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) about the 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, and focuses on its relevance today.

Podcast notes: (1) There are SPOILERS in this conversation - a warning for persons who’ve never seen THE WAY WE WERE. (2) Robert Hofler quotes Barbra Streisand who used the Yiddish word, “schtuped” (twice approx. 1:02:06) — a word some consider vulgar — to describe a love scene in the film. (3) 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.

TIMESTAMPS

0:08 Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters

1:21 “The Way They Were” Book Synopsis

2:27 “The Way We Were” film's impact

4:37 Intro to Robert Hofler, author

5:34 “The Way We Were,” a controversial film

9:45 Arthur Laurents, “The Way We Were” creator

23:32 Impact of “The Way We Were” on Romance Genre

35:24 Break

36:02 Challenges and Changes Making “The Way We Were”

43:34 Window to Hollywood Blacklists/Mirror of 1970s

48:12 Film and Politics

59:36 “The Way We Were” Relevance Today

1:09:06 Time Travel

1:11:05 Watching “The Way We Were”

1:11:42 Where to purchase “The Way They Were” book

1:12:59 Disclaimer

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Episode 40 Transcript

PLEASE NOTE: TRANSCRIPTS ARE GENERATED USING A COMBINATION OF SPEECH RECOGNITION SOFTWARE AND HUMAN TRANSCRIBERS, AND MAY CONTAIN ERRORS.

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