Oscar-winning actress and filmmaker,Barbra Streisandhas awed audiences for several decades on the silver screen with her immense talent and notable films such asFunny Girl,Hello, Dolly!, andWhat’s Up, Doc?Born Barbara Joan Streisand in New York City, Streisand started her show business career by performing in various nightclubs and Broadway theaters and, after making several minor appearances on television, she signed a contract with Columbia Records. By the late 1960s, Streisand ventured into movies and debuted in the movie musical,Funny Girl, which earned her first Oscar nomination and win for Best Actress.
Streisand continued to establish herself in cinema with films such asThe Way We WereandA Star Is Born, and soon began working behind the camera as a director, making her directorial debut with the 1983 film,Yentl, making her the first woman to write, produce, direct and star in a major motion picture. Out of her impressive list of filmography and epic performances, these areBarbra Streisand’s 10 best movies of all time, ranked.
10’Nuts' (1987)
Directed by Martin Ritt
When an escort, Claudia Draper, is charged with the murder of one of her clients, her parents try to have her deemed insane, so she will be found guilty of manslaughter. Despite the lesser conviction, Draper doesn’t go along with her parents' attempts, refusing to be sent to a mental institute. An experienced defense attorney, Aaron Levinsky (Richard Dreyfuss), takes on Draper’s case as she tries to prove in a court of law that she isn’t insane, but her frequent outbursts and erratic behavior make Levinsky’s job quite a difficult task.
Streisand takes on an against-type role in the lesser-known legal drama,Nuts, which also starsKarl Malden,Leslie Nielsen, andThe Good, the Bad, and the Uglystar,Eli Wallach. Initially, the movie received mixed reviews, notably criticizing the adrift plot which disconnects at certain points, but Streisand does an excellent job of projecting an empathetic character who consistently keeps audiences guessing about her mental state.Despite the reviews,Nutsstill proves to be an intriguing character study of the human mind as well as a raw view of the American justice system.
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9’Funny Lady' (1975)
Directed by Herbert Ross
Streisand reprises her Oscar-winning role as Fanny Brice in the sequel,Funny Lady, which follows Brice, who is now a major Broadway star who has fallen into financial hardships due to the Great Depression. After an unexpected romance, Brice marries songwriter, Billy Rose (James Caan) and the two agree to work on a show together that will solve all their problems. When the show goes through a series of struggles, Brice manages to make it an overwhelming success, which ultimately puts a strain on her and Rose’s marriage.
UnlikeFunny Girl, the sequel was considered a complete flop with critics noting a majority of the dramatic scenes coming off as cringe-worthy and almost embarrassing for audiences to watch. While the movie has its obvious flaws, Streisand is the only redeeming quality of the film. She and Caan do have chemistry and, withOmar Sharifreprising his role as Brice’s first husband, Nick Arnstein,Funny Ladyhas a touch of nostalgia that makes it a bit more bearable.Funny Ladymay not have been as big of a success as the first film, but it’s worth seeing Streisand continue the journey of her signature character in this musical comedy sequel.
8’The Mirror Has Two Faces' (1996)
Director by Barbra Streisand
Rose Morgan is an English professor at Columbia University who lives with an overbearing mother (Lauren Bacall) and is about to celebrate her sister’s (Mimi Rogers) third marriage to her ex-boyfriend, Alex (Pierce Brosnan). When a colleague, Gregory Larkin (Jeff Bridges), proposes a platonic relationship between him and Morgan, she agrees, but as they begin to grow closer and spend more time together, they begin to fall in love with each other.
Streisand directs and stars in the romantic comedy,The Mirror Has Two Faces, which earned two Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song, written and performed by Streisand andBryan Adams, as well as Best Supporting Actress for Hollywood icon, Lauren Bacall.The Mirror Has Two Facesinitially earned mixed reviews as some critics couldn’t get past the plot’s over-obsession with vanity and appearances, while others noted it as an amusingly lighthearted tale about finding love in unexpected places.While it may not have been everyone’s cup of tea,The Mirror Has Two Facesis a homage to the classic rom-com and riddled with excellent performances by the overall cast.
