"Meet the Fockers" aside, much of the Barbra Joan Streisand filmography has been concerned with the complexities of a split self. From "Up the Sandbox" to "Yentl," Mrs. Brolin has been continuously exploring the notion of a divided diva. Perhaps Barbra's best and most egregiously overlooked dissociative epic is her third film, "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever," released by an indifferent Paramount Pictures in 1970.
With a dementedly brilliant screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner (adapted from his modestly successful 1965 Broadway show) and directed with a Rembrandt's eye by Vincente Minnelli, "On A Clear Day" is finally starting to enjoy the cult status this meshuga masterpiece deserves. As one critic commented at the time of the film's original theatrical run, "On A Clear Day..." is a movie made up of such haunting and oddball elements that it truly must be seen to be believed. In the decades since this opulent eye-popper debuted, it's highly stylized design, metaphysical themes and Minnelli's feel for fantasy are finding a more appreciative, even adoring audience.
In a finely delineated dual role, Streisand is Daisy Gamble, a supernaturally gifted chain smoker who consults with a hypnotist to help her kick her five packs a day habit. While under, Daisy reveals a previous incarnation as Melinda Tentrees, nineteenth century England's most delectable coquette - who sports a retina arresting array of Cecil Beaton's extraordinary period costumes (Lady Tentrees is a jaw dropping knockout in her white turban and diamond-studded gown in the lavish banquet sequence filmed at the otherworldly Royal Pavilion in Brighton.)
Minnelli surrounds a vibrant Streisand with nearly every available male in Actor's Equity: Yves Montand (severely constipated or merely French?), Jack Nicholson (not yet "Jack"), Larry Blyden (the human equivalent of serge grey) and Bob Newhart (paging Suzanne Pleshette), all of whom are completely superfluous alongside Our Lady of Brooklyn's self-contained star power. It's no surprise that Barbra's best moments are virtuosic affairs, especially a hypnotic seduction scene to the tune of "Love With All The Trimmings."
When road show musicals suddenly resembled woolly mammoths in the freewheeling 70's, Paramount hacked away at Minnelli's version, excising some 15 minutes of footage (some sources say far more), including several musical numbers (with Nicholson's "Who Is There Among Us Who Knows?" among the casualties). Although the axed sequences have been coveted by Streisand fanatics for decades, none of the truncated scenes were resurrected for Paramount's infuriatingly vanilla DVD release in 2005, though some striking cover art offers minimal consolation. On a clear day, some ambitious film scholar should carefully comb through the studio vaults and see if any of the unused footage still exists. Since the majority of the trimmed scenes were cut very late in post-production, it's possible that those elusive Daisy and Melinda moments are just waiting to be rescued from the cutting room floor...? Bottom line: If you have "Funny Girl" memorized, here's the next best Barbra. - Mark Griffin
With a dementedly brilliant screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner (adapted from his modestly successful 1965 Broadway show) and directed with a Rembrandt's eye by Vincente Minnelli, "On A Clear Day" is finally starting to enjoy the cult status this meshuga masterpiece deserves. As one critic commented at the time of the film's original theatrical run, "On A Clear Day..." is a movie made up of such haunting and oddball elements that it truly must be seen to be believed. In the decades since this opulent eye-popper debuted, it's highly stylized design, metaphysical themes and Minnelli's feel for fantasy are finding a more appreciative, even adoring audience.
In a finely delineated dual role, Streisand is Daisy Gamble, a supernaturally gifted chain smoker who consults with a hypnotist to help her kick her five packs a day habit. While under, Daisy reveals a previous incarnation as Melinda Tentrees, nineteenth century England's most delectable coquette - who sports a retina arresting array of Cecil Beaton's extraordinary period costumes (Lady Tentrees is a jaw dropping knockout in her white turban and diamond-studded gown in the lavish banquet sequence filmed at the otherworldly Royal Pavilion in Brighton.)
Minnelli surrounds a vibrant Streisand with nearly every available male in Actor's Equity: Yves Montand (severely constipated or merely French?), Jack Nicholson (not yet "Jack"), Larry Blyden (the human equivalent of serge grey) and Bob Newhart (paging Suzanne Pleshette), all of whom are completely superfluous alongside Our Lady of Brooklyn's self-contained star power. It's no surprise that Barbra's best moments are virtuosic affairs, especially a hypnotic seduction scene to the tune of "Love With All The Trimmings."
When road show musicals suddenly resembled woolly mammoths in the freewheeling 70's, Paramount hacked away at Minnelli's version, excising some 15 minutes of footage (some sources say far more), including several musical numbers (with Nicholson's "Who Is There Among Us Who Knows?" among the casualties). Although the axed sequences have been coveted by Streisand fanatics for decades, none of the truncated scenes were resurrected for Paramount's infuriatingly vanilla DVD release in 2005, though some striking cover art offers minimal consolation. On a clear day, some ambitious film scholar should carefully comb through the studio vaults and see if any of the unused footage still exists. Since the majority of the trimmed scenes were cut very late in post-production, it's possible that those elusive Daisy and Melinda moments are just waiting to be rescued from the cutting room floor...? Bottom line: If you have "Funny Girl" memorized, here's the next best Barbra. - Mark Griffin
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