The Way We Were (1973)

Two desperate people have a wonderful romance, but their political views and convictions drive them apart.

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writer:

Arthur Laurents

Stars:

Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Bradford Dillman

Won 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Barbra Streisand	...	Katie
Robert Redford	...	Hubbell
Bradford Dillman	...	J.J.
Lois Chiles	...	Carol Ann
Patrick O'Neal	...	George Bissinger
Viveca Lindfors	...	Paula Reisner
Allyn Ann McLerie	...	Rhea Edwards
Murray Hamilton	...	Brooks Carpenter
Herb Edelman	...	Bill Verso
Diana Ewing	...	Vicki Bissinger
Sally Kirkland	...	Pony Dunbar
Marcia Mae Jones	...	Peggy Vanderbilt
Don Keefer	...	Actor
George Gaynes	...	El Morocco Captain
Eric Boles	...	Army Corporal

Storyline

The movie begins with the Katie (Barbra Streisand) running into Hubbell Gardner, an All-American popular jock she went to college with, some time after World War II. Though some other summaries claim it's been about 20 years, that is not really the case. It's probably been more like 10 years since college and Hubbell has written his first novel and later joined the navy while Katie continues to work hard and remains very much involved in the grassroots level of politics. Katie who had a crush on Hubbell back in college is still very attracted to him and soon the two start an "on again off again" relationship. Eventually Katie ends up giving up her voice and her interest in politics in order to hold on to Hubbell and they get married. However when Hubbell begins to compromise his literary talent by abandoning his novel writing for writing Screenplays for Hollywood their marriage begins its downfall. When the government begins its witch-hunt for communists among Hollywood writers and ...

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Plot Keywords:

college | friend | writer | writing | activist | 

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Taglines:

Streisand and Redford together!!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

19 October 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nuestros años felices

Filming Locations:

Ballston Spa, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Rastar Productions, Tom Ward Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The college scenes were shot at Union College in Schenectady, New York. The large rotunda-like building is the Nott Memorial at Union College. The restaurant scene where Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand meet outside was filmed at the old Medberry Hotel in Ballston Spa, New York.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the film when there is a montage that depicts how athletic Hubbell Gardner is, there a shot showing a birds eye view of him throwing the discus. He throws the discus out of the throwing circle traveling from one side of the circle (9 o'clock) and sees him release the discus at the other side (3 o'clock). The correct position for releasing the discus is clearly marked on the circle at the 12 o'clock position.

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Quotes

Hubbell Gardner: [when Katie doesn't want to go to a party with Hubbell's friends] Maybe something terrible will happen - maybe you'll have a good time.

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Connections

Referenced in Secret Admirer (1985)

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Soundtracks

"In The Mood"
(1939) (uncredited)
Music by Joe Garland and Andy Razaf
From Wingy Manone's "Tar Paper Stomp" (1930)
Played on a radio (probably by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra)

User Reviews

The best film romance for adult audiences

As stated many times before, THE WAY WE WERE is one of only a handful of romantic blockbusters to actually feature an intelligent script and complex characters. Writer Arthur Luarents' based his screenplay (and subsequent novel) on girl he knew in college, who fought for liberal (and sometimes communist) causes. Three decades after it's release, THE WAY WE WERE remains one of the few cinematic depictions of the Red Scare that swept America in the forties and fifties; the backdrop of which lends the surrounding love story greater potency and depth. The film was a surprise box office smash when originally released, and became the fifth-highest grossing film of 1973 and was instantly embraced as a classic.

Katie Morosky is a character that Barbra Streisand born play, and she delivers on all accounts. Fierce and determined, yet vulnerable and self-conscious, Katie is a tricky character and Streisand inhabits her so deeply that she seems nothing less than completely believable. Justifiably nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, she inexplicably lost to Glenda Jackson's shrill performance in the barely remembered A TOUCH OF CLASS. This was clearly a major blunder on the side of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Robert Redford, who had actually turned down the role twice before director and friend Sydney Pollack talked him into taking the part, displays some of the best reflective acting ever seen on the big screen and effectively brings forth the dark side of being stereotyped as the All-American golden boy (although Redford did not receive an Oscar nod for playing Hubbell in this film, he was nominated for Best Actor that same year for his light comedic performance in THE STING).

THE WAY WE WERE is different from most romances in that it is not death, feuding families, or any other societal phenomena that directly tear the couple apart. Katie and Hubbell are simply passionate individuals with highly volatile, and contrasting, ideologies; the conflict of which is expressed in several brilliantly written and acted scenes that shimmer with the type of intelligence and honesty that is rarely seen in cinema today. The film's enduring popular success with the mass audience may very well be due to the magnetic chemistry between Streisand and Redford, the gorgeous cinematography, and the strong directorial hand supplied by Pollack. However, it is the complexity of the romance with politics and the strong characterizations by both leads that continues to make THE WAY WE WERE the best love story for adults.