Trivia / Yentl

• California Doubling: England and the Czech Republic double for Poland.
• Dawson Casting: Barbra Streisand was 40 at the time of filming. In the original short story by I.B. Singer, Yentl seems to be younger than 20, although Streisand made the character 28 years old in the movie. Interesting in that the plot revolves around the main character disguising herself as a boy to study in a yeshiva, which when done by a 40-year-old woman stretches the imagination a bit. Then again, so does Streisand's Brooklyn accent in a movie set in Poland around the turn of the century. Well, Streisand does have some difficult singing to do; you couldn't really expect her to do it in a Polish accent.
• Disowned Adaptation: Isaac Bashevis Singer, who wrote the original short story, said of the film, "I did not find artistic merit neither in the adaptation, nor in the directing." He also negatively compared Streisand's performance to that of Tovah Feldshuh, who had played Yentl in the Broadway version.
• Fatal Method Acting: Harold Goldblatt was the actor originally cast as the rabbi. Goldblatt collapsed shortly after his part of the read-through. Actors Gary Brown and Kerry Shale remember Streisand cradling him before the ambulance arrived. Sadly, he died on the way to hospital. Streisand was afterwards shocked to discover that he had understated his age by almost twenty years in order to get the part.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Mandy Patinkin has said that in initial talks about the film, his character was originally going to sing as well, but then they decided to keep all the songs as Yentl's Inner Monologue.
  • Streisand's future stepdaughter-in-law Diane Lane auditioned for Hadass.
  • Streisand originally wanted Richard Gere to play Avigdor, but he thought that she couldn't handle directing and starring in the film. He offered to take the role if she would let someone else direct or play the lead role, but she refused. Michael Douglas was offered the role, but turned it down. Kevin Kline was considered.
  • Streisand originally wanted Ivan Passer to direct, but after reading the screenplay he declined, because he thought Streisand was too old and too famous for the part. He also thought the story was too unrealistic and claimed the audience would never accept the premise.

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