Feature: "I Remember Barbra" 1980 Documentary
February 2006
One of the more bizarre
Streisand retrospectives was the 1980 short feature (about 22 minutes
long) called "I Remember Barbra." Filmmaker Kevin Burns took to the
streets, shops, boardwalks, apartment houses and classrooms of Brooklyn
and Erasmus Hall to document the Barbra Streisand her friends and
neighbors remembered as an adolescent and up and coming performer. Video
clips of Barbra are not used in the film and neither is her music.
Instead, the documentary focuses on everyday Brooklynites and their
recollections of their favorite hometown girl. "I Remember Barbra" is
not a sophisticated piece of cinematography, but it does provide an
amusing look of the all too real people who knew Barbra as a teenager
growing up in Flatbush. The editing is done tongue-in-cheek as Burns
interviews Barbra's high school classmates and teachers, along with a
whole host of various and sundry neighborhood characters. The video is
out of print.
"I
Remember Barbra . . .
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...as
a graduate of our school, and we are proud of the honor that
she has accorded to us by this association."
-Principal, Erasmus Hall |
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...as her biology teacher. That was in 1957. Barbra was one
in a class of over 30 very bright students."
- Barbra's teacher, Erasmus Hall |
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...as
a very strong student amongst many, many talented students.
I recall that Miss Streisand sat in the third row, the
second seat."
- Barbra's teacher,
Erasmus Hall
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...as one of the many students that I used to escort out of
Garfield's Cafeteria for cutting Erasmus Hall High School."
- Truant Officer, Erasmus Hall
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...when she was a senior. We had to swim in Erasmus in order
to graduate. It took us five semesters to jump in the pool.
We met, both standing on the edge of the pool, shaking."
- Barbra's classmate |
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...when she was studying dramatics. I didn't know that she
had this tremendous voice lurking beneath the surface. I
never heard her sing. I never knew she wanted to be a
singer."
- Barbra's classmate |
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...when she was in high school. The most attractive thing
about her was how natural she was. She had tremendous
talent. She was accepted. Everybody knew who she was."
- Barbra's classmate |
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...when she
used to go into New York and work in nightclubs. She used to
sleep in the office of a friend of mine. She would stay in
New York because that's where the action was."
- Neighborhood friend |
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