Good book as movie books go. A little disappointing - more about the stars - less about the writers please.

Just didn't get to where I wanted it to be.

I think the reader of this book would have to be a bigger movie buff than I am to fully appreciate and enjoy this book. I chose it because I am interested in biographies of famous people, and these two are certainly a couple of Hollywood's legends.
The amount of detail the author presented about each actor's, director's, writer's, etc. career overwhelmed me. I had not heard of most of them. I read about 30% of the book, was not enjoying it, and skipped to the last chapter. In my opinion, the potential audience for this book may be limited to readers who are very knowledgeable about Hollywood. Much of the research that went into this book will probably be lost on the casual fan.
I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley and did not have access to illustrations that may be included in the final version. These opinions are my own.

The Way They Were, by Robert Hofler, purports to tell the story of how the iconic movie, "The Way We Were," was made. To a certain extent, it succeeds in its mission. Unfortunately, about forty percent of the book focused on the romantic interests of the screenwriter and others. While it was not completely irrelevant to the story, it took up too much time and space compared to the actual production of the movie and its legacy. I watched the movie (once again) to get some perspective on the book. The movie was still beautiful, still sad, still improbable in so many ways. However, the book was so much more disappointing in that it never captured or fully explored why the movie had an impact on the public. I am grateful to NetGalley and Citadel Press for the opportunity to read a digital ARC. Unfortunately, I recommend that readers skip the book and watch the movie once again.

Unlike most women of my age, I have never been a huge fan of The Way We Were. Although I have enjoyed a few of her films, Barbra Streisand is not a favorite of mine - i usually dislike her highly stylized acting. And while I have liked almost all of Redford’s films, I find Hubbell to be a real drip. I like a good romance as much as anyone but, Streisand and Redford’s vaunted chemistry aside, I never could see what Katie and Hubbell could possibly see in each other. So, I liked this book about the making of the movie a lot more than I liked the movie itself. It was a fascinating and dishy read.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for my review.

I love "making of" film books. There have been a lot of good ones, and a lot of not so good ones. Robert Hofler has written an EXCELLENT one! The research he did to write this book is amazing. I remember seeing the film fifty years ago in Cherry Hill, NJ. Reading this book makes me want to see the movie again soon. I highly recommend this book!

One of my favorite movies of all time. Naturally I was very excited to read this book. For the most part I enjoyed it, however, there seemed to be so much focus on the bickering between the director, writers and producers that I was getting bored by it all. I did enjoy the behind the scenes on the location shoots. It also appears to be very well researched. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publishers for an e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

My Thoughts:
This book talks about the making and how the movie The Way We We’re came to be. I had heard rumors of behind the scenes problems and how everyone didn’t like each other but until I read this I had no idea I am amazed this movie ever came to be. This movie is one of my all time favorite romance movies. I am a huge fan of Barbra Streisand and I love Robert Redford and them together I fell in love. I am a fan of behind the scenes look at movies but I have to be honest I am not sure I wanted to know all the stuff that went on with this movie was true. It’s a classic that I love and will still love and I am not sure when I watch it again if I will be thinking of all the information that I learned now or if I can just love the watching the movie I guess I will find out. I am glad I did read this because I really appreciate everyone that finally came together and put all their differences aside and made a beautiful movie if you havent seen it I highly recommend it it’s a beautifully love story. Then read this after and you will appreciate all that went in to making this movie Thank You @netgalley for letting me read this for my review.

I’ve always liked this movie—it’s one of only about 70 DVDs I own—especially its mix of the history of the Red Scare and Hollywood blacklist era, with the romance of two very different characters. It hadn’t been that many years since the blacklist ended when the movie was made, so that part of the story intrigued me.

Arthur Laurents, the initial screenwriter, had been—or at least claimed to have been—affected by the blacklist. His view of the story was focused on Katie, a strong, politically committed character, and the battles she fought for her ideals and to fit into the world of the beautiful WASP-y guy she fell in love with. Laurents clashed constantly with producer Ray Stark and director Sidney Pollack, who wanted to eliminate much of the political content and focus on the love story. The script ended up being written and rewritten with the input of many different people.

Author Hofler doesn’t limit his how-the-sausage-is-made exposé to the behind-the-cameras people. He also focuses on the two leading actors, contrasting their preparation styles. He portrays Redford, who was very reluctant to take the part, as constantly late, and rude and dismissive of the time and concerns of others. Streisand gets off a little bit better, but Hofler demeans her by, among other things, claiming that she was so attracted to Redford that she insisted on many unnecessary takes of scenes with him.

