Yentl

film by Streisand [1983]

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July 15, 2026

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The film Yentl (1983) was directed by and stars Barbra Streisand. It is based on a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer. The film tells the story of a young Jewish woman in early 20th-century Poland who disguises herself as a man to pursue religious studies, which were forbidden to women at the time. Streisand also co-wrote the screenplay and produced the film.12

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Barbra Streisand
Star of stage and screen
…directorial debut in 1983 with Yentl, based on a story by Isaac Bashevis Singer about a young woman who pretends to be a man in order to continue her studies. Streisand starred in the title role—which she had wanted to play since 1968—as well as cowriting and coproducing the movie.
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…directorial debut in 1983 with Yentl, based on a story by Isaac Bashevis Singer about a young woman who pretends to be a man in order to continue her studies. Streisand starred in the title role—which she had wanted to play since 1968—as well as cowriting and coproducing the movie.
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Mandy Patinkin
1970s and ’80s: Evita, Yentl, and The Princess Bride
… student Avigdor in the award-winning Yentl, a musical adaptation of a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer that starred Barbra Streisand, who also served as its director. Variety magazine later wrote that Patinkin “became the thinking woman’s sex symbol, flush with booming big-screen charisma and a beatific voice.” His other…
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… student Avigdor in the award-winning Yentl, a musical adaptation of a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer that starred Barbra Streisand, who also served as its director. Variety magazine later wrote that Patinkin “became the thinking woman’s sex symbol, flush with booming big-screen charisma and a beatific voice.” His other…
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Isaac Bashevis Singer
…of the same name, and Yentl (1983), based on his story “Yentl” in Mayses fun hintern oyvn (1971; “Stories from Behind the Stove”).
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…of the same name, and Yentl (1983), based on his story “Yentl” in Mayses fun hintern oyvn (1971; “Stories from Behind the Stove”).
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