Jewish Movies: Coen Brothers To Michael Lichtenstein To Mark Birnbaum

From Michael Lichtenstein to Mark Birnbaum, so many iconic and strong movies being made with a Jewish focus — Some quotes from recent great Jewish flicks:

     “There are few Jewish heroines as iconic as Fanny Brice, portrayed perfectly by Barbra Streisand. (Accept no substitutes.) Babs’ most famous role [in Funny Girl] has her singing classics ‘People’ and ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade,’ while reminding everyone that there’s more to fame than being a conventionally pretty face.” Buzzfeed.com

  “Gregory Peck is a journalist who goes undercover as a Jew to expose antisemitism in Gentleman’s Agreement. This controversial film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, which was a nice ‘f*** you’ to the Los Angeles County Club, who had refused producer Darryl Zanuck access after mistakenly thinking he was Jewish.” Buzzfeed.com

  “The brilliant astrophysicist portrayed by Jerusalem-born [Natalie] Portman has her head in gravitational fields, but her heart is with the musclebound blonde hammer-swinger of Asgard, Thor [in ‘Thor: The Dark World.’]” The Times of Israel

  “On a much more serious note, 2013 brought us one of the more striking survival stories of the Shoah I’ve ever seen. A mix of recreation and documentary, ‘No Place On Earth’ details the lives of Jews who hid in Ukrainian caves until the war was over.” The Times of Israel

 “…let’s stand up and cheer for the unexpected comedy that drops in the middle of the tense and dark interrogation police revenge drama ‘Big Bad Wolves.’” The Times of Israel

 “ ‘Chariots of Fire’ tells the true story of Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross), an English Jew who becomes a competitive runner to combat antisemitism. The film played up Abrahams’ Jewishness, which was less central to his life in reality, but with so few depictions of Jewish athletes, it’s OK to exaggerate a little.” Buzzfeed.com

 “Reuven (Barry Miller) is a modern Orthodox Jew with a Zionist father, and Danny (Robby Benson) is the son of a strict Hasidic rabbi. Though these two boys initially hate each other, they come to form a unique bond, challenged by their conflicting religious and political beliefs in this film adaptation of the novel by iconic Jewish author Chaim Potok.” Buzzfeed.com

 “Based on the short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Yentl is about a girl who disguises her identity in order to enter an all-male yeshiva school to study the Talmud. It’s also a musical starring Barbra Streisand and Mandy Patinkin, so even without the explicitly Jewish subject matter, it would qualify for this list.” Buzzfeed.com

 “Like many of the Coen brothers’ films, Barton Fink is tough to pin down. Most would call it a noir — or perhaps a satire of one. Either way, it has big ideas: Roger Ebert suggested it’s an allegory for the rise of World War II-era fascism, as exemplified by its hero, the very Jewish — and very oblivious — Barton Fink.” Buzzfeed.com

     The battle-worn CIA man played by David Morse has but one piece of advice for Brad Pitt in this dopey-but-fun apocalypse blockbuster. ‘Go to Israel!’ he intones from behind bars.” The Times of Israel

·         “Half-Jewish director David O. Russell (‘Silver Linings Playbook’) delivers his slickest picture yet, a Scorsese-like treatment of the “Abscam” FBI sting of the early 1980s [in ‘American Hustle.’” The Times of Israel

·         In this film adaptation of Chaim Potok's beloved novel of the same name, two boys struggle with family heritage, friendship, and identity as each navigates a complex blend of Orthodox Judaism, secular education, and family expectation [in ‘The Chosen.]’”

Source: http://www.jewocity.com/blog/jewish-movies-coen-brothers-to-michael-lichtenstein-to-mark-birnbaum/11271