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Funny Girl / Funny Lady (Widescreen) - 2 Disc Box Set [1969]
![Funny Girl / Funny Lady (Widescreen) - 2 Disc Box Set [1969]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516BWP3X9BL._SL160_.jpg)
As a biopic, Funny Girl is superior fare, full of sumptuous production numbers. Brice's glory days are explored against the background of her turbulent private life with her flawed playboy husband Nicky Arnstein (a sympathetic performance from Omar Sharif) with considerable attention to the details of her inner turmoil. More rambling and less cohesive, Funny Lady finds Fanny divorced but still in love with Arnstein (Sharif also revisiting his role), drifting into marriage number two with uncouth songwriter and impresario Billy Rose (the excellent James Caan), her successful career again juxtaposed with a less than happy personal life. Combined, both films measure Streisand's rise to greatness. In Funny Girl, the bravura of the performance as a whole masks occasional gaucheness, while if Funny Lady is the less impressive picture overall, it still marks how far she has developed as a screen actress. The rough edges are gone, replaced by a sophisticated poise and the sense of a talent that has come to terms with itself. And of course throughout she is superb in the musical numbers, which include her theme song "People" and the classic belter "Don't Rain on my Parade", as well as Brice's classic torch song, "My Man". On the DVD: this package of tremendous, old-fashioned entertainment takes the viewer back to pre-multiplex days when going to the cinema was an event you might dress up for. Funny Lady's soundtrack includes a pre-picture "Overture" to give you time to unwrap the chocolates. You really need some plush velvet curtains to swing back across the television screen. Then, guaranteeing a twinge of nostalgia, there's an intermission break. Both films are presented in their original widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Dolby Digital 5.0 (Funny Girl) and LCR (Funny Lady) soundtracks do justice to Streisand's lung power. The first disc offers the most interesting extras, including a couple of featurettes about Streisand. Both discs provide standard filmographies and song highlights so Streisand addicts can skip between numbers to their hearts' content.--Piers Ford Funny Girl Funny Lady
RRP: £24.99
Our Price: £7.93 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Like giant monuments to good old-fashioned star quality, Funny Girl (1968) and Funny Lady (1975) hark back to the golden days of American vaudeville, while essentially celebrating one of the great, egotistical show-business talents of all time. Viewed end to end, these two films, which tell the story of Ziegfeld comedienne Fanny Brice, run for almost five hours. That's a lot of biopic. But with the greatest of respect to Brice, undoubtedly a formidable star of her time, the talent really in the spotlight here belongs to Barbra Streisand. Streisand created the role of Fanny Brice in the 1964 Broadway stage musical and her performance for the big screen is a tour de force, fully deserving the Best Actress Oscar which she received.
Editorial
DVD Description
Barbra Streisand plays Fanny Brice, a role that earned her the 1968 Oscar for Best Actress
DVD Special Features:
Barbra in Movie Land Featurette
This is Streisand Featurette
Song Highlights (Jump to a Scene)
Filmographies
Languagesin Dolby Digital 5.0: English, French
Languages in Mono: German, Italian, Spanish
Subtitles: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
2.35:1, Enhanced for 16:9 widescreen TVS
Song Highlights
Filmographies
Languages in Dolby Digital LCR: English
Languages in Mono: French, German, Italian, Spanish
Subtitles:Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
2.35:1, Enhanced for 16:9 widescreen TVS
Editorial
Synopsis
Two classic films starring the timeless performer Barbra Streisand. See individual titles for further details.
FUNNY LADY (UK: PG, 1975): Barbra Streisand returns as Fanny Brice in this sequel to William Wyler's Oscar-winning FUNNY GIRL. FUNNY LADY picks up the saga of entertainer-comedienne Brice after her separation from playboy millionaire Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif). Newly single, she teams up brash Broadway producer, songwriter, and entrepreneur Billy Rose (James Caan), a showman whose lack of polish is made up in his boundless enthusiasm. Before long, Rose's professional relationship with Fanny turns into a touching and turbulent personal one. Wyler's extravagant production is highlighted by lavish musical numbers, elegant costumes and a dynamic cast, which is lead by Barbra Streisand's signature style and poise.
