Funny Girl

William Wyler's first musical and Barbra Streisand's screen debut proved to be a winning combination at the box office, as well as Oscar material for Streisand, who took home a statue for her portrayal of Fanny Brice, the plain but talented young woman who rose to stardom during the heyday of the Ziegfeld Follies. Mostly a backstage musical, the main action of this 1968 hit (loosely based on Brice's life) traces Fanny's tempestuous liaison with gambler Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif), a relationship that almost derails her career. Musical highlights include the title song, "Don't Rain on My Parade," "My Man" and the classic "People." Sporting a pair of bonus featurettes--"Barbra in Movieland" and "This Is Streisand"--the real standouts here are the excellent restoration job, rich saturated colors in the crisp digital transfer, and room-encompassing Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. A less sparkling sequel, Funny Lady, followed in 1975. Warmly recommended. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—May 7, 2013—Sony, 155 min., G, $19.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray—initially as an Amazon.com exclusive release—1968's Funny Girl sports a beautiful transfer and a DTS-HD 5.0 soundtrack. Extras include a “Barbra in Movieland” vintage featurette (10 min.), a “This is Streisand” segment on the star (6 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a beloved musical makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]