The Way We Were

The Way We Were is a 1973 American romantic drama film starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford and directed by Sydney



Pollack. The screenplay by Arthur Laurents was based on his college days at Cornell University and his experiences with the House Un-American Activities Committee.

A box office success, the film was nominated for several awards and won the Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Original Song for the theme song, "The Way We Were," It ranked at number 6 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions survey of the top 100 greatest love stories in American cinema. The Way We Were is considered one of the greatest romantic movies ever.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]  The soundtrack album became a gold record and hit the Top 20 on the Billboard 200 while the title song became a million-selling gold single, topping the Billboard Hot 100 respectively, selling more than two million copies. Billboard named "The Way We Were" as the number 1 pop hit of 1974. In 1998, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and finished at number 8 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema in 2004. It was

also included in the list ofSongs of the Century, by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.[8]

Plot
Told partly in flashback, it is the story of Katie Morosky (Barbra Streisand) and Hubbell Gardiner (Robert Redford). Their differences are immense: she is a stridently vocal Marxist Jewwith strong anti-war opinions, and he is a carefree WASP with no particular political bent. While attending the same college, she is drawn to him because of his boyish good looks and his natural writing skill, which she finds captivating, although he does not work very hard at it. He is intrigued by her conviction and her determination to persuade others to take up social causes. Their attraction is evident, but neither of them acts upon it, and they lose touch after graduation.

The two meet again towards the end of World War II while Katie is working at a radio station, and Hubbell, having served as a naval officer in the South Pacific, is trying to return to civilian life. They fall in love despite the differences in their background and temperament. Soon, however, Katie is incensed by the cynical jokes Hubbell's friends make at the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and is unable to understand his indifference towards their insensitivity and shallow dismissal of political engagement. At the same time, his serenity is disturbed by her lack of social graces and her polarizing postures. Hubbell breaks it off with Katie, but soon agrees to work things out, at least for a time.

When Hubbell seeks a job as a Hollywood screenwriter, Katie believes he is wasting his talent and encourages him to pursue writing as a serious challenge instead. Despite her growing frustration, they move to California, where, without much effort, he becomes a successful screenwriter, and the couple enjoy an affluent lifestyle. As the Hollywood blacklistgrows and McCarthyism begins to encroach on their lives, Katie's political activism resurfaces, jeopardizing Hubbell's position and reputation.

Alienated by Katie's persistent abrasiveness, Hubbell has a liaison with Carol Ann, his college girlfriend and the departing ex-wife of his best friend J.J., even though Katie is pregnant. After the birth, however, Katie and Hubbell decide to part when she finally understands he is not the man she idealized when she fell in love with him and will always choose the easiest way out, whether it is cheating in his marriage or writing predictable stories for sitcoms. Hubbell, on the other hand, is exhausted, unable to live on the pedestal Katie erected for him and face her disappointment in his decision to compromise his potential.

Katie and Hubbell meet by chance some years after their divorce, in front of the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Hubbell, who is with a stylish beauty and apparently content, is now writing for a popular sitcom as one of a group of nameless writers. Katie, now remarried, invites Hubbell to come for a drink with his lady friend, but he confesses he cannot. He does inquire how their daughter Rachel is doing, just to ascertain that Katie's new husband is a good father, but shows no intention to meet her.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;">Katie has remained faithful to who she is: flyers in hand, she is agitating for the newest political causes. Their past is behind them and all the two share now (besides their daughter, Rachel) is a missing sensation and the memory of the way they were.

Cast

 * Barbra Streisand as Katie Morosky
 * Robert Redford as Hubbell Gardiner
 * Bradford Dillman as J.J.
 * Lois Chiles as Carol Ann
 * Patrick O'Neal as George Bissinger
 * Viveca Lindfors as Paula Reisner
 * Allyn Ann McLerie as Rhea Edwards
 * Murray Hamilton as Brooks Carpenter
 * Herb Edelman as Bill Verso
 * Diana Ewing as Vicki Bissinger
 * Sally Kirkland as Pony Dunbar
 * George Gaynes as El Morocco Captain
 * James Woods as Frankie McVeigh
 * Susan Blakely as Judianne