The Mirror Has Two Faces
7’Yentl' (1983)
Directed by Barbra Streisand
In Streisand’s directorial debut,Yentl, Reb Mendel (Nehemiah Persoff) is a single father who teaches the boys in his village the sacred text of Talmud, which is the primary source of Jewish religious law. While women are forbidden to study religious scripture, Mendel secretly teaches his daughter, Yentl, behind closed doors, but when he passes away, she still has the desire to learn. Since her gender keeps her from continuing her studies, Yentl decides to disguise herself as a boy and enroll in a religious school where she unexpectedly finds love in the process.
Yentlis a romantic musical drama that earned four Academy Award nominations, including Best Art Direction and Best Original Song, and won Best Original Score. Set in Poland in 1904,Streisand takes on a bold story withYentlboth in front and behind the camera, cementing herself as a promising filmmaker as well as proving her impressive range and abilities as a performer. Film critic,Roger Ebert, gave the movie three and a half stars out of four, noting the film’s second act as exceptionally “charming and moving.” While the film did receive some minor criticism about Streisand being careless about certain aspects of the Jewish religion,Yentlis still a powerhouse of a film that is also a valid representation of not only the Jewish faith but also a classic love story.
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6’The Prince of Tides' (1991)
Streisand directs and stars inThe Prince of Tidesas a New York psychiatrist, Susan Lowenstein, who, after one of her patients, Savannah (Blythe Danner), attempts suicide, asks her twin brother, Tom Wingo (Nick Nolte) to help her gain insight into his sister’s dysfunctional childhood and upbringing. As Wingo divulges to Lowenstein about his and Savannah’s past and the dynamics within their family, they begin to bond over their turbulent experiences and develop a friendly alliance which eventually leads to romance.
Based on the 1986 novel written byPat Conroy,The Prince of Tidesis a serious romantic drama that successfully features the right amount of humor or love without overshadowing the plot’s dark material. Both Streisand and Nolte deliver incredible performances and their genuine on-screen chemistry is essentially the highlight of the film.The Prince of Tidesearned seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Picture.Even though it isn’t a happily ever love story,The Prince of Tidesserves as a sound reminder about the complexity of romance and how sometimes the ones that end change us for the better.
The Prince of Tides
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5’Hello, Dolly!' (1969)
Directed by Gene Kelly
Dolly Levi is a widow-turned matchmaker who travels to New York to find a suitable match for the unattached half-millionaire, Horace Vandergelder (Walter Matthau) who is more interested in finding a woman to keep house than be his wife. As Levi attempts to find Vandergelder his second bride-to-be, a series of comedic encounters with Vandergelder’s two associates and Levi’s infamous scheming eventually entangles her in her own web of romance.
Hello, Dolly!is an iconic romantic comedy musical directed by the multi-talentedGene Kelly, marking Streisand’s second major motion picture. Streisand and Matthau have excellent cheeky banter together and, surprisingly, play exceptionally well off each other throughout the film. While Streisand and Matthau are the main focus, several subplots add to this humorous love story as well as the traditional mishaps and misunderstandings that are frequent in the genre.Hello, Dolly!earned four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and ended up winning Best Art Direction, Best Score, and Best Sound.Despite not being a commercial success,Hello, Dolly!is an essential film in the musical film genre and is considered to be one of Streisand’s most memorable roles.
Hello, Dolly!
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4’A Star Is Born' (1976)
Directed by Frank Pierson
When John Norman Howard (Kris Kristofferson), a famous musician at the tail end of his career, wanders into a nightclub one night, he watches a young aspiring singer, Esther Hoffman, perform and is immediately drawn to her. As the two begin dating, Howard encourages Hoffman to pursue her dreams of stardom and begins to let her take the spotlight in his live performances. While Hoffman finds fame and success, Howard continues to spiral downward into alcohol and drugs, which leads to his unfortunate demise.
