Funny Girl DVD in Stores October 23 Following Limited Theatrical Re-Release
Posted/Updated: 30 August 2003 14:19
Barbra Streisand's exceptional film debut and Academy Award-winning performance in 1968's Funny Girl arrives on DVD for the coming holiday season on October 23, 2001. Check the box below for release specs and read my review. Many online DVD retailers are taking orders. There will be a VHS release with a full screen/pan-and-scan presentation of the film.
The newly restored print of Funny Girl premiered last December at Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre and returns to theaters in very limited release beginning August 31. Three cities, LA (Laemmle Royal), San Francisco (Castro), and NY (Clearview's Ziegfeld - view photo), will screen Funny Girl in the original roadshow presentation with overture, intermission, and exit music. This September and through the fall, there will be engagements in Chicago, Seattle, Washington, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, and other major cities. Fully restored in 6-track digital sound and dye-transfer Technicolor prior to the DVD release, Sony Pictures Entertainment's theatrical re-release of Funny Girl celebrates their completion of the restoration of this Academy Award winning film and the preservation of American cinema culture. Grover Crisp, SPE vice president of asset management and film restoration, oversaw the restoration project. "We started restoring Funny Girl three years ago to repair the damage that occurred to the original negative when the film was first released, due to the enormous number of prints struck from the negative," says Crisp. "Missing frames, numerous scratches and a disintegrating soundtrack were part of the damage done over time." The late Robert Swink, director William Wyler's supervising film editor on this and other pictures, gave some guidance in the early stages of the restoration to ensure faithfulness to the director's vision. To achieve the most authentic color representation from the original release, the restoration includes new prints made at Technicolor utilizing their newly resurrected Dye Transfer printing process. This new process takes advantage of the full color pallet used in the film and restores the richness of Harry Stradling's cinematography as when the film was originally released. One Streisand fan and film student who attended an advance screening in August observed, "It's hard to express how thrilling the 'My Man' number is. It's so brilliantly staged. Her face is so big, and she's so ferocious that it's overwhelming. It remains one of the great movie moments." Read an interesting new interview with Grover Crisp. Try to catch the brand-new trailer and striking pink, white, and silver movie poster in the above-mentioned cities. Scheduled new screenings (subject to change) --
- September 7: Chicago (Century Centre), Berkeley (Shattuck), S.F. (Opera Plaza)
- September 14: Washington, DC (Uptown), Baltimore (Senator), Encino
- September 28: Dallas, San Diego, Las Vegas, Palm Springs
- October 5: Boston (Coolidge Corner Theater)
Funny Girl (1968)
Release Date: October 23, 2001
Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment
List Price: $24.95
Catalog Number: 03089
ISBN Number: 0-7678-2493-8
UPC: 0-43396-03089-3
Features:
* Anamorphic Widescreen Format (2.35:1 Aspect Ratio)
* English - Dolby Digital 5.0 & Dolby 2.0 Surround, French - Mono
* Subtitles: English, Chinese-Traditional, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Thai
* Bonus Featurettes: "Barbra In Movieland" and "This Is Streisand"
* Song Highlights
* Filmographies
* Bonus Trailers: The Mirror Has Two Faces, The Prince of Tides, and For Pete's Sake
* Production Notes
Running Time: Approx. 155 minutes
DVD Region Code: 1
Review: Funny Girl is finally on DVD, and it's not your father's Funny Girl but a brilliant transfer of the new fully restored original roadshow print with a brand-new dynamic Dolby Digital soundtrack, as described above. If you missed it in theaters back in 1968 or 2001, you can savor and experience it like you've never done before in your home theater. The Dolby 5.0 sound mix is expertly blended, as is the simpler 2-channel surround variation, so expect Barbra Streisand's musical numbers to thrill you anew. Of course, this greatly enhances the dialogue as well and puts earlier VHS and laserdisc releases to shame. The film's sharpness and vibrant color (wait till you see "Roller Skate Rag"!) make for 2 1/2 hours of pleasing viewing and the opportunity to still your favorite frames.
Although not a special edition packed with bonus disc extras, this first Funny Girl DVD release is certainly designed with care. Inside the bright pink-purple case you will find a booklet with two pages of production notes about the film and the original Broadway play. The on-screen menus match the booklet's Art Deco design style. The Dutch and German DVD cover art actually replaces the familiar upside down roller skater logo for consistency with the booklet's attractive design. The main menu offers easy navigation on the New Amsterdam Theatre's marquee, while movie stills circulate and you hear the film score. Wondering about the disc's "Song Highlights"? It's simply a menu providing direct access to some musical numbers in the film. If you're hoping for more unreleased gems from the Funny Girl period, such as extended scenes like "The Swan" and the rarely seen Funny Girl theatrical trailer, they are not included here but perhaps will find their way to disc in the future.
So what about the unusually titled featurettes? "Barbra In Movieland" is the complete 10-minute untitled 1968 Columbia Pictures short film set in the old Hoboken railroad station. Full-screen and in excellent condition, this intriguing footage focuses on the week-long July 1967 shooting of Funny Girl's Baltimore and NY railroad station scenes and the "Don't Rain On My Parade" tugboat climax. Everything is seen through Hoboken station caretaker Charlie Peterson's eyes, an outsider looking in, which is how most of us would view the production crew if it arrived in our neighborhood. Listen for an alternate "Parade" soundtrack.
"This Is Streisand" is a letterbox presentation of a 5-minute 1968 featurette introducing film audiences to Barbra Streisand. A slide show until the final moments when the "Parade" climax kicks in, included are many rare Barbra photos. Though the narration seems dated, it serves to document where Streisand was in her early career, pre-Oscar and pre-Platinum albums. Fun little piece.
Film fans, Streisand fans and collectors alike will treasure CTHE's new Funny Girl DVD, a perfect version of the film for us and a perfect introduction to Barbra for children and teens. Truly a masterwork for your home theater. - MJI, 10/20/01
Barbra Streisand films on DVD:
- Hello, Dolly!, FOX # 2007579
- What's Up, Doc?, WHV #1041
- Up The Sandbox, WHV#11325
- The Main Event, WHV #17161
- Nuts, WHV #11756
- Funny Girl, CTHE #03089
- Funny Lady, CTHE #06676
- The Prince of Tides, CTHE #23329
- The Owl and the Pussycat, CTHE #04751
- For Pete's Sake, CTHV #05814
- The Way We Were, CTHV #02850
- The Mirror Has Two Faces, CTHV #82529
Copyright © 1996-2003 Mark Iskowitz. All rights reserved.
www.bjsmusic.com
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