[Continued]
.... Barbra Streisand, Yentl Blu-ray Director’s Commentary
Streisand, in the middle of directing her first feature film, confessed: “I'm absolutely terrified about being a director. Everybody is talking to me. I have no moment alone. Everybody has to know the answers to everything. I'm getting paid back for all the times I thought I knew the answers.”
During the production of Yentl, which filmed interiors on sets at Lee International Studios in London, Barbra stayed in a large Georgian mansion in the Chelsea district owned by Billy Gaff, Rod Stewart’s ex-manager.
Beth Porter reported that on the first day of shooting Streisand delivered “a speech to everyone on the crew and whatever cast was present.” Porter wrote that “the effect on us all was instantly cohesive. She was honest in her acknowledgement of how important the project was for her, and humble in her doubts about her ability to undertake it.”
Streisand expressed: “When I arrived on the set that first day, this man shook my hand with a sweaty palm. I said, ‘Are you nervous?’ and he said, ‘A little,’ and I said, ‘Well no one’s more nervous than me. We’re all in this together, and if you make a mistake, it’s fine, because I’ll be the one making most of the mistakes.”’
“I am very embarrassed by having power,” Streisand said. “Zelda, my script-girl, would sometimes say to me, ‘Gotta speak louder on the set, Barbra. You speak too softly.’ I mean, I would never yell. That’s not the way I operate.”
During filming, Streisand confessed, “I have two very different sides of my face. My left side is more feminine. My right side is more masculine. In the movie I had myself photographed from the right to show a side of me that had hardly ever been seen. You know the scene after my father's funeral, where I look in a mirror and cut off my hair? I had a crack made in that mirror that would divide my face in half. Male and female.”
Streisand, who went to the Yeshiva of Brooklyn in Williamsburg as a young girl, cast boys and girls to play the students in her film. “Talmud students really do look quite feminine,” she explained to Life magazine. “They have light pale skin because they are never out in the sunshine, and they sit on their behinds all day, so they get soft feminine asses. I cast boys with big lips and pretty eyes. I also used some girls as boys, did you notice that? Some of them had kind of masculine faces, maybe a little peach fuzz on the upper lip, and they looked good in boys’ clothing. I didn't want anybody to be 100 percent masculine or 100 percent feminine.”
The actors playing students were assigned a yeshiva teacher who instructed them how actual Jewish learners would behave and what they would study.
“Tons of improv, constantly” said Kerry Shale, cast as one of the students. “Because we had virtually no lines. I think I had two scripted lines.”
Danny Brainin, also cast as a student, added, “You’re having all these Talmudic debates. So we had Talmudic debate class.”
“There was a lot of overtime on that movie,” Shale recalled. “I bought a little flat eventually. Video playback had just been invented. Every scene [Barbra] would go back and look at the video. She would play the scene a dozen different ways. She would ask everybody, including [her assistant] Renata. This is why it took forever.”
Shale also relayed that Streisand placed him next to her on the horse-drawn wagon scene in which the students travel to Becheve. Why? Because he couldn’t grow a beard and she liked having another unshaven boy next to Yentl, who was smooth faced as well.
Despite her distaste for lip-syncing, Streisand did perform the task for her songs in Yentl. British recording engineer, Keith Grant, said: “We recorded the music onto, as you like, track A and we recorded the voice onto track B. So they could go out on location and play track A and B and Barbra could either mime to it – in some cases she actually sings to it. There’s some bits in the film, if I’m right, I think she actually sings live in front of camera.”
Rusty Lemorande related that “the stages at Lee International were not very big, and there weren’t many, so it was a very complex setup where a set had to be ‘wrapped’ right away, because in two days the next set had to be up. Barbra was jumping around from stage to stage to stage in this precise order to get all these sets in a soundstage that was really quite small.”
