Since it’s release in 1973, The Way We Were has been considered one of the most highly revered
romances to ever grace cinema screens. The movie has only become more beloved over time, and this
all comes in spite of the fact that it had a fairly troubled production. Memorably, the film
starred Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford, both of whom were already major celebrities. Robert was
apparently hesitant to work with Barbara, fearing that she’d exercise too much control on the film’s
set. Robert eventually decided to take the role, but his fears proved correct. Join Facts Verse as
we explore how Barbara Streisand repeated her love scene with Robert Redford over and over.
The Way We Were Had a Troubled Production 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the
classic romantic film The Way We Were, and film historian Robert Hofler has celebrated this
momentous occasion with the release of a book. The book, which is titled The Way They Were:
How Epic Battles and Bruised Egos Brought a Classic Hollywood Love Story to the Screen,
aims to be an all-encompassing look at the decidedly troubled production that resulted
in the beloved film. The book is filled to the brim with fascinating tales, but the most
fascinating of them all are inarguably the ones that center around the film’s two major stars.
The Way We Were is certainly a great film, with direction from revered filmmaker Sydney Pollack
and a script from popