Ep. 40 - THE WAY WE WERE - Romance & Politics 50 Years Later
THE WAY WE WERE (1973)
Directed by Sydney Pollack and featuring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. Photo credit: Columbia Pictures
“Even though you love someone, there is something about yourself that you should not give up. And I think that in this movie, Katie gives up too much when she moves to Hollywood. And she realizes that.”
Episode 40 features a conversation with Robert Hofler, author of The Way They Were: How Epic Battles and Bruised Egos Brought a Classic Hollywood Love Story to the Screen (Citadel Press, 2023).
Hofler’s book includes behind-the-scenes stories about the inspiration and making of the iconic 1973 film THE WAY WE WERE (Columbia Pictures) directed by Sydney Pollack featuring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford, and based on the novel by Arthur Laurents.
Our conversation with Robert Hofler coincides with the 50th anniversary of the film’s release (October 17, 1973). Hofler shares behind-the-scenes stories from his research and book including controversies, deleted scenes film goers never saw, the much-anticipated but never-filmed sequel to THE WAY WE WERE, and the real-life romance that inspired the love story. Hofler also reflects on seeing THE WAY WE WERE for the first time, and how this love story of opposites reflects the relationship dynamics and politics of its post WW II and McCarthism backdrops, the 1970s (when the film was made), and its relevance 50 years later.
Podcast notes: Robert Hofler quotes Barbra Streisand who uses the Yiddish word (some consider vulgar) that means “to have sex with.” Go to the podcast link for program description and more information. The conversation also includes SPOILERS (be aware if you’ve never seen the movie). After our recording, we learned that the deleted scenes from THE WAY WE WERE mentioned in this podcast will be available in a special 4K Blu-Ray 50th Anniversary package from Sony Pictures Entertainment. More information.
Guest: ROBERT HOFLER
In addition to The Way They Were, Robert Hofler is the author of The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson, a biography of agent Henry Willson; Variety’s The Movie That Changed My Life: 120 Celebrities Pick the Films that Made a Difference (for Better or Worse); the Los Angeles Times bestseller Party Animals, a biography of producer Allan Carr that is being turned into a documentary; and Sexplosion: From Andy Warhol to A Clockwork Orange, How a Generation of Pop Rebels Broke All the Taboos, nominated for a Lambda Literary Award in 2015.
Hofler has served as entertainment editor at LIFE, executive editor at Us, managing editor at Buzz, and a senior editor and theater reporter at Variety. He’s currently the lead theater critic at The Wrap.
Connect with Robert Hofler: website
Purchase your copy of the The Way They Were: How Epic Battles and Bruised Egos Brought a Classic Hollywood Love Story to the Screen by Robert Hofler.
Hofler’s book is the definitive account of how
THE WAY WE WERE changed the rules of moviemaking and redefined the Hollywood romance genre.
“Fifty years after its debut, ‘The Way We Were’ remains one of the most popular romances to ever hit cinemas. But the film's path to the big screen wasn't strewn with rose petals. More like barbed wire. ….Author Robert Hofler details the astounding amount of turmoil and conflict that went into the making of the film. The struggles began long before the cameras started rolling. Hofler's juicy, compelling book will enthrall fans of the film.” —Pop Culture Classics
THE WAY WE WERE
Watch a trailer featuring a scene from THE WAY WE WERE from college activist Katie and all-American Hubbell’s college days in the 1930s. Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Screen legends Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford make movie magic as the captivating star-crossed lovers, Hubbell Gardiner and Katie Morosky. Theirs is a classic love story sparked by the attraction of opposites, played out against the backdrop of American life during times of foreign war, domestic prosperity and McCarthy-era paranoia in Hollywood. Winner of two 1974 Academy Awards® — Best Song "The Way We Were" and Best Score. (Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Though love does not conquer all for Katie and Hubbell, THE WAY WE WERE’s appeal endures, earning the film a top 10 spot in the American Film Institute’s “100 Greatest Love Stories of All Time.”
Directed by Sydney Pollack, in addition to Streisand and Redford, THE WAY WE WERE cast includes Lois Chiles, Bradford Dillman, Sally Kirkland, Viveca Lindfors, Allyn Ann McLerie, Patrick O’Neal, James Woods, and many others.