The Way We Were - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Way We Were



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
Love her or hate her, but Barbara Streisand was an absolutely electrifying actress and singer. Even if the movie was bad, she somehow managed to shine through it all, and turn a mediocre picture into a film that people watch 50 years later. And to coincide with her autobiography that is coming out, Sony Pictures has given us a brand new 4K UHD release of the film, with an all new 4 minute extended cut (along with the theatrical cut, don’t worry) with a brand new transfer of one of her most iconic films.

While I grew up with Steisand, I never really watched The Way We Were simply due to the fact that I wanted to watch something action filled, or something funny, which meant that this was definitely a no go for my young mind. It wasn’t till that 70s show where it became a plot device that I decided I might as well watch it. Unfortunately I absolutely LOATHED the film from beginning to end back then (I was probably 20 or 21) due to the fact that I had just gotten engage and tragic ending was something that I really didn’t feel like feeling as I was just starting out on my own nuptials. So much so that I actually decided not to buy the Twilight Time Blu-ray release back when it came out in 2013 even though I was collecting most of their classics line simply out of principle. It wasn’t till a few years ago that I felt enough time had passed to revisit the film and give it a another watch.

Luckily for my opinion on the film changed, but even though it was a better watch than the reactionary viewing of a hopeful 21 year old, the movie just doesn’t strike a chord in me the way it did for so many people. It has been labeled as one of the best love stories ever told by critics, and people of my parents generation absolutely rave about it to this day. However, I fall more in line with Roger Ebert’s take, which was that the film was a zeitgeist of the 1970s. More of a tragic rebellion against all of the syrupy love tales that ended happily ever after, rather than an actual died in the wool classic film. The script is frustrating, and the editing sloppy, but somehow Robert Redford and Barbara Steisand are unbelievably mesmerizing on screen. Especially Streisand. But at the end of the day it’s a clumsy film that is beautifully shot, and starts two brilliant performances by legendary actors.

Streisand is one Katie Morosky, a college aged Jewish activist who is heavily on the side of the communists of the Soviet Union and their fight against the Spanish fascists of the day (ironically, with the way the terms are bandied about in the left vs. right politics of today it’s eerily familiar), and Hubbell Gardiner (Robert Redford) is her polar opposite. While she is an on fire activist for the Young Communist League, willing to make an enemy of herself to everyone in order to stick up for her ideals, Hubbell is a jack of all trades all star jock who came from a wealthy family and ends up going to war during WWII and become a hero. Years later Katie works for a local radio station when she bumps into Hubbell again, home from his deployment. Sparks fly, and soon the two polar opposites are madly in love with each, despite their incredible differences.

But love isn’t always enough to overcome fundamental belief systems and values, so even though the two somehow make it work, their belief systems crop up all the time, forcing them at odds for each other. Hubbell is a talented writer and instead of choosing to publish his works, moves to L.A. where he gets involved in the Hollywood script writing machine, looking for glory and profit. However, they’ve jumped into a hornets nest, with McCarthyism in full swing and the Hollywood writers like Trumbo coming under attack by the U.S. Government. Hubbell wants to stay out of the whole thing and just go along with the flow, while Katie realizes that she has been suppressing her ideals for way too long and decides that she’s going to stand up and fight with the Hollywood 10 (a term coined for the high level members of the Hollywood writing community who were suspected of being card carrying communists) and fight for their right to free speech.

However, this is not really a love story as one would imagine it. The Way We Were is a Greek tragedy, complete with the utter dismay and bittersweet devastation of two lives. Sydney Pollack crafts a film that really has you rooting for Katie and Hubbell. The two are definitely products of the old saying that opposites attract, and they seem to be fighting the good fight to make something beautiful work out trouble. The two are wildly diametrically opposed to each other on their belief systems, but both are working hard to make their relationship work. Only thing is, working out was never the point of the movie. Pollack slowly leads us to the inevitable conclusion that love itself is not enough to make something work. Sometimes you need to be on the same page to actually make things work out. The ending literally rips your heart out and then crushes the still beating organ in its hands, watching as the characters we hoped and rooted for literally dive bomb into a spiraling display of destruction. Culminating in an ending scene that can only be described as that “what if?” fantasy everyone has when they break up. That scenario where you run into your ex 20 years later, and actually get to ask them how they’re doing. How their life WENT after the relationship ended.

