Nothing's Impossible

Barbara Streisand made her directorial debut with “Yentl�(1983), a period piece about a Jewish girl who disguises herself as a boy in order to learn Talmudic Law (the ancient laws of Judaism). “Yentl�, which is based on a short story by Isaac Singer, was something Streisand had been wanting to do for over ten years. The movie went on to win two Oscars® and Streisand became the first woman to win a Golden Globe Best Director award. It was a beautifully realized movie, and a box office success. Unlike many of her productions where Streisand wore a whole warehouse of costumes her costume changes in “Yentl� are few, and have enormous significance. She wears the custom dress of a young single girl in the beginning, and then for virtually the rest of the film, she wears the uniform that boys wore who were attending Talmud education. Her only “formal� wear is in the key dramatic scene at the funeral of her beloved widowed father, the Rabbi Mendel (Nehemiah Persoff). At the cemetery she wears a half-waist black jacket and long black dress. It is after this funeral when her character has nowhere to go, that she makes the courageous decision to continue her studies as he father wanted her to, by disguising herself as a boy, leaving the village, to go to the “city� to the Talmudic school. At the funeral she is seen first kneeling at the grave, then she stands up and performs the ceremonial tearing of a visible portion of her clothing as an expression of pain and sorrow. In this case she tears a bit of her jacket lapel. This is the actual screen-used hero jacket that Streisand wore in that seen. You will see in this wonderful jacket, that the lapel has been scored to make the tear easier, and is also tacked, so that the lapel could be quickly replaced by another scored lapel piece for further takes. The jacket was found at Streisand's 24 acre estate in Rameriz Canyon deep in the Malibu canyon. Streisand donated the entire estate to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. The jacket has the official label from Berman’s & Nathans, the most famous and largest costume house in the world. The label has their official logo and address, and under that in type is: "BARBARA STREISAND – 18838 – YENTL"". Streisand memorabilia, especially her costumes, are extremely hard to come by, so this is a true find for both Streisand fans, and all serious collectors. Especially when considering how it was used in this movie. The jacket is in mint condition and comes with a Letter of Provenance.