No Matter What Happens [3:59]
27. No Wonder (Reprise) [3:58]
28. Yentl's Secret [:57]
29. More [5:13]
30. Written in My Heart [2:47]
31. A Piece of Sky [:29]
32. End Titles [4:18]
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Menu

Disc #1 -- Yentl
   Play
      Theatrical Release Version
      Director's Extended Cut With Added Scenes From Barbra's Archives
   Language Selection
      Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Surround
      Audio: English Dolby Surround
      Audio: Spanish Mono
      Audio: French Stereo
      Audio: Commentary With Barbra Streisand and Rusty Lemorande
      Subtitles: English
      Subtitles: Spanish
      Subtitles: None
   Scene Selection
   Special Features
      An Introduction by Barbra Streisand
      Commentary With Barbra Streisand - On
      Commentary With Babra Streisand - Off
      Deleted Scenes
Disc #2 -- Yentl
   An Introduction by Barbra Streisand
   The Director's Reel
   The Rehearsal Process
      Play All
      An Introduction by Barbra Streisand
      Where is it Written? Original Rehearsal Concept
      Where is it Written? Rehearsal/Feature Comparison
      No Wonder - Reprise - Pre-Rehearsal/Feature Comparison
      Tomorrow Night Pre-Rehearsal Concept
      Tomorrow Night Pre-Rehearsal/Feature Comparison
      Will Someone Ever Look at Me That Way? Rehearsal/Feature Comparison
   Deleted Song - Storyboard Sequences
      The Moon and I
      Several Sins a Day
   Barbra's 8mm Concept Film
      Play With Narration
      Play Without Narration
   My Wonderful Cast and Crew
   Still Galleries
   Teaser Trailer
   Theatrical Trailer
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 16 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(15)

4 Star

(1)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

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Sort by: Showing all of 16 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    October Sky

    Streisand's Masterpiece

    Visually beautiful movie with wonderful music and an uplifting story, particularly for young women. Streisand's directorial debut is terrific and the extras show how long she worked on this movie and what went into making it. In particular, it shows the year she spent staging the musical numbers. Filmed on location in Eastern Europe, the movie was given extraordinary access to the various locales, including closing a major bridge for the first time soley for this production. The message of this movie is simple - Don't let anyone keep you from following your dreams. This is Streisand's masterpiece.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    Barbra Streisand Box Set

    Streisand is awesome!!!

    Babs classic appealing to everyone. appropriate for most age groups. Well-structured story, beautiful cinematography, magnificent music and appealing performances make this a movie that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. Bonus features, such as rehearsal footage and deleted scenes are fascinating.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

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    Posted December 24, 2008

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    Posted December 24, 2008

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    Posted February 11, 2009

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    Posted February 5, 2009

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    Posted March 7, 2009

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    Posted January 19, 2009

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    Posted February 2, 2009

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    Posted February 15, 2009

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    Posted July 29, 2009

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Sort by: Showing all of 16 Customer Reviews