The Way We Were – The Making of a Romantic Classic

The most beloved romantic drama of the past fifty years. A haunting title tune that topped charts around the world. Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford at the peaks of their careers – and a film no one thought would succeed.

But succeed it did, breaking box office records around the world with a nostalgia drenched, decade spanning story featuring an awkward, passionate, political activist who falls in love with the campus golden boy. A story of opposites attracting, colliding, marrying, and divorcing, until they meet one last time and…

Now, just in time for the 50 th anniversary of the film’s release, The Way We Were- The Making of a Romantic Classic, presents the definitive inside story behind the struggle to make the film, the Academy Awards it won- and didn’t- the fights, the passion- and the knock out power of a film that continues to resonate fifty years later.

Tom Santopietro, author of acclaimed works on Barbra Streisand, Doris Day, and The Sound of Music, gives a full account of this beloved classic, from screenwriter Arthur Laurents’s first treatment to director Sydney Pollock’s wrangling of two superstars with directing ambitions of their own; from a disastrous first preview to a triumphant opening filled with glitter, glamor, and critical controversy.

Laced with humor, passion, and fascinating, behind-the-scenes stories, The Making of a Romantic Classic entertains with a film historian’s keen, insightful analysis while always staying focused on the extraordinary friendship and chemistry between Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford that has fueled talk of a sequel for no less than fifty years.

Featuring new insights from Barbra Streisand, James Woods, Lois Chiles, and Alan Bergman, as well as interviews with fans and film historians alike, here is the ultimate inside story behind the Hollywood romance beloved by anyone who has ever loved with passion, regret- and never ending mem’ries.