Isaac Bashevis Singer …
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Yentl
EJF — 13 years ago(February 27, 2013 02:22 PM)
who wrote the original short story, hated this film, saying Streisand totally misunderstood both his work, which should never have been made into a musical, and particularly the title character.
He gave a scathing interview about it after the film came out: http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/04/27/reviews/streisand-singer.html -
Ithilfaen — 11 years ago(January 01, 2015 03:08 PM)
Well his beef might be only 50% genuine because he was first hired to create a script when the movie rights were bought back in the 1960ies and the movie never happened because Streisand was deemed "too old" (lol) for the part way back then.
I don't know the man or have a measure of his ego but I imagine he probably was miffed that his wishes, as the story's author, were less important than the would-be star of the movie.
A few dozen scripts later, his wishes ceased to matter altogether so I can get why he was pissed. However, as different as the movie ended up, and as far from his original intent at it was, it's still a good story. One with different undertones, characters, and themes but that doesn't make it a bad story.
For every lie I unlearn I learn something new - Ani Difranco -
gbennett5 — 10 years ago(November 17, 2015 12:29 AM)
In any case, it is only a fair movie, and a story that is very hard to
swallow. Even in 1900 Europe, smart people (there were smart people
then, too) would've clearly known this was a woman. And while we're on
the subject of egos, Streisand made the mistake of putting herself in
every single scene - we don't get a single scene of Avigdor with Irving,
or Irving with her mother. Irving's character is so one-dimensional.
There are also too many songs.
Sorry, but it's easy to see why Singer detested this film. The first
act unfolds beautifully, but the second half of the second act becomes
a mess. -
TheChamCham — 10 years ago(November 17, 2015 04:17 PM)
To each his own. If you go to films, especially musicals, expecting total realism you are going to be disappointed. Entertainment should be enjoyed, not dissected.
Rescue the damsel in distress, whip the bad guy, save the world. -
gbennett5 — 10 years ago(November 18, 2015 07:14 AM)
This isn't a standard musical, and you know it. Streisand aimed very
much for realism and failed to make it convincing in many respects
(Yentl isn't Hello Dolly! where every character bursts into songs and
dances). -
TheChamCham — 10 years ago(November 18, 2015 06:23 PM)
I LOVE Hello Dolly !!!
I always watch Yentl and Fiddler on the Roof during Chanukkah , and while there are difference there are also many similarities. Like a lot of people, I think Ms.Streisand's decision to not have any of the other characters singing (except for Amy Irving's humming during "Will Someone Ever Look at Me That Way") was a mistake. How do you cast Mandy Patinkin and not have him sing at least one song?
And Amy Irving sang for Jessica Rabbit but not in this ??? It boggles the mind.
Rescue the damsel in distress, whip the bad guy, save the world. -
gbennett5 — 10 years ago(November 19, 2015 06:55 AM)
Let me say this: the less you say, the better your chances of appearing
intelligent.
Yentl, for all it's many failings, at least has the distinction of having
the title character sing either in her head, or to herself (a powerful
choice, as we see how repressed the character is, and we get to HEAR
what she's THINKING). Streisand was conveying a sense of reality, which
is why she prefers to think of Yentl as "a film with music", rather than
a musical. The fact that MP sings is so beside the point. To have
Avigdor sing just because the actor playing him does, would've been
ridiculous.
Hello Dolly! and Yentl are two completely different films.
Class dismissed. -
!!!deleted!!! (61689113) — 10 years ago(November 25, 2015 08:45 AM)
A-ha! Do you know (being a Christian, if a rather Judaeophilic one) I also watch
Yentl
each year, at Christmas! I think it's one of the Christmassiest movies ever made - something to do with orphaned kids going on a journey, I guess. Anyway, I always thought it was very droll that Babs not only sings everything in the movie, but hired Patinkin and Irving and didn't let them sing a note. However on my last viewing I realized there's a little scene where Hadass settles down to do some mending while Yentl and Avigdor talk, and Hadass is clearly humming a kind of Yiddish tune which then 'unconsciously' harmonizes(or descants?) with one of Yentl's interior monologue songs. It's very quietly done, and of course Irving herself may have been dubbed, but it's a beautiful little semi-moment. -
!!!deleted!!! (61689113) — 10 years ago(November 27, 2015 10:21 AM)
Good to know! I knew she'd sung Jessica Rabbit's song (and done
Honeysuckle Rose
), so I used to think her apparently not singing in
Yentl
was a kind of joke on The Babs' part. Her brief humming as Hadass is very ethereal.