The Theme Song

With music by James Newton Howard and lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, the song "Places That Belong To You" was readied for The Prince of Tides’ end credits. After all, Streisand had done quite well in the past with singing movie theme songs—especially on her own films (The Way We Were, What's Up Doc?, and For Pete’s Sake).

But director Streisand questioned whether singer Streisand should be included in the movie. There was also pressure from the studio for an original song — it could be included on the soundtrack album, which would sell very well.  A Streisand song could also possibly be nominated for an Academy Award.

In fact, when Streisand showed a version of the movie that ended with the “theme song” at a San Diego test screening, 86% of the audience favored the song’s inclusion. 

Barbra still wasn’t convinced. “I have to sing for my supper?” she asked. “Like the film isn’t enough? The story isn’t enough? The acting isn’t enough? I thought it would take away the emphasis on [Tom's] journey. This is the story of the character Nick Nolte plays—Tom Wingo. I didn't want to bring it back to emphasizing Lowenstein's life. To me, that would have seemed gratuitous, exploitative, and just wrong."

Streisand, always exploring her options during editing, created four versions of credits for Tides.

1. Credits at the opening of film; shorter credits at end
2. Credits at opening; “Places That Belong To You” at the beginning of the end credits
3. No opening credits; “Places” at the beginning of the end credits; rest of end credits with orchestral score
4. “Places” being sung 1:12 minutes into the end credits (“separating the film from my [vocal] performance”]

Ultimately, Streisand chose no opening credits, and the end credits with an orchestral score. “Places That Belong To You” did not appear in the final film. 

There was even a clarifying disclaimer on the soundtrack CD: “Please note—Ms. Streisand’s vocal performances were recorded exclusively for this Compact Disc release. They do not appear in the film The Prince of Tides.”

“It’s his story,” Streisand explained. “That's why I didn't sing the song at the end of the movie. I would have been paid a lot of money to sing the song, as much as I got paid to produce. But I felt it wasn’t right. It was his story and what right would I have to come in and sing this song? My character is a secondary character.”

.... Roger Ebert, December 24, 1991

While publicizing The Prince of Tides, Barbra Streisand told the press, “I want to help my movie. I didn’t do any press on Nuts, and I love that movie, and it hurt it.”

Indeed, Streisand was seemingly everywhere in print, newspaper and television, talking about her movie.

Iconic fashion photographer Francesco Scavullo was hired to produce publicity photographs of Streisand and Nolte to be used in the film’s marketing.  Makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin, a huge fan of Streisand’s, was booked to do touchups that day, a dream come true for him. Scavullo had already made indelible images on Streisand album covers (Classical Barbra) and film campaigns (A Star Is Born and The Main Event).

A studio executive told the New York Times: “Originally, Prince of Tides was to be released in September [1991]. In fact, they had a Vanity Fair cover of Streisand timed to the release of the film. They couldn't pull the cover. So a little bit of their campaign broke early.”

Columbia finally decided that Tides would do better business as a Christmas 1991 “event film.” They sneak previewed the movie in cities across the country on December 7^th.

Tides’ New York premiere was Monday, December 9^th. Attending were stars Nick Nolte, Blythe Danner, and Kate Nelligan. Celebrities who attended included Donald Trump and his then-wife Marla Maples, and model Vendela. (Streisand did not attend, probably due to her West Coast premiere duties).

The Prince of Tides premiered in Century City on December 11, 1991 (pictured above) at the Cineplex Odeon Century Plaza Cinemas. Barbra Streisand was escorted by Jon Peters. Streisand’s sister Roslyn Kind and mother, Diana, attended. Also spotted at the West coast premiere: Cis Corman, Jason Gould, Blythe Danner and her family (including young Gwyneth Paltrow), Kate Nelligan. And: Tom Hanks, Michael Keaton and Courtney Cox, Kevin Costner, Amy Irving, Penny Marshall, Leonard Nimoy, and Goldie Hawn.

At the London premiere of The Prince of Tides—a charity benefit for Princess Diana’s AIDS Crisis Trust—Streisand received a standing ovation at the end of the film. The audience yelled “Speech, Barbra!” and Streisand said to them: “The last time I was here for Yentl you made it special for me and now eight years later you haven't let me down.”

The premiere was held on February 18, 1992 at the Odeon, Leicester Square.

“After the performance, the protocol was for [Diana] to get up first, but she pushed me up and made me get up first,” Streisand recalled. “She was so kind.”