I’ve enjoyed many books about the making of movies and TV shows, but this one was mostly just depressing. Hofler makes Stark and Laurents, and to a lesser extent, Pollack, seem petty and nasty. Less so Streisand and Redford, but it does feel like he went out of his way to drag them down in some of his stories about them. It seems like a miracle, given Hofler’s take on the production, that the movie ended up being an enduring success.

Late in the book, Hofler discusses Laurents’s emphasis on the importance of the fact that Streisand’s character is Jewish and Redford’s is Gentile. Hofler thinks that 50 years later, this distinction is no longer so important, remarking that Jews and Gentiles are now both in the same category of white privilege. I was stunned by that comment. Is Hofler unaware of the increasing virulence of antisemitism today, which is proudly touted by celebrities and even some politicians?

In the end, while this is a well-researched book, I didn’t feel it added anything positive to my knowledge of the industry or the making of this particular film. Its focus was too heavily on the petty squabbling and other behaviors of the principals.

In 1973, when the film first came out, I remember going to our local theater that first weekend to see, "The Way We Were". Although we were big fans of both Streisand and Redford, we became even bigger fans. Over the years we've watched and rewatched it on television over and over again; still feeling the same way at the end, as we did in 1973.

After reading, " The Way They Were", I find it amazing that the film was ever made. Although it was wonderfully written and filled with interesting anecdotes, the books make all involved seem shallow and self centered. Sydney Pollack, the director, seemed like a cardboard cutout. He never came to life; perhaps because he died in 2008 and the author never got a chance to interview him. Ray Stark, the producer, came off as a raging bully who had too much say in the making of the film. Today he would be called a micromanager. And as for Arthur Laurents, he came off as totally unlikable, difficult and vindictive.

The book is definitely worth reading, especially if you've seen the film. It just makes you privy to the shenanigans that go on behind the scenes of all those involved in making a movie. And it also makes you wonder how any film ever gets made in Hollywood.

This book chronicles The Way We we’re from script to screen, giving readers a glimpse of what went on behind the scenes. I was surprised at the arguments between the writers and directors just to get the story written in a way that would satisfy everyone involved. I was also surprised that Robert Redford didn’t want to be in the movie at all. I consider it one of his best performances. The real-life differences between Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand are what made the movie a classic. After reading this book I have a newfound respect for Streisand but less respect for Redford. He came off as difficult and aloof. I would recommend this book to movie buffs who enjoy learning about the behind the scenes drama.

Spoiler Alert: The Way We Were is one of my favorite books of all time. I loved the chemistry between Redford and Streisand. This book gave me a birdseye view of the dynamics behind the camera. The background stories were provocative, and some even surprising. I don't think you have to be a fan of the movie to enjoy the book. At the time of filming, there was so much going on in the world. I am planning on watching TWWW over the weekend with my adult daughters, who have never seen it. Now I can fill them in on the background of one of my favorite screen couples.

I saw The Way We Were at an age (late teens or early 20s) where I couldn't understand it. Why couldn't two attractive white people be together if they wanted to be? At the time, as a Gen-X kid, I knew nothing about Jewish and Gentile. About class lines. Or about communist and non-communist in a time when to say you were a communist was as much of a career killer if you said now you were racist or homophobic. I also can't say I'm a Streisand or Redford fan, they are both a bit before my time. However, I like old movies, and I like to read about how movies were made.

The Way They Were follows the trajectory of how the classic "opposites attract" love story came to be through interviews with Streisand, the screenwriter Arthur Laurents, and director Sydney Pollack, and others. (Redford has a few quotes here and there but doesn't seem to have contributed to this book.) It mostly follows Laurents (not a likable person by any means), a Broadway legend who also wrote West Side Story. This is also a story of a time when the best person to write a movie about a woman was—a man! Actually, several men! If it wasn't for the one woman - more like a secretary - who was allowed to add her two cents, it's likely the Robert Redford character (with the odd name of Hubbell) would have been even more awful than he is.