There are several Steadicam shots utilized in Yentl. The Steadicam had just been invented by Garrett Brown — it allows camera operators to film while walking without the normal shaking and jostles of a handheld camera. Streisand hired Brown to operate the Steadicam on Yentl. Brown confessed that he had “a friendly rivalry” with camera operator Peter MacDonald on Yentl. “He and I were, in effect, competing for screen time,” Brown wrote, explaining it was a competition of “his mastery of the conventional filmmaking hardware versus my Steadicam chops. On one priceless occasion we both got to shoot the same scene and directly compare the results. Peter laid his rails, and made his elaborate crane moves. Then all was struck, and I did it all over again on foot; laddering up onto wagons and stumbling off onto apple boxes, high-stepping my way through the weeds. Director Barbra Streisand printed both versions for uproarious comparison in the screening room and intercut between us in the movie. It was magic.”
In July 1982, the crew filmed on location in Roztyly, Czechoslovakia. During their stay there, Yentl’s British crew was joined by a Czechoslovakian unit under the supervision of Karel Skop of the Barrandon Film Studios in Prague.
Streisand asked Mandy Patinkin for verisimilitude in the swimming scene at the river (which was filmed in England, not Czechoslovakia). “She wanted me to go swimming every day,” Patinkin said, “so I went swimming every day, in a very cold lake. When it came to my turn to be exposed, I was minimally concerned, but, at the end of the day, I thought, Hey, look, I know that the frame is going to be one thing, but the negative may have more information. What control am I going to have over this? Probably zero. I remember that the water was so cold that I felt, whatever I was . . . endowed with had disappeared because of the cold.”
Although the cast and crew have been discreet over the years, it’s well known that Patinkin was “difficult” on set — a word usually reserved for Streisand.
“If Barbra was just a co-actor making the requests of Mandy, and not the director, he would have had every reason to feel the demands were extraordinary, but I and all the crew members felt Mandy was being unreasonable and difficult,” said Rusty Lemorande.
David Watkin didn’t name Patinkin but did relate: “Somebody wouldn’t take direction. And Barbra’s behavior, in regard to that person, was exemplary. She was patient. They wouldn’t do something she wanted them to do, and I can remember she said very sweetly, ‘Perhaps if we do enough takes, they’ll forget and do what I want.’”
To Movieline magazine in 1990, Patinkin stated: “It killed me that I didn’t sing in Yentl. We talked about it, we talked about it, but it just kind of disappeared. I forgot about it, but don’t think it didn’t kill me.” (As mentioned earlier, the musical conceit of the film simply wouldn’t allow a song for Patinkin. Only Yentl had interior monologues/songs. If Avigdor was to sing, then why not Papa? What would Shimmele sing about? Do the villagers sing a song, too? At what point would Yentl become Fiddler on the Roof?)
Sometimes with Amy Irving, Streisand (as director) would sit at her feet, just out of camera range, and make her laugh so that the camera would film Irving’s reactions. This method of directing was inspired by the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. Elliott Gould (Streisand’s former husband) was in one of Bergman’s films and Streisand witnessed him directing in this manner and was so impressed.
For the scene in which Yentl runs through the woods (“The Way He Makes Me Feel”), Streisand used her understudy to work out the path she would run. Beth Porter staged it with camera operator Peter MacDonald and she placed rocks where Streisand was to move; then, when it was time to film, Porter showed Streisand the setup. “I just can’t run anywhere,” Streisand explained, “I have to be in focus.”
When Streisand filmed Avigdor and Yentl crossing the Charles Bridge in Prague, it was historical because the bridge hadn’t been closed in centuries. For the impressive shot, five hundred extras in period costumes walked the bridge for Streisand, who managed to lens the scene despite the rain — the weather cooperated for a few moments and the sun came out.
Streisand also created a visual motif by having Yentl cross a body of water every time she took a step forward in her unique journey. The bodies of water got bigger as Yentl (and the film) progressed. The opening scene showed a feather floating down a very small stream; later Yentl rides a ferry across a lake; Yentl and Avigdor cross the river on the Charles Bridge; and Yentl crosses the ocean in the final scene (“A Piece of Sky”).
Streisand envisioned “A Piece of Sky” — which Michel Legrand orchestrated with four grand pianos and a 72-piece orchestra — as Yentl’s big finale sung aboard a boat to America. Streisand explained her vision: “I wanted the camera to move with the music, see her from the back at first, standing at the stern below, and then to move around her in a half-circle over the water until we see her face from the front. And then without a cut it had to follow her as she moves across the deck because I didn’t want to do another setup, ya know? I said, ‘How do we do that shot, Peter?’ And he said there’s only one crane that could possible do that. It’s called the Louma Crane which has a very long arm. But it had never been used on a moving boat before.”
For filming (beginning September 5, 1982), the casting department advertised for extras to portray immigrants on the boat for this scene. Many extras were drawn from the Liverpool Jewish community, specifically from the Liverpool Jewish Youth and Community Centre. Hillary Swerdlow recalled, “I thought it sounded fun and went along. We were picked out straight away. It was a week of very early mornings. We all had specific outfits to wear and had to cross the busy main road to get to the boat in full costume! Most of the time we just sat about laughing. Barbra Streisand was very strict about anyone wearing makeup and would meticulously check us over.”
The last dramatic dialogue scene filmed on the movie was the confrontation between Avigdor and Yentl in the Lublin inn, which was a set at Lee International Studios. Streisand revealed in her director’s commentary on the Blu-ray that she rewrote this scene. Originally, the movie cut to Avigdor and Yentl after making love; Avigdor brings up Hadass, which spoils the mood. “I thought, ‘too much,’” Streisand said. Lemorande chimed in: “It’s unrequited this way” (in the final film).
“Papa, Can You Hear Me” was the last scene that was filmed. Streisand needed the studio space for the song (it was filmed inside, despite the outdoors location). In order to get the shot in which the camera cranes back, showing Yentl alone in the forest, it was necessary to remove one of the studio’s walls to achieve the distance with the crane. Co-producer Rusty Lemorande was beneath the camera frame blowing Streisand’s hair with a hairdryer to create the wind in the air. Streisand said it was difficult to figure out how to shoot the number, “with Louma Cranes, and branches dying, and turf turning brown, and the owl’s too small ….”
Streisand enjoyed her British film crew. “I was so fortunate to work in England as a director for the first time,” she expressed. “The shoot was so smooth, and they were so supportive because they had no misogynistic feelings. They had a queen. Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister at the time. And anything I wanted to do … they said, ‘If that’s your vision, if that’s what you see, we will give that to you.’”
Barbra’s cast and crew were asked many times by the British press how they were getting along with the “temperamental” director. They wrote a letter to the major newspapers and every person on the film signed it, with the letter stating that Streisand was pleasant to work with, and that “she has completely captivated us all.” (No newspaper printed the letter.)
As Yentl wrapped up production, Streisand was faced with the compromises with the studio. “I constantly had to give up everything,” she said. “I didn't get paid for writing, I got paid [Directors Guild] scale for directing, which I think is something like $80,000, and I got paid much less as an actress than I did in my last film, All Night Long. And then I had to give back half my salary if we went over budget.”
United Artists and Streisand did squabble over the insurance completion bond on the movie. The Los Angeles Times clarified this for non-film industry people: “Completion bonds are basically insurance policies purchased by producers to protect themselves when films run over budget.” Streisand’s original contract with U.A. did not require a completion bond. “But the day before we were going to start shooting, [United Artists] said they would close down the production if I didn't give in and take on the completion bond,” Streisand explained. She complained that U.A. paid the Completion Bond Co. $700,000, “which I needed in the movie,” she said. “They didn't trust me. Put it that way, I suppose.”
Streisand did go $1 million over budget and Completion Bond Co. stepped in during post-production when Streisand was beginning audio and music work. The company insisted she finish dubbing the film in six weeks, or it would take the movie away from her and hire another filmmaker to complete it. Streisand wanted ten weeks and counteroffered to pay for it herself.
“I kept saying, ‘Please, we’re going to ruin the movie. I’m going to die from the pressure. This is supposed to be a joyous experience’”
Streisand finished dubbing in six weeks. Despite United Artists flexing their corporate muscles, they “didn't touch my movie. Not a frame,” she stated. “They gave me complete control when I gave it away to them, in a sense.”
Frank Yablans, MGM/U.A.’s vice chairman, issued a statement saying, “I want to make it clear that Ms. Streisand is, has been and will always be the credited producer and director retaining full artistic control.”
