Yentl (1983)

Director:

Barbra Streisand

Writers:

Jack Rosenthal (screenplay) and
Barbra Streisand (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

9 December 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

A film with music.

Plot:

A Jewish girl disguises herself as a boy to enter religious training.

Plot Keywords:

Talmud | Jewish | Love | Tradition | Torah

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Barbra Streisand	...	Yentl
Mandy Patinkin	...	Avigdor
Amy Irving	...	Hadass
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Reb Mendel 'Papa'
Steven Hill	...	Reb Alter Vishkower
Allan Corduner	...	Shimmele
Ruth Goring	...	Esther Rachel
David de Keyser	...	Rabbi Zalman (as David De Keyser)
Bernard Spear	...	Tailor
Doreen Mantle	...	Mrs. Shaemen
Lynda Baron	...	Peshe (as Lynda Barron)
Jack Lynn	...	Bookseller
Anna Tzelniker	...	Mrs. Kovner
Miriam Margolyes	...	Sarah
Mary Henry	...	Mrs. Jacobs

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | 4-Track Stereo (Dolby Magnetic 35mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | France:U | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK

Company:

United Artists

Trivia:

Amy Irving became the first - and to date only - actress to be nominated for both an Academy Award and a Razzie Award for the same performance. She won neither award.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the scene where Streisand sings "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" toward the beginning of the film, Yentl's glasses are laid down in front of her and the style of glasses shown in this scene have modern temple/ear pieces - inappropriate for the time period. However, during other scenes where Yentl takes off or puts on her glasses, the glasses are the old-fashioned, cable-temple/wrap-around-the-ear-style glasses - appropriate for the time-period.

Quotes:

Avigdor: I can't believe this, I'm arguing with a woman!
Yentl: It's not the first time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Nanny: No Muse Is Good Muse (#4.22)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

A Piece Of Sky

yentl -- not gentle...on the ears

This might be the worst film ever made, and is possibly worth seeing for that reason alone. Streisand is laughably unbelievable as a young woman posing as a man in order to study Judaism. The soundtrack is torturous, featuring Barbara belting out some of the weakest blather ever put to film. And don't even get me started on the plot. You will actually get more chuckles out of this film than many comedies because it is soooooooo terrible. The rampant ego of Streisand, thinking she could somehow raise this stinker to Oscar heights, led to this disaster. I'm pretty sure the novelist, Isaac Bashevis Singer, hated this film and never forgave Streisand. I can't blame him. This movie is like watching a car wreck in slow motion for two hours with the soundtrack of 'The Sound of Music' being played backwards on an old turntable. It's truly that bad. I'm amazed that anyone from Streisand enjoyed this movie on the level that it was intended.