Yentl (1983)

Barbra Streisand made her directorial debut with this 1983 adaptation of the Isaac Bashevis Singer story about a young Eastern European woman (Streisand) who disguises herself as a male at the turn of the century in order to get an education. Except for an excessive musical score with too many songs and Streisand's tiresome tendency to play characters who suppress their beauty, the film is crisp and engaging, and the gender-bending love story complications are fun, if gimmicky. Streisand gives a smart, vulnerable performance and gets fresh work from costars Mandy Patinkin and Amy Irving. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com essential video

Yentl - a Unique (if Flawed) Film (3.5 stars)

"Yentl" is one of those movies that contain too much of Barbra Streisand. For her fans it's OK to bear, other may get fed up. For example, the overwrought soundtrack which does not even fit the movie very well, makes it overlong. On the plus side, the songs quite pointedly describe feelings Yentl has at a given moment of the movie. And when we pass over the fact that hiding of a girl in man's clothes counts on total naiveté of other characters, the movie is well worth your time. The story and especially the love triangle among Yentl, Avigdor (curiously dashing Mandy Patinkin) and Hadass (beautiful and delicate Amy Irving) is unique and does great promotion to I.B. Singer's short story. Most food for thought comes from variations and discussions on Jewish religious writings, mostly when concerning intimate lives of people. These moments make the film - among the great many of those with treat trans-gender disguises - unique and hard to forget. The 1983 flick's country looks resemble "Fiddler on the Roof" quite much - this is understandable, since the settings are similar. For me the movie has a special magic as much of it was shot in the former Czechoslovakia, which used to be my homeland before Slovakia got independent in 1993. December 26, 2008

DVD Release Date In Canada !!!

Amazon.ca is currently listing a DVD release date of February 3,2009. So maybe the U.S. will release it around the same time. If not you can order it from Canada and it will play in all American DVD players. Or if you have a PAL DVD player you could get it right now on Amazon.uk since they are the only ones who seem to be selling it at this time. December 14, 2008

Yentl- No DVD??!!

I have all of Barbra Streisand movies on Dvd except for this one. This is one of the biggest mysteries. It probably is Barbra's best film ever and it is still not out on Dvd. What are they waiting for? I wish someone knew the answer to this question. October 24, 2008

Showing TCM 12/22/2008

This is my favorite movie and would like to get it on DVD as soon as it is released for Region 1. In the meantime, I found out it was on the Turner Classic Movie channel last night and I missed it. It will be rebroadcast 12/22/2008 at 11:30pm Eastern time. Set your DVRs. I will. This may be the only way to get a Region 1 DVD. September 24, 2008

Timeless

My daughter and I saw Yentl together in 1983 in the theater when she was in the 7th grade. We walked out of the theater, looked at each other, turned on our heals, went back in and watched it again.

The music is glorious and the story is timeless. This is an intelligent movie. There is a unique quality to the way the film was made by which it seems there is more story telling through the music than the dialogue. It's a lovely way to absorb the story, with your gut rather than your cerebellum.

I watched it again about a month ago, and the strains of the "klesmer" music had me in tears. Minors, 7ths, flats -- flat minor 7ths! Heart wrenching, transcendent, other worldly. September 8, 2008

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