Product: Funny Girl [VHS] (1968)
Rating: 5.0
The Star Was Already Born And Now She's Finally Arrived!
"Funny Girl" was a musical with a book by Isobel Lennart, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by Bob Merrill. The semi-biographical plot is based on the life and career of Broadway/Film/Comedienne Fanny Brice and her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nicky Arnstein. It's original title was "My Man". After seventeen previews, the Broadway production, directed by Garson Kanin and choreographed by Carol Haney, opened on March 26, 1964 at the Winter Garden Theatre, where it ran for 1348 performances. The opening night cast included: Barbra Streisand, Sydney Chaplin, Kay Medford, Danny Meehan, Jean Stapleton, and Lainie Kazan, who also served as Streisand's understudy. Later in the run, Barbra and Sydney were replaced by husband-and-wife team Mimi Hines and Phil Ford. The show was nominated for eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Composer and Lyricist, Best Actor in a Musical (Chaplin), Best Actress in a Musical (Barbra), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Meehan), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Medford), Best Choreography, and Best Producer of a Musical (Ray Stark). Facing tough competition from "Hello, Dolly!", it failed to win in any categories. The 1968 screen adaptation, directed by legendary movie director William Wyler, paired Barbra with Omar Sharif in the role of Arnstein. Medford and Stapleton repeated their stage roles, and Walter Pidgeon was cast as Flo Ziegfeld, with Anne Francis in the added role of showgirl Georgia James, although most of her performance was left on the cutting room floor. Fans of the original Broadway score were dismayed to discover most of its songs were eliminated. The most notable addition was "My Man," a Fanny Brice tune used as the film's finale. Barbra won a well deserved Academy Award for Best Actress, an honor she shared with Katharine Hepburn for "The Lion in Winter", making it the first & last tie for Best Actress. The film was nominated in the categories of Best Picture, Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Kay Medford), Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation), Best Original Song ("Funny Girl"), and Best Sound. Barbra also won a Golden Globe for Best Actress; nominations also went to the film, the title song, and Wyler, who was named Best Director by the Directors Guild Of America. Lennart's screenplay won her recognition from the Writers Guild Of America. "Funny Girl" was a huge hit in theaters, also became the top grossing film of 1968 and in 2006 this film ranked #16 on the American Film Institute's list of the best musicals ever made.