Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #228547 in DVD
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: German, English, French, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Hindi, Turkish, Danish, Arabic, Finnish, Icelandic, Dutch, Norwegian, Hebrew, Greek, Swedish

Amazon.com essential video
Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand star as sociopolitical opposites--he's a WASP novelist, she's an activist--who nevertheless strike up a romance in the 1930s, and have a rocky relationship through the next two decades that reflects much of America's history. An essential part of the movie--the Hollywood blacklist and the McCarthy witch- hunt years--comes across as a botch, due to some excessive cutting before the film was released. But except for that hole in the heart of the story, director Sydney Pollack (Out of Africa) has crafted a strong and moving drama about two interesting characters. Redford (always good with Pollack) is at the height of his powers, and Streisand is persuasive. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

"Katie, it was never uncomplicated"
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.

About the DVD: The picture quality is very good, quite possibly the best the film has ever looked. You must remember that movie has always had a stylistically hazy look. The sound quality is also vastly improved. Pollack's commentary track is interesting, but the 60-minute documentary is the best extra on the disc. Featuring insightful interviews from Pollack, Streisand, and Laurents (as well as composer Marvin Hamlisch and lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman) the documentary is well-produced and entertaining, and it was great to finally see those much-debated deleted scenes.

"See ya, Katie"
I want to strangle Hubbell when he says this final line at the end! But my rage is just an indication of how much I adore this movie!

I think people who giving a low rating to the film because of the incorrect portrayal of the communist movement, and whatever, are missing the mark of this movie entirely. The Way We Were is a love story, first and foremost. Communism is just a circumstance that complicates the love story. It is NOT in my opinion, the central theme of the movie.

That being said, TWWW is a classic story of "love isn't enough." I think Katie and Hubbell love each other deeply, but they are such different people. She wants him to be everything that she believes he is. (Whether he is or isn't those things is debatable.) But he is content living a safe, yuppy life. He needs a girl who can just roll with that lifestyle, hence, he ends up with the nameless girl at the end of the film. She represents the safe type of girl that is pretty enough to keep Hubbell interested and safe enough to allow him to live his yuppy life.

It's clear in the scene at the end that the love between them is still strong. You can feel the heat of that final embrace through the screen! I could go on and on about why this movie is one of the greatest, but I can't. See this film.

DVD is Well Done - Looks & Sounds Better Than Ever
Finally! THE WAY WE WERE in widescreen! I think it really makes a difference. I've only seen pan and scan versions on video. It is especially noticeable in the opening credits where names/credits appear on one side of the screen and action takes place on the other side. For the first time we get to see Katie at her typewriter and Katie talking to her teacher.

The rest of the dvd is done just as well. The picture and sound are pristine. The menu screens are classy and easy to use. The bonus trailers from FOR PETE'S SAKE and Streisand's later films are fun to see.

The hour-long documentary featuring interviews with Sydney Pollack and Streisand is very revealing. Pollack seems humble and grateful about the film. Streisand is relaxed and beautiful - again, reflective and humble about the experience as Pollack is. There is even a segment with Marvin Hamlisch on piano playing the different versions of THE WAY WE WERE theme. And Alan & Marilyn Bergman are a hilarious couple!

Sydney Pollack's comments on the extra audio channel are interesting as well. I haven't gotten through the whole movie yet, but so far so good!

The dvd is definitely a must-have for Streisand fans. But even fans of this classic romance will find much to like about the dvd as well.