As I said, the movie is less a love story, and more of a Greek Tragedy, but sadly it is not a perfect story either. I can live with a bitter ending if the tale is told well, but Sydney Pollack’s film is only middle of the road in terms of story telling. The first half of the film works well enough, but the editing is absolutely abysmal in the third act as the relationship comes to an end. From what I can tell from reading bits of the original script, as well as several interviews and special features from Pollack, the film was cut and re-cut before it came out and he was extremely unhappy with how it turned out (sadly the 4 minutes of extended footage in the new cut aren’t much different). The latter act makes it seem like Hubbell and Katie’s relationship ends due to his infidelity and it’s awkwardly cut to make it seem that way. The original script had it so that Katie told Hubbell to leave, because she realized her outspoken political beliefs were going to kill his career, with the two of them amicably ending their relationship knowing that, while they loved and cared for each other, they were toxic for each other as a couple. As a result the end 30 minutes is so disjointed and choppy that it leaves even the most forgiving of film fans noticing that it doesn’t even remotely fit the pacing of the first 2 acts.

Looking back at the film I don’t know if Katie and Hubbell ever really LOVED each other. I’m sure they did to a certain extent, but the film makes it seem more like they CARED about each other more than genuinely loved each other. Love requires an incredible amount of sacrifice. Putting he other person above yourself, and the understanding that it is selfless and giving. The two of them deeply cared about each other, but their sacrifices only went skin deep. On the other hand, it’s a very chilling example of what happens when one is unequally yoked to someone with wildly opposing belief systems. Some people can make it work, but a realtionship really needs two people who have similar enough belief systems to truly bond and connect the two, otherwise the run the risk of being two people who care about each other, but can’t stand the other person either. I’ve seen it work before, but VERY VERY rarely.




Rating:

Rated PG by the MPAA





4K Video: Video:

As I mentioned above, I didn’t watch the 2013 Twilight Time release of The Way We Were so I can’t comment on how the 4K UHD disc (or the included Sony Blu-ray) looked in comparison to it, but the 4K UHD (and the included Sony Blu-ray) is supposedly taken from a newish 4K scan of the film and looks rather good. The 1973 film will always be heavy on the grain (that time period was known for it), but the 4K UHD disc is a heavy step up from the included Blu-ray. The resolution bump nets us a ton more fine detail and the Dolby Vision application really adds some pop to the colors. Barbara’s red lipstick and earrings really shine the most, but burgundy's and grays and light browns have a wonderful sense of presence and saturation levels that the Blu-ray can’t compete with. There are some soft shots here and there (due to the shooting style from what I can tell), but overall this is a nice looking upgrade over the Blu-ray. Contrast is a bit pale, but overall it’s a nice looking disc.








Audio:

Sony gives the film (most likely) the same 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix that they provided Twilight Time back in 2013, as well as the original DTS-HD MA Mono mix on the theatrical edition for purists. Since this was original a mono mix, the 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is not going to blow your skirts up by any stretch of the imagination. Still, it is solidly front heavy, with good dialog and strong presence in the main for most ambient effects. There’s some mild background noise during a party, or the lapping of the waves on their beach house in the side surrounds. LFE is very minor, but does add some weight to the score, and maybe a bit of the hubbub in New York City where they meet. Overall, this is a very solid sounding mix sourced from a Mono mix, and works well for the style of film it is, without any major issues.












Extras:

• Director’s Commentary (Theatrical Version Only)
• Making-Of Documentary “Looking Back”
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

That being said, The Way We Were is a brutally bittersweet film that shares two utterly incredible performances by Streisand and Redford. The two literally light up the screen whenever they’re together, with Streisand head and shoulders above anyone around her. The film suffers from poor editing and middling story telling, but at the end of the day the film became a cult classic for all of those who grew up in the 1970s. Today it may not hold together that well, but it has earned its cult status despite my criticisms of the film. Sony’s Blu-ray looks and sounds great, but sadly the extras are fairly minimalistic for what fans might want. Definitely check it out if you’re interested in sad dramas.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Robert Redford, Barbara Steisand, James Woods
Directed by: Sydney Pollack
Written by: Arthur Laurents, Francis Ford Coppola, Paddy Chayefsky
Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA Mono, Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Sony
Rated: PG
Runtime: 119 minutes (theatrical) / 123 minutes (extended cut)
Blu-Ray Release Date: October 17th, 2023

Recommendation: Check It Out.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Never saw this one so will check it out as I am curious now.