Funny Girl

Ostensibly about Fanny Brice, there could never be any other Funny Girl than Barbra Streisand. Reprising her role on stage, she practically immortalized the story on screen, carrying it through her immaculate performance, compelling chemistry with Omar Sharif, and of course, the spectacular song numbers. She’s one reason as to why Funny Girl became one of the few Broadway musicals that survived the transition between mediums, but director William Wyler matches her star power with impeccable framing and the script written by Isobel Lennart was, and still, timely with its observations of the spotlight, the art of comedy, as well as wholeheartedly chasing what you want in spite of the consequences. Funny Girl showcased the best of Hollywood and the best of Broadway all at once.

The life of famed 1930s comedienne Fanny Brice, from her early days in the Jewish slums of New York, to the height of her career with the Ziegfeld Follies, as well as her marriage to the rakish gambler Nick Arnstein.