The Way We Were (1973)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writer:

Arthur Laurents (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

19 October 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Everything seemed so important then .. even love!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Breakup | McCarthyism | Political Activism | Sentimental | Star Crossed Lovers

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Barbra Streisand	...	Katie Morosky
Robert Redford	...	Hubbell Gardner
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
Barbara Peterson	...	Ashe Blonde
Roy Jenson	...	Army Captain
Brendan Kelly	...	Rally Speaker
James Woods	...	Frankie McVeigh
Constance Forslund	...	Jenny (as Connie Forslund)
Robert Gerringer	...	Dr. Short
Susan Blakely	...	Judianne (as Susie Blakely)
Edward Power	...	Airforce (as Ed Power)
Susanne Zenor	...	Dumb Blonde (as Suzanne Zenor)
Dan Seymour	...	Guest
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dorian Cusick	...	Professor's Wife (uncredited)
Robert Dahdah	...	Officer Passing Plaza (uncredited)
Beverly Goodman	...	Young Lady Pedestrian (uncredited)
Marvin Hamlisch	...	Guest at movie screening (uncredited)
Don Koll	...	Officer Dining (uncredited)
Cornelia Sharpe	...	Girl at Party (uncredited)
Andrea True	...	Extra (uncredited)

Directed by
Sydney Pollack

Writing credits
Arthur Laurents		(written by)
David Rayfiel		uncredited

Produced by
Richard A. Roth	....	associate producer (as Richard Roth)
Ray Stark	....	producer

Original Music by
Marvin Hamlisch

Cinematography by
Harry Stradling Jr.		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
John F. Burnett

Production Design by
Stephen B. Grimes		(as Stephen Grimes)

Set Decoration by
William Kiernan

Costume Design by
Dorothy Jeakins
Moss Mabry

Makeup Department
Donald Cash Jr.	....	makeup artist
Gary Liddiard	....	makeup artist
Kaye Pownall	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Russell Saunders	....	unit production manager (as Russ Saunders)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hawk Koch	....	assistant director (as Howard Koch Jr.)
Jerry Ziesmer	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Richard M. Rubin	....	property master

Sound Department
Richard Portman	....	sound re-recordist
Kay Rose	....	sound effects
Jack Solomon	....	sound
Sharron Miller	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Jerry Trent	....	dance foley (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Albert Taffet	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bernie Pollack	....	costume supervisor (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Margaret Booth	....	supervising editor

Music Department
Ken Runyon	....	music editor
Dan Wallin	....	scoring mixer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Paulie DiCocco	....	driver: Barbra Streisand (uncredited)
James Morris	....	transportation (uncredited)

Other crew
Betty Crosby	....	script supervisor
Phill Norman	....	title designer
Carol Shapiro	....	unit publicist
Nicholas Barber	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Grover Dale	....	choreographer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• Rastar Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1973) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1976) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (DVD)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (video)
• Warner-Columbia Films (1974) (1986) (Finland) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Solters & Digney  publicity

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Ballston Spa, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

After preview reactions, director Sydney Pollack took out a sequence of several scenes from the movie's climactic turning point, most notably: (1) a highly emotional scene where Katie drives through UCLA and stops to watch a young woman hold a political speech, reminding Katie of herself 20 years ago (2) a dialog between Katie and Hubbell where he tells her that someone has informed on her. Having a "subversive" wife, it's clear that (unless she would inform, too) he will be fired.

Goofs:

Factual errors: 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.

Quotes:

Hubbell Gardner: What kind of pie?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Some Nudity Required (1998)

Soundtrack:

The Way We Were

breathless

Had to see this one again after years had elapsed between viewings, and the hair brushed from the face ending still gets to me. Weep weep, boo hoo. Speaking of hair, Babs looks better with her hair curly here, it always seems stiff flattened out. I still can't figure out if Hubbel was challenged by Katie or if he fell for her because he knew she loved him deeply, even if their relationship was based more on her attraction to him than his to hers. I never thought he truly felt comfortable with her. Because she was so "serious" all the time, as he tried to tell her. Romance was bound to fail because he could never think about other people the way she did and she in turn could never relax. The public confrontation during the communist witch hunt is the last straw and eventually leads us to the sidewalks of New York, where Katie's hair is curly again and Hubbel comments that she must have lost her iron. A truly moving romance with some stretches of dullness here and there but never at the expense of character. Both stars look great, with Streisand definitely robbed at Oscar time.