The Prince of Tides received some unintended publicity when the New York Times ran an article in which some professionals criticized the fictional psychiatrist portrayed by Streisand in the movie. Dr. Jeffrey Rosecan gave a quote to the Times in which he said, “Lowenstein commits the cardinal sin of psychiatry by sleeping with Tom Wingo, the twin brother of her suicidal patient. That’s totally unethical, it’s immoral and it’s probably malpractice.”

Barbra Streisand fired back with a column that was run by Newsweek magazine titled “Physicians, Heal Thyselves.” In it, she wrote: “… Tom Wingo was not Lowenstein’s patient. His sister was her patient. He did not solicit her help; she sought his – so she did not violate her trust.”

Streisand further argued, “I know [Lowenstein] exists, this woman capable of healing others yet needing help herself. Imperfect, human, like the rest of us. Where is it written that doctors have to be perfect, have to be gods?”

As for Lowenstein’s affair with the brother of a patient being unethical, Streisand stated: “Maybe it is. But that is the story.”

The Prince of Tides, whose budget totaled about $30 million, earned $74.8 million at the box office worldwide and remained in the top ten earning films list for seven weeks in the U.S. 

The Prince of Tides received seven Academy Award nominations, but, as it had been with Yentl, Barbra Streisand was ignored (snubbed?) once again by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as Best Director. “I can’t deny that I’m disappointed,” Streisand told the Associated Press, “but I’m thrilled to get seven. I’m ecstatic about that.”

Only about five percent of the films directed in 1990 had female directors. Also, out of the 281 members of AMPAS who could vote in the director category, only twelve were women. Then, if you look backward from the year 2020, only five women were nominated for Best Director over the 90-year history of the Academy Awards! It wasn’t until 2010 that Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman ever to win a Best Director Oscar — and it was presented to her by Barbra.

Back in 1992, though, Streisand was nominated by the Directors Guild of America and the Golden Globes for her direction of Prince of Tides. 

Streisand at 7:10 minutes ...

Related Links

• The Prince of Tides Soundtrack Album
• “For All We Know” Music Video
• “Places That Belong To You” Music Video
• “The Triumph of Barbra Streisand” Cosmopolitan story 1991
• Vanity Fair 1991 Cover Story
• Ladies Home Journal 1992 Cover Story
• Shot By Shot: Flashback Sequence, Premiere Magazine 1991

“Tides” On Home Video

Columbia/Tristar first released The Prince of Tides for home viewing in 1992 on VHS cassette tape.

The home video boutique company Criterion/Voyager (as it was known in the 1990s) prepared a laserdisc of The Prince of Tides with Streisand's involvement, beginning in 1992. Streisand supplied cut scenes and director’s commentary. The first edition that was released was withdrawn by Criterion due to typos and chapter cards not matching the scenes described.

Barbra worked on the disc during her 1994 concert tour, faxing instructions to Criterion. The Prince of Tides LD was finally in stores by December 1994 with a $100 price tag.

A funny story:  In February 1995 when NBC broadcast The Prince of Tides on network television, Streisand was watching at home.  She was shocked that the volume on the network commercials was much louder than the movie itself.  So she called NBC’s Manhattan headquarters to request they turn down the volume on the commercials by 4 decibels. Streisand spoke with Elliott Ruga, who was the manager in charge of weekend broadcast operations at NBC.  He explained that the sponsors might have a problem with that, and also described that commercials have “dense sound” and therefore sound louder next to a quiet scene from a movie. “In the spirit of cooperation, and since Ms. Streisand was the director and star of the film,” Ruga told the New York Times, “I agreed to lower our commercial level 2 decibels.”

It should be noted that an actual law was passed by the Federal Communications Commission in 20122, called the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (or CALM), which prohibits commercials from being louder than the program on TV.

It wasn’t until 2001 that Columbia Pictures released The Prince of Tides on DVD. The DVD was dual-layered, and the film was presented in its original 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio, but it was also devoid of any bonus features except for “talent files” and “theatrical trailers.”

Then on March 31, 2020, Criterion released what was billed as the “Director Approved Special Edition” of The Prince of Tides. This edition of Streisand’s film ported over most of the laserdisc’s content but did include some new bonus items:

• The audio commentary track by Streisand is now a compilation of the original 1991 version mixed with a newly recorded (2019) one.
• The film was a new 4K digital restoration, supervised by Streisand.
• An excerpt from the 2018 interview with Robert Rodriguez (The Director’s Chair) was added.
• Also new:  an interview with Pat Conroy from a 1992 episode of Cinema Showcase with Jim Whaley.
• Another new interview:  Streisand with British television interviewer Michael Aspel (1992).

END / The Prince of Tides / MORE MOVIES ...