Barbra Streisand 'The Television Specials 5-DVD Boxed Set' album

The five Barbra Streisand early career TV specials, which confirmed for critics and public alike that she would be the music world’s most legendary female entertainer for many decades, have been gathered into an historic DVD box-set by Warner Strategic Marketing for release just prior to Thanksgiving. For over forty years Ms. Streisand’s accomplishments in the recording field, in film and television and on stage have set virtually unbreakable records, and it was these early television specials that previewed for national audiences the unparalleled range of talent and originality that would distinguish her as both a legend and a trailblazer.

On display in the award-winning specials are not only the multi-Grammy-winning Voice of the Century, the unique comic and dramatic acting flair that earned her both Oscar and Tony, but also the exquisite taste, showmanship and visual inspiration that would make her a leading film director and producer and would establish records in the world of concert performance. Those first five specials, for which the young star, barely into her twenties, was so wisely given full creative control, were and remain a thrilling introduction to all of her varied talents.

Warner Strategic Marketing, industry leader in marketing and distribution of music and television on DVD, notes that in bringing Streisand’s groundbreaking original television performances to DVD for the first time ever, they are making available to the public many classic performances unseen since their first broadcasts.

The partnership will launch with a fall 2005 Direct Response campaign timed to the November 22nd retail release of a deluxe 5-disc box set. The set includes her legendary CBS television performances: My Name is Barbra, Color Me Barbra, The Belle of 14th Street, Barbra Streisand: A Happening in Central Park and Barbra Streisand and Other Musical Instruments.

“We have found a way to take these landmark performances, many of which have been unavailable to the public for decades, and bring them to a very eager audience.” stated Scott Pascucci, President of Warner Strategic Marketing “In these performances, Barbra conquers nearly every genre on the map and we are proud to be able to finally give viewers the chance to witness how truly timeless and groundbreaking her original specials were, and still are.”

BARBARA STREISAND: THE TELEVISION SPECIALS
Street Date: November 22, 2005

Disc One:
MY NAME IS BARBRA (1965)
Filmed in glorious black-and-white, Barbra’s first television special in 1965 is a classic in every sense of the word. Reviewers waxed ecstatic with praise. United Press International proclaimed, “ . . . a pinnacle moment of American show business, in any form, in any period. She is so great, it is shocking . . . she may well be the most supremely talented and complete popular entertainer this country has ever produced.” My Name is Barbra won five Emmy Awards and the prestigious Peabody Award for Distinguished Achievement in Television.

Disc Two:
COLOR ME BARBRA (1966)
Fresh from the overwhelming triumph MY NAME IS BARBRA, CBS network executives requested a follow-up special. It is a show business axiom that sequels generally fail to live up to the original, but in the case of COLOR ME BARBRA, the odds were most assuredly beaten by a wide margin. Filmed in spectacular color, this companion piece to her first special is one for the ages. The vibrant colors become a metaphor for imagination, inventiveness, fantasy, and sheer brilliance. Considered by many to be a “bookend” to MY NAME IS BARBRA - COLOR ME BARBRA is in every way the equal of its predecessor.

Disc Three:
THE BELLE OF 14TH STREET (1967)
Barbra is the “top-billed act” in this affectionate tribute to turn of the century vaudeville. No detail was too small for this lovingly re-created world of a bygone era. Her first television special to feature guest-stars, THE BELLE OF 14TH STREET celebrates, in ways both comedic and heartfelt, “The Golden Age Of Song.” A marvelous showcase for such evergreens as Sophie Tucker’s “Some Of These Days,” “How About Me?” (written by “a new young talent” Irving Berlin), the poignant “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows,” and the sublime “My Buddy”-all classics of the vaudeville era, reinvented by “the greatest star” of our time.

Disc Four:
BARBRA STREISAND: A HAPPENING IN CENTRAL PARK (1968)
On the evening of June 17, 1967, Barbra Streisand and 150,000 of the “luckiest people in the world” gathered together in Central Park’s massive Sheep’s Meadow for a once-in-a-lifetime outdoor concert event. If New York were a kingdom, Barbra was its reigning queen. It was the most attended concert event of its time. Barbra turns the historic park into her own “backyard” as she performs signature hits like “He Touched Me,” “People,” “Second Hand Rose,” and “Happy Days Are Here Again.” An extraordinary evening with an audience . . . the star they came to see under an open sky in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable.

Disc Five:
BARBRA STREISAND . . . AND OTHER MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS (1973)
A multicultural musical potpourri, Barbra’s fifth television spectacular is her most adventurous. Performing a startling array of new songs and classic hits with genre-bending arrangements, BARBRA STREISAND . . . AND OTHER MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS is a feast for the eyes and ears. Starring the ultimate “musical instrument,” Barbra Streisand, together with over 150 musicians playing everything from the traditional violins, cellos, flutes, and oboes . . . to the more exotic kabuki woodblock, sitar, Chippewa tom-tom, sewing machine . . . saw . . . orange juice squeezer, and washing machine! Featuring the timeless duet of “Crying Time” with “Genius of Soul” Ray Charles.

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Barbra Streisand - The Television Specials 5-DVD Boxed Set