NationMaster - Encyclopedia: The Way We Were

The Way We Were is a 1973 film which tells the story of an intense Jewish woman who marries a carefree WASP following World War II. Fundamental differences in the way they engage the world – as revealed in their responses to the rise of McCarthyism – eventually pull them apart. Starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford, along with Bradford Dillman, Lois Chiles, Patrick O'Neal and Viveca Lindfors, the film is both a romance of star-crossed lovers and a morality tale about the importance of commitment to both individuals and relationships. Image File history File links The_Way_We_Were. ... Sydney Pollack (born July 1, 1934 in Lafayette, Indiana) is an American actor, producer, and director. ... Ray Stark (October 3, 1915 - January 17, 2004) was a film producer and powerbroker known for his Machiavellian ways. ... Arthur Laurents (born July 14, 1918) is an American playwright, novelist, screenwriter, librettist and stage director. ... Barbra Streisand (born April 24, 1942 as Barbara Joan Streisand), is a two-time Academy Award-winning American singer, theatre and film actress, composer, film producer and director. ... Robert Redford (born Charles Robert Redford, Jr. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion, because: no content If you disagree with its speedy deletion, please explain why on its talk page or at Wikipedia:Speedy deletions. ... Lois Chiles as Holly Goodhead in Moonraker. An intimate moment between Bond and an exhausted but blissful Holly Lois Chiles (born Lois Cleveland Chiles on April 15, 1947) is an American actress and former model best known for playing well bread WASPs. ... October 17 is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... This article describes some ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity; for a consideration of the Jewish religion, refer to the article Judaism. ... Suborder Symphyta Apocrita See text for families. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Senator Joseph McCarthy McCarthyism is the term describing a period of intense anti-Communist suspicion in the United States that lasted roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. ... Barbra Streisand (born April 24, 1942 as Barbara Joan Streisand), is a two-time Academy Award-winning American singer, theatre and film actress, composer, film producer and director. ... Robert Redford (born Charles Robert Redford, Jr. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion, because: no content If you disagree with its speedy deletion, please explain why on its talk page or at Wikipedia:Speedy deletions. ... Lois Chiles as Holly Goodhead in Moonraker. An intimate moment between Bond and an exhausted but blissful Holly Lois Chiles (born Lois Cleveland Chiles on April 15, 1947) is an American actress and former model best known for playing well bread WASPs. ... Patrick ONeal (September 26, 1927 â€“ September 9, 1994) was an American television, stage, and film actor. ... Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors (December 29, 1920 - October 25, 1995) was a Swedish-American stage and film actress. ... Star-crossed or star-crossed lovers is a reference to those who fight against (or cross) their fate, which is written in the stars. ... Morality plays are a type of theatrical allegory in which the protagonist is met by personifications of various moral attributes who try to prompt him to choose a Godly life over one of evil. ...

An underlying theme, too, is the elusive quality and role of beauty: Externally, Hubbell's perfect features, aristocratic air, and self-assurance contrast with Katie's homeliness, awkwardness, and agitated yearning. But as the story unfolds, her sterling character shines forth, while his gifts are squandered, untapped for any purpose larger or deeper than self-gratification. A bittersweet role reversal transpires, in which she blossoms as a true beauty, while he fades into slack insubstantiality (Streisand would later star in other films that reflect this trope, including A Star is Born and Yentl). A nymph with morning glory flowers by Lefebvre. ... Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92. ... A trope is a rhetorical figure of speech that consists of a play on words, i. ... A Star Is Born is the title of three films: A Star Is Born (1937 film), starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. ... Barbara Streisand on the soundtrack cover for the movie Yentl. ...

The film was a runaway hit in theaters, and became the fifth-highest grossing film of 1973.

The movie was written by Arthur Laurents and David Rayfiel (uncredited) and directed by Sydney Pollack. Arthur Laurents (born July 14, 1918) is an American playwright, novelist, screenwriter, librettist and stage director. ... Sydney Pollack (born July 1, 1934 in Lafayette, Indiana) is an American actor, producer, and director. ...

Part of the movie was filmed on location in New York's Capital Region. The first part of the movie was shot at Union College and in and around Ballston Spa, New York. Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area Ranked 27th - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 kmÂ²) - Width 285 miles (455 km) - Length 330 miles (530 km) - % water 13. ... The architectural centerpiece of the Union campus, the Nott Memorial, is named after the colleges president from 1804-1866, Eliphalet Nott. ... Ballston Spa is a village located in Saratoga County, New York in the USA. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 5,556. ...

A flashback tells the story of an idealistic young woman, Katie (Barbra Streisand), who falls in love with Hubbell (Robert Redford), while they are college students in the 1930s. Their differences are immense: She is a Marxist, with strong anti-war opinions, and he is a laid-back troublemaker. She is drawn to him because of his goyish handsomeness, and his writing, which she finds confident and captivating. He is intrigued by her conviction, and determination to persuade others to take up social causes. In literature, film, television and other media, a flashback (also called analepsis) is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. ... Barbra Streisand (born April 24, 1942 as Barbara Joan Streisand), is a two-time Academy Award-winning American singer, theatre and film actress, composer, film producer and director. ... Robert Redford (born Charles Robert Redford, Jr. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Marxism refers to the philosophy and social theory based on Karl Marxs work on one hand, and to the political practice based on Marxist theory on the other hand (namely, parts of the First International during Marxs time, communist parties and later states). ... Goy (Hebrew: ×’×•×™, plural goyim ×’×•×™×) is a transliterated Hebrew word which translates as nation or people. In the Hebrew Bible, goy and its variants appear over 550 times in reference to Israelites and to Gentile peoples. ...