Working with editor Terry Rawlings, Streisand assembled the film. “We spent many happy hours going through that film together,” Rawlings told Cinemontage.org. “She was very unsure because it was her first film as a director, and she was very nervous about whether she was doing everything correctly.”
Rawlings was very fond of Yentl whenever he spoke of it. “I love music. Music is very important to me,” he said. “To work on a musical with [Streisand] was very special. She is fantastic to be with, she is a hard-working person.”
After his death in 2019, Streisand wrote on Twitter that Rawlings “always made me laugh ... and I adored his delicious personality. He made the whole experience of editing Yentl such a joy.”
Yentl’s cut scenes are well-documented on the DVD and Blu-ray discs released over the years. Mostly, scenes were cut for pace and running time — the studio did not want the movie to run much over two hours in length. For instance, this photo above was the original way Yentl made her appearance in the movie — standing on a stack of wood, peering into the Jewish Temple and watching the rabbis pray. Yentl took a tumble.
Streisand’s “Director’s Cut” is included on the Blu-ray, running 137 minutes (compared to the 133 minute theatrical run time).
Photo Slideshow Below: Click the arrows to view more photos of Streisand filming Yentl.
…. Director Sydney Pollack (“The Way We Were”) to USA Today
Before deciding on Czechoslovakia, Streisand and Rusty Lemorande scouted exteriors in Poland, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Romania.
The British cinematographer had a painterly style, and used soft light sources and natural light. He also conceived of a new way to film night scenes with one light source that mimicked the moon.
…. Review by James Wolcott, Texas Monthly, January 1984.
David Watkin achieved a beautiful photographic look on Yentl with its sunny exteriors and candlelit, burnished interiors. Streisand said: “I showed him Rembrandt paintings as an example for the look I wanted. Then I flew to see those Rembrandts at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. I wanted to see up close how black the blacks were in order to decide what film stock to use.”
Watkin photographed the movie using Zeiss lenses on an Arri BL-3 camera and altered Eastman color negatives 5247 and 5293.
In England, two people perform a job traditionally done by one in America. “One person does only the lighting,” Streisand described the English system. “He’s called the ‘lighting cameraman’ And the camera operator works with the director [to decide] where is the camera going to move? Peter McDonald was the camera operator — he’s fantastic.”
On Streisand’s original “wish list” for Yentl was cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, who had lensed The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, and had recently completed Warren Beatty’s Reds. “I had to tell Storaro that I couldn't afford him,” Streisand said about the $250,000 Storaro would have added to her budget.
With David Watkin, however, Barbra Streisand was able to achieve the look she wanted for Yentl. “This is a realistic fantasy,” she explained. “Just by having the music you make it a fantasy. Music is not real. People don't stop to sing. I didn't want to make Roman Polanski's Macbeth, with people who have grubby, matted hair. This [film] was beautiful pictures, fairytale images. I wanted it to be a romantic film.”
Streisand and Watkin took care lighting Amy Irving to make her as beautiful as possible. To give her a warmer look in her closeups, they chose not to bounce the light on her skin using the usual white reflectors. “I would hold a card in front of her, if I was in the scene with her, like with the father,” Streisand said. “And I knew Storaro covered it with gold foil and I’d shine it on her as she was talking. I could get really close to her and hold it in my hands and light her face.”
Watkin told American Cinematographer about photographing Streisand. “All her professional life there had been almost a formula for lighting and photographing her,” he said. “You didn’t photograph the left side of her face and she had a key light that was top right — even to the extent, I think, that an electrician would walk around the set with a hand lamp and literally hold it there. Which was fine, it was a very good way to light her. But I don’t think it’s the only way. We shot some tests — and she liked them.”
Watkin also achieved realistic lighting for night scenes by using his creation — the “Wendy Light.” Named after the character Wendy in Peter Pan who sews Peter’s shadow back on, the “Wendy Light” was basically a bright light source hoisted up 150 feet in the air on a crane. This placement of the light mimics the moon and gives the scene one light source. “You see,” Watkin said, “because of the height, the light is always coming from the right place — it is absolute magic.”
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