CULVER CITY, CALIF. (March 25, 2013) – Legendary superstar Barbra Streisand demonstrates why she’s the greatest star in her Academy Award® winning role (Best Actress, 1968) as “Fanny Brice” in the celebrated musical biography Funny Girl. Commemorating its 45th anniversary, the classic film was meticulously restored from the original negative by Sony Pictures Entertainment in 4K at Sony Pictures’ Colorworks and will screen at the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival on April 25th. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release Funny Girl for the first time on Blu-rayApril 30th, exclusively available at Amazon.
In her first starring film, Streisand recreated her Tony Award® nominated Broadway role for three-time Academy Award winning Director William Wyler (Best Director: Mrs. Miniver, 1942; The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946; Ben-Hur, 1959), playing the comedienne in a story that contrasted Fanny’s comic onstage antics with her dramatic offstage romance with Nicky Arnstein, a dashing gambler. The film co-stars Oscar® nominee Omar Sharif (Best Supporting Actor, Lawrence of Arabia, 1962) as Arnstein, Kay Medford as Fanny’s mother, Anne Francis as a Ziegfeld showgirl, and two-time Oscar nominee Walter Pidgeon (Best Actor: Mrs. Miniver, 1942; Madame Curie, 1943) as legendary Broadway showman Florenz Ziegfeld.
The Blu-ray will feature two previously released vintage featurettes: “Barbra in Movieland,” a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film; and “This is Streisand,” chronicling the early years of the performer’s career.
Funny Girl, which earned more than $52 million at the box office, was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, a Best Supporting Actress nod for Kay Medford, Jule Styne (music) and Bob Merrill (lyrics) for Best Original Song for “Funny Girl,” and Best Score for Walter Scharf, with Barbra Streisand taking home the statuette for Best Actress. The score consists of classic standards, including “My Man,” “Second Hand Rose” and “I’d Rather Be Blue Over You (Than Happy With Somebody Else)” to tunes that have become standards, including “People,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” and “I’m the Greatest Star.” In 2005, the Streisand’s immortal opening line, “Hello Gorgeous,” was named #81 on the American Film Institute list, “AFI’s 100 Years … 100 Movie Quotes” and the film itself ranked #16 on “AFI’s Greatest Movie Musicals” list.
Synopsis:
One of the most popular movie musicals ever made is now better than ever on Blu-ray™! Funny Girl follows the early career of stage comedienne Fanny Brice, a role that earned Barbra Streisand the 1968 Oscar® for Best Actress. Only her mother believes Fanny can make it in show business, but when she gets her first break at Keeney’s Music Hall, her hilarious debut gets her hired as a comedienne. Fanny becomes a star, falls in love and marries Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif), a handsome gambler. The film’s many memorable songs include “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and the Streisand classic “People.”
Bonus Features Include:
- “Barbra in Movieland” Featurette
- “This is Streisand” Featurette
Funny Girl has a running time of 155 minutes and is rated G.
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