Years go by and they meet again during the end of World War II. Now she works in a radio station and he, having served as a Naval officer in the South Pacific, is just trying to return to a conventional life. They fall in love and marry, as much because of their differences in background and temperament, as despite them. Soon though, Katie is incensed by the cynical jokes Hubbell's friends make. She cannot understand why he does not share her indignation at their insensitivity and their shallow dismissal of political engagement. On the other hand, his serenity is disturbed by her want of social grace and polarizing postures.

Katie is disappointed when Hubbell seeks a job as a screenwriter in Hollywood. She believes it to be a compromising waste of his literary talent, and encourages him to pursue writing as a serious challenge instead. Despite her growing frustration, they move to California. He becomes a successful, if desultory, screenwriter and the couple enjoy affluence and leisure, but her passion about the human condition abides. Screenwriters, scenarists or script writers, are authors who write the screenplays from which movies and television programs are made. ... ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area Ranked 3rd - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 kmÂ²) - Width 250 miles (400 km) - Length 770 miles (1,240 km) - % water 4. ...

Even though Katie is pregnant with their child, Hubbell has an affair with Carol Ann (Lois Chiles), his girlfriend in college and recent ex-wife of his best friend J.J. (Bradford Dillman). Katie and Hubbell decide to part. She finally sees that he is not the man she idealized when she fell in love: He will always choose to take the easiest way out — whether it is cheating in his marriage or writing predictable stories for sitcoms. Hubbell is exhausted, unable either to live on the pedestal she has thrust him upon, or to face her disappointment when he slides down into the mire. now. ...

Several years later, they meet in front of New York's Plaza Hotel by coincidence. Hubbell, who is with a stylish beauty, is now writing for a popular sitcom as one of a group of hired and nameless writers, apparently content. Katie, too, has remained faithful to who she is — flyers in hand, she is still agitating for causes which have the potential to change the world for the better. The Plaza Hotel as seen from the corner of 5th Avenue and 59th Street in Manhattan For the music festival PlazAid, click here The Plaza Hotel in New York City is a landmark 19-story luxury hotel on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South in Manhattan, currently...

In the movie's final scene, Hubbell asks Katie about their daughter Rachel. Now re-married, Katie tells him that he should come see for himself how beautiful she is. Hubbell walks away saying that he will, only to re-appear a moment later to confess that he can't. Katie's knowing nod acknowledges what they both, finally, understand. He was at his best when he was with her, and no one will ever believe in him or see as much promise in him as she once did. He could not bear it then, and cannot bear it now. All that Hubbell and Katie can ever share is a poignant memory of "the way we were".

Awards

The film won Academy Awards for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score and Best Music, Song (Marvin Hamlisch, Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman for "The Way We Were"), and was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Barbra Streisand), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design. The references in this article would be clearer with a different and/or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ... From Rule Sixteen of the Special Rules for The Music Awards Original Score: An original score is a substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer. ... The Academy Award for Best Song is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are songwriters and composers. ... Marvin Hamlisch (born June 2, 1944) is a successful composer of film scores. ... Alan Bergman (born 11 September 1925) is a prolific lyricist and songwriter, particularly of music for stage and film. ... Marilyn Bergman (nÃ©e Keith, born 1929) is a composer, songwriter and author. ... The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. ... The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is awarded each year to a cinematographer for his work in one particular motion picture. ... This Academy Award was first given for movies made in 1948 when separate awards were given for black-and-white and color movies. ...

The title song

In addition to the title song's Oscar win, Barbra Streisand's rendition of "The Way We Were" was a tremendous commercial success, becoming her first number one single in the United States. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1973 and charted for 23 weeks, eventually selling over a million copies and lasting three weeks at number one in February 1974 (non-consecutive, as it was bumped from the top spot briefly by Love Unlimited Orchestra's "Love's Theme"). On the Adult Contemporary chart, it was Streisand's second number one hit after "People" in 1964. Billboard named "The Way We Were" as the number one pop hit of 1974. "The Way We Were" was also the title song of a Streisand album which also hit number one (not the soundtrack album of the movie, which peaked at #20). In the UK, the song wasn't nearly as successful as it was Stateside, reaching #33. The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. ... Barry White ( September 12, 1944 - July 4, 2003) was an American record producer and singer responsible for the creation of numerous hit soul and disco songs. ... Adult contemporary music, frequently abbreciated to just AC, is a type of radio format that plays mainstream and pop music, without hip-hop or rap since, as per the name, it is geared more towards adults than teens. ...

Streisand also recorded an alternate version of the song that was so nearly identical to the original release that this alternate version is very often misidentified as the original recording. The most easily noticeable difference between the two versions is the manner in which Streisand sings the words "Whenever We Remember" near the end of the song.

Gladys Knight & The Pips returned "The Way We Were" to the charts in the spring of 1975 in a live-recorded version. Knight preceded the sung lyrics to "The Way We Were" with a spoken-word passage incorporating the lyrics to "Try To Remember" from the musical The Fantasticks. The single entered the Hot 100 in late April 1975, charted for 17 weeks and peaked at #11 U.S. and #4 UK The Pips redirects here. ... The Fantasticks original Off Broadway CD cover The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical comedy with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. ...

Encyclopedia > The Way We Were

Contents

Awards

The title song

See also

External links