I didn't want to watch the movie again while reading the book as I wanted to judge the book on its own merits, but I did look up several key scenes (thank you, YouTube) as I was reading. One, I think Laurents and Streisand are correct and the deleted scenes, which mostly had to do with Streisand's character's communist activities and a plot involving the Hollywood blacklist, should be reinstated somehow. Those scenes are more relevant than ever and would make this movie relevant again! Secondly, seeing the romantic scenes - the Katie character so in love with a man pretty much only because he's gorgeous and she feels special around him - well, we've all been there. Most of us have fallen for a person because of the fantasy they represented rather than the reality of the person. I think the movie would be much more relatable to me now. And I plan to watch it!

Thank you to NetGalley, author Robert Hopfler and Citadel Press. I just reviewed The Way They Were by Robert Hofler. #TheWayTheyWere #NetGalley

The Way They Were is a fascinating book for superfans of the classic Redford/Streisand film "The Way We Were", anyone with a strong interest in 70's filmmaking or the nuts and bolts of the business we call show, and folks who like an extremely deep dive into film/entertainment history with a detailed examination of the social and political atmosphere in which a particular piece of entertainment was made. That last category especially is where this book excels; Hofler writes with exacting detail about the homophobic and anti-Semitic overtones in American culture and how those elements are reflected in the storytelling of the film. Casual readers of entertainment history may be turned off by this level of focus, but scholars of the genre will find a lot to love -- and in fact, I could see this book being used to great effect as a text in any grad-level media/cultural studies curriculum. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book!

Like many, the movie around which this work is centered and focused, The Way We Were, is a film that has always been in my life. I have no memory of watching it for the first time — it has simply existed. As I grew up watching it every few years, with each viewing I'd gain more information and pick up on details I missed the previous times.

When, as a newly crowned adult, DVDs started including these fantastic behind-the-scenes videos, I gobbled those up as fast as I could. I especially adored (and still miss) the sometimes included director's commentary, where you could watch the movie again while the director (though sometimes it was the director and an actor or just several actors and no director) spoke over the movie's audio track and talked about the making of the movie in different ways, often breaking down their thoughts behind scene setups, characterizations, and plot arcs.

With The Way They Were, Hofler has compiled one of the most complete studies about the making of a specific movie I've ever encountered — second maybe only to the widely known giant Gone with the Wind and the search for Scarlett. In fact, there are comparisons to Selznick's constant memo writing and similar high-volume communication during the making of The Way We Were.

Somehow with all my rewatches of this movie, it never occurred to me to think about what was going on during the time of the making of the movie — specifically politically with the Watergate scandal and President Nixon. In fact, beyond the political, Hofler delves deeply into the life and influence from which the story sprung — Arthur Laurents, who wrote the novel (after it was already pitched as a movie) and screenplay.

From the shooting schedule and deconstruction of how many key scenes were filmed to the reason the deleted scenes were cut, Hofler left nothing out. Going through from the first incarnation of the story of Hubbell and Katie to how director Sydney Pollack transformed (not singlehandedly) to the beloved cinema classic I know so well, Hofler was a wonderful guide and companion who never overshadowed the subject matter. I found this as easy to read as a novel and as informative and well-researched as the DVD special features I miss so much. I'll be buying the hardcover of this one for myself — the only thing that could possible make it better is if there are photographs.

The movie came out when I was in high school. The movie makes more sense the older I get and as I see it in different stages of my life. I couldn’t wait to see what was going on behind the curtain.the book changes the was I look at the stars. They couldn’t be more different and both unrelenting in their self image. Each a uncompromising diva. Redford always late. Barbra a stickler for starting timesheet was always the nervous Nelly. She had to get the take perfect always the perfectionist. Redford just wants to wing it whatever happens it will be good if not over rehearsed.Then there was her publicist trying to run buffer actually not helping the situation. Writer, directors, producers.working for a movie company that is teetering on bankruptcy. This movie has got to bring in the money to save them all. No pressure. I was in high school and didn’t understand the political stuff. Understand little more now to be able to put it into perspective.it wasn’t a good fit for me but if you want a detailed version of what happens then this book is for you. Would be a good a Christmas present for someone looking for a vacation read.