Streisand stars inthe third remake of the classic film,A Star Is Born, which was a major box office success and the 2nd highest-grossing film of 1976. The film tells the inevitable rise and fall of both stars as one succeeds to the top while the other finds his career in an uncontrollable decline due to the pressure and temptations that come with the lifestyle of fame.Despite being a remake, audiences and critics praised Streisand for her performance as well as the magnetic chemistry between her and Kristofferson who also delivers an incredible performance. The film did have some minor criticism related to the runtime and storyline, butA Star Is Bornwent on to earn several Academy Award nominations, winning for Best Original Song.
A Star Is Born
3’The Way We Were' (1973)
Directed by Sydney Pollack
When an outspoken activist and college student, Katie Morosky, meets a rather dull high society young man, Hubbell Gardiner (Robert Redford), the two are strangely attracted to one another despite being polar opposites. Years later, the two happen to meet again and eventually end up tying the knot. They settle down in California where Hubbell, now a writer, gets the opportunity to adapt his novel into a screenplay, but when Katie’s activism has a negative impact on her husband’s aspirations, their relationship begins to unravel.
The Way We Wereis a bittersweet romantic drama that showcases how even the strongest outside forces can come between two people who could have been together in another place and another time. The movie was ranked as the sixth-greatest love story in American cinema by theAmerican Film Institute. While the movie was a success, the film’s soundtrack became a gold record and the theme song by the same name, which is performed by Streisand, ranked in the top 20 songs on the Billboard 200 charts. The movie earned Streisand her second Academy Award nomination and, along with several other nominations, including Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography, it ended up winning two Oscars for Best Song and Best Original Score.
The Way We Were
2"What’s Up, Doc?" (1972)
Directed by Peter Bogdanovich
Dr. Howard Bannister (Ryan O’Neal) is a musicologist at the Iowa Conservatory of Music who, along with his tightly wound fiancé (Madeline Kahn), arrives in San Francisco to compete for a grant. While Bannister tries to keep his eye on the prize, he becomes distracted after meeting a woman, Judy Maxwell, who enjoys bringing confusion and embarrassment to his life.
As the two face a series of screwy mix-ups and accidental mishaps, they soon realize that they’re both starting to fall in love with each other, adding more chaos to an already hectic situation.
What’s Up, Doc?is an underrated screwball comedythat pays homage to the classic film genre as well as popular films such asBringing Up BabystarringKatharine HepburnandCary Grant. Streisand and O’Neal are an appealing recipe of consistent laugh-out-loud comedy but also have their endearing moments as a romance begins to blossom between them.The film became the third highest-grossing film of the year and, while it’s known for its clever references to classic screwball comedies and iconic Bugs Bunny cartoons,What’s Up, Doc?is widely remembered for its ending, which pokes fun at O’Neal’s signature film,Love Story.
1’Funny Girl' (1968)
Directed by William Wyler
Streisand stars in her breakout role inFunny Girlas Fanny Brice, who starts as a bit player on New York City’s Vaudeville circuit before working her way up to the Broadway stage. When a renowned theater producer, Florenz Ziegfield (Walter Pidgeon), recognizes Brice’s potential, her career begins to take off but her marriage to the suave businessman, Nick Arnstein (Omar Sharif), proves to be a whole other obstacle for the rising star to overcome.
Directed by Golden Age director,William Wyler,Funny Girlis an adaptation of the popular stage production of the same name and is based on the life and love story of American comedian and performer,Fanny Brice.Funny Girlearned rave reviews from audiences and critics, who praised the film’s raw portrayal of Brice’s rags-to-riches life story as well as the memorable musical numbers. The musical drama is considered to be Streisand’s greatest performance, which earned her her first Academy Award nomination and win for Best Actress.Streisand ended up tying for the award with cinema icon, Katharine Hepburn, which has occurred only a handful of times since the first Oscars in 1929.
