Product: Funny Girl [VHS] (1968)
Rating: 5.0
Barbra was born to play Fanny Brice!
Based somewhat loosely on the life of Fanny Brice, a Jewish comedienne and actress from the Lower East Side of Manhattan (actually Henry Street), this movie is a reflection of her life with Oscar Barbra Streisand in the title role. Streisand is perfect in this performance as the self-conscious Fanny Brice who makes fun of her own appearance as we see in her debut with the Ziegfield Follies.The film is a perfect standard of the traditional musicals in film history. The art direction is perfect as a time period piece during Fanny's life from Keeney's Music Hall to Ziefield's. The Ziegfield Follies musical numbers are spectacularly done on film and what translated from stage to film is beautifully done here.The casting is first rate with Streisand who played the role on Broadway as Fanny Brice. Omar Shariff plays the husband, Nick Arnstein, does a first rate job in the role. It's not easy when you're up against Streisand in her early part of her film career. The supporting cast included Ann Medford, Kaye Francis, and Walter Pidgeon (played Ziegfield) are all wonderful.But still this is Fanny's story, her life, and the film and in the end, Streisand's performance as Fanny makes me wonder if she's playing herself as well. Fanny and Barbra connect on so many levels.The DVD comes with 2 documentaries about Streisand. I donated this DVD to my middle school that has a music program. If anything, they can watch it in class.