Thanks to the following for allowing me to review early and give my personal opinion.
#NetGalley
Publisher: #KensingtonPress
Author: #RobertHofler
Title: #TheWayTheyWere
Pub. Date: 24 Jan2023

Robert Hofler The Way They Were How Epic Battles and Bruised Egos Brought a Classic Hollywood Love Story to the Screen, Kensington Books Citadel, January 2023.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

The ‘story behind the making of’ is an appealing idea that suggests that by the end of the book we will know all the ins and outs of the script writing, direction and impact on the stars – the actual search for those stars, and how they react to each other off the screen, the budget overruns and box office returns, the critics’ responses…This book offers all of this, and at times branches into much more, providing an insight into the way that society was, not as to be expected that which was the subject of the film, but the 1970s when the filming took place. There was not enough of the latter for me as I was constantly aware that I would have liked more about the political environment in which a political novel with a romance, became a romance with some politics – the scenes that fell to the cutting room floor seemed to be mainly the latter. However, there is a strong enough theme of the discriminatory attitudes towards Jews, homosexuals, and on the periphery, women, to provide a context for the way the film gravitated towards the romance that the trial audiences seemed to want.

Robert Hofler is devastatingly honest and deft in drawing a picture of a group of self-willed, slightly unpleasant (and more at times), attractive and engaging people embarked on a lengthy period of demanding work. Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford are included in that mix, neither escaping the suggestion that they could have been better people, whatever their acting skills might be! There was some excellent material describing the latter, and this leads into so much about the way in which this film was made and provides clues to the industry as a whole.

The love affair on which the novel, and then the film was based was that of the writer, and eventual scriptwriter of the film. His dedication to his novel intrudes at almost every point, and additional writers are brought in. The future debate over who contributed what (including Streisand’s claims on some features) makes an interesting contribution to understanding the job of the novelist whose work becomes a film – a mixed experience, clearly.

Interestingly, I recall seeing the film in the 1970s, and despite it becoming a romance, the scenes that stand out to me for their passion and importance are those that were political: Katie Morovsky’s reaction to Hubbell’s friends’ destructive commentary on the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and jokes at Eleanor Roosevelt’s responses, and the end of the film where she is distributing Ban the Bomb leaflets. Arthur Laurents won his point that the political dimension was important, at least in my case.

For those who saw and responded to The Way We Were on the screen Hofler provides a wonderful story of reminisce, explanation and sympathetic exploration of the making of this particular film. As a contribution the understanding the time in which The Way We Were was set, and then the period in which the film was made; the engaging and hard solid slog in making a film; the way in which what is seen on the screen is but one aspect of the industry this book is makes a powerful contribution to that understanding.

The writing is accessible, the bibliography comprehensive, and the notes detailed and a valuable component of the whole. This is a book well worth reading. I enjoyed it immensely.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was delighted to be given the chance to read this book as Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford are two stars that I just love and have watched the movie The Way We Were several times and always loved it. That being said, I must explain that I did not enjoy this book at all. It was so negative about both of the stars and went on and on and on about male relationships in Hollywood at the time. Robert Hofler was a theater critic and therefore knew all the major players but his emphasis just dwells way too much on homosexual and anti-Semitism activities at the time. A little was expected because the undercurrent of the movie was about that. I do feel the book was thoroughly researched but this reader did not appreciate the excessive dwelling on some issues. The back and forth arguments between directors, writers and edits just got tiresome. I can only imagine the tension with the actors. No wonder a sequel has not been made. I did read this book in its entirety hoping it would get better.

If you are into the what really happened behind the scenes of making this movie, you will probably love all the details and I mean all. I had loved the movie when it came out and thought this would be an interesting read to hear about what was going on while it was being made, but it was way too detailed for me.

It includes every comment everyone ever said about the characters, the actors, the writers, the hearings going on about black listing and anything even remotely touching any of these issues.

Too detailed, not interesting for what I had hoped. This read like a thesis and not like a story so it was not what I wanted, but maybe others will eat this up.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I saw this movie when I was in high school, and totally remembered it as a love story with a great song that we all loved to sing. And the final scene when Katey brushes Hubbell’s hair out of his eyes is iconic. I do remember the parts about the blacklisted writers and HUAC but it seemed incidental to the love story. I guess I was just too young to fully appreciate what the movie was really about. With that said, I did thoroughly enjoy reading this book and being better educated about the thought process of the people responsible for making this movie. There are a lot of characters to keep track of but the author does a great job keeping the reader engaged. I received and ARC from the publisher Kensington through NetGalley and appreciate the opportunity to read this book - this did not influence my opinion.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end. Having enjoyed the movie when it first came out, it was interesting to read about all that went on to successfully bring it to the screen. Can't believe it has been 50 years.