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MusicDramaRomance

Yentl

- In a time when the world of study belonged only to men, there lived a girl who dared to ask..."why?"

In a time when girls were forbidden to study religious scriptures, a Jewish girl masquerades as a boy to enter religious training and unexpectedly finds love along the way.

Release Date : 1983-11-18

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : LadbrokeUnited ArtistsBarwood FilmsMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Barbra Streisand

Character Name : Yentl

Original Name : Barbra Streisand

Gender : Female

Mandy Patinkin

Character Name : Avigdor

Original Name : Mandy Patinkin

Gender : Male

Amy Irving

Character Name : Hadass

Original Name : Amy Irving

Gender : Female

Nehemiah Persoff

Character Name : Rebbe Mendel

Original Name : Nehemiah Persoff

Gender : Male

Steven Hill

Character Name : Reb Alter Vishkower

Original Name : Steven Hill

Gender : Male

Allan Corduner

Character Name : Shimmele

Original Name : Allan Corduner

Gender : Male

Ruth Goring

Character Name : Esther Rachel

Original Name : Ruth Goring

Gender : Female

David de Keyser

Character Name : Rabbi Zalman

Original Name : David de Keyser

Gender : Male

Bernard Spear

Character Name : Tailor

Original Name : Bernard Spear

Gender : Male

Doreen Mantle

Character Name : Mrs. Shaemen

Original Name : Doreen Mantle

Gender : Female

Lynda Baron

Character Name : Peshe

Original Name : Lynda Baron

Gender : Female

Jack Lynn

Character Name : Bookseller

Original Name : Jack Lynn

Gender : Male

Anna Tzelniker

Character Name : Mrs. Kovner

Original Name : Anna Tzelniker

Gender : Female

Miriam Margolyes

Character Name : Sarah

Original Name : Miriam Margolyes

Gender : Female

Mary Henry

Character Name : Mrs. Jacobs

Original Name : Mary Henry

Gender : Female

Robbie Barnett

Character Name : Tailor's Assistant

Original Name : Robbie Barnett

Gender : Male

Ian Sears

Character Name : David

Original Name : Ian Sears

Gender : Male

Frank Baker

Character Name : Village Student

Original Name : Frank Baker

Gender : Male

Anthony Dean Rubeš

Character Name : Village Student

Original Name : Anthony Dean Rubeš

Gender : Male

Renata Buser

Character Name : Mrs. Shaemen's Daughter

Original Name : Renata Buser

Gender : Male

Kerry Shale

Character Name : Yeshiva Student

Original Name : Kerry Shale

Gender : Male

Danny Brainin

Character Name : Yeshiva Student

Original Name : Danny Brainin

Gender : Male

Gary Brown

Character Name : Yeshiva Student

Original Name : Gary Brown

Gender : Male

Jonathan Tafler

Character Name : Yeshiva Student

Original Name : Jonathan Tafler

Gender : Male

Peter Whitman

Character Name : Yeshiva Student

Original Name : Peter Whitman

Gender : Male

Teddy Kempner

Character Name : Yeshiva Student

Original Name : Teddy Kempner

Gender : Male

Norma Atallah

Character Name : Debra (uncredited)

Original Name : Norma Atallah

Gender : Female

Mark English

Character Name : Yeshiva Student (uncredited)

Original Name : Mark English

Gender : Male

Milena Glogarová

Character Name : Woman on the Charles Bridge (uncredited)

Original Name : Milena Glogarová

Gender : Female

Derek Lyons

Character Name : Yeshiva Student (uncredited)

Original Name : Derek Lyons

Gender : Male

Chris Parsons

Character Name : Scholar (uncredited)

Original Name : Chris Parsons

Gender : Male

Peter Ross-Murray

Character Name : Yeshiva Student (uncredited)

Original Name : Peter Ross-Murray

Gender : Male

Beth Porter

Character Name : Hadass' maid (uncredited)

Original Name : Beth Porter

Gender : Female

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2025-01-17

The eponymous young woman (Barbra Streisand) has been brought up by her father (Nehemiah Persoff) to be a free thinking and curious young girl, and one who is determined to get an education even though it is only boys who are allowed to go to university. When he dies, she hits on quite a riskily innovative idea. She will cut her hair and dress as boy. Voilà - "Anschel" is born and of he goes to further study the Talmud. Once there, she befriends "Avigdor" (Mandy Patinkin) and his fiancée "Hadass" (Amy Irving) and her association with them gradually makes her realise that there is much more to life than books and philosophy. Life must be for living. Except, well perhaps no-one would be prepared for the favour her new friend asks of her; one that compromises the very purpose of her study and search for independence. It's at this point that what was a powerful and personable drama starts to come off the rails. There is a cruelty to the narrative that no amount of power-ballading is going to mitigate. I went from being broadly engaged by the "Yentl/Anschel" character to being really rather disgusted by the selfishness on display. Certainly that's partly a testament to the acting of Streisand and to the scene-stealing Irving, and it's a potent indictment of marital traditions that don't just exist within the Jewish community, but I still found the preparedness of this would-be scholar to engage in something quite so unkind rather put me off a story about which I no longer cared. The production design is authentic looking and the supporting cast for the first part of the film are engaging, lively and even a little mischievous. "Papa" and "A Piece of Sky" clearly demonstrate the Legrand/Bergman/Streisand partnership at it's most musically powerful but in the end did this film show us a woman bent on self-improvement or one just concerned about herself? I think however pertinent the purpose of a film may be, it's important for the audience to feel some sympathy with the plaintiff, so to speak. Here I started off like that, but quickly felt a lack of objectivity around the development of the lead characterisation led to the creation of a persona I didn't especially respect and I certainly didn't trust.