FUNNY GIRL (UK: U, 1968): In FUNNY GIRL, the highly fictionalized musical biopic, Barbara Streisand makes her film debut in a reprisal of her Broadway role as Ziegfeld star Fanny Brice. Brice, a poor Jewish girl from New York's Lower East Side, rose to fame and won audience's hearts everywhere with her comic antics and powerful singing. Unfortunately, she had far less success in her personal life, and the film focuses on her doomed romance with her first husband, gambler Nicky Arnstein.
Amusing and sad in parts.
Review date: 2008-01-04 Rating: 8 out of 10
PLEASE NOTE: This review refers to 'Funny Girl' only.
It's the first time I've ever seen this picture, and as I'm not a big Streisand fan, I did not think I would be that impressed, but I was pleasantly surprised!
Barbra Streisand is extremely funny as 'Funny Girl' Fanny Brice, and she also plays the sad scenes with equal sincerity. However, the film was spoilt for me at about halfway through, when someone held up a live Lobster to Streisand's character and she responds; 'start boiling water' - call me silly, but this ruined it for me... Why something so horrid should have been brought into a musical and light-hearted film of this type is quite beyond me...
Left a nasty taste in my mouth, and so I could not bring myself to give this five stars...
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Reviews
Funny Girl v Funny Lady
Review date: 2005-08-05 Rating: 8 out of 10
Well what can I say Bab's at her best in funny girl but as with most sequels a bit of a let down not by the acting but by the script.
Barb at her best
Review date: 2004-05-26 Rating: 10 out of 10
loosely based on Fanny Brice, these two films can show me something new every time I watch them.Fanny as a young girl is as gawky as they come but Miss Brice was a very determined lady, she wanted it all,and boy, does she achieve it. The appearance of Cairo Fred (Omar) adds to the thrills, the seduction scene in his hotel (Funny Girl) still holds the magic. Great songs, good story, magnificant cast.........
Interesting Conversion to DVD
Review date: 2003-08-13 Rating: 8 out of 10
I bought this for my Mum as a gift. Thinking she's watching it happily, i go off to do something mroe interesting.
Heeeeeelp - she cries. its broken.
no- but there are four minutes of blackness before the picture starts and then, halfway through there is an intermission.....
So Good films, bad bad bad bad bad movie-DVD edit.
Incidentally - If you've got it, then skip forward to 00:03:59
and it shoudl be ok. Right?
Funny Girl - a great movie Funny Lady - Less great
Review date: 2000-09-20 Rating: 6 out of 10
Funny Girl is a lovely movie . A movie that all us romantics out there love . It tells the story of a young woman that becomes a star and her love for a gambler . Funny Girls is a great movie . It combines humor, romanticism and serious stuff . The plot has some twists that I could not have foreseen .
Funny Lady is the sequel to Funny Girl . Funny Lady is not as good as Funny Girl .
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Barbra Streisand
Ben Vereen
Roddy McDowall
James Caan
Omar Sharif
Creators:
Barbra Streisand (Primary Contributor)
James Caan (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
EAN: 5035822060111
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Box set, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2002-03-04
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 272 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1975-03-15
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: Arabic (Subtitled)
Language: Bulgarian (Subtitled)
Language: Czech (Subtitled)
Language: Danish (Subtitled)
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Finnish (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: German (Subtitled)
Language: Greek (Subtitled)
Language: Hebrew (Subtitled)
Language: Hindi (Subtitled)
Language: Hungarian (Subtitled)
Language: Icelandic (Subtitled)
Language: Italian (Subtitled)
Language: Norwegian (Subtitled)
Language: Polish (Subtitled)
Language: Portuguese (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: Swedish (Subtitled)
Language: Turkish (Subtitled)