The Way We Were       

By Tom Keogh

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.

Academy Awards

The Way We Were received Academy Awards for Music Scoring Awards (Best Original Dramatic Score; Marvin Hamlisch) and Music Best Song (Marvin Hamlisch - Music, Alan Bergman - Lyrics, Marilyn Bergman - Lyrics). The Way We Were also received Academy Awards nominations for Actress (Barbra Streisand), Art Direction/Set Decoration (Stephen Grimes - Art Direction, William Kiernan - Set Decoration), Cinematography (Harry Stradling, Jr.) and Costume Design (Dorothy Jeakins, Moss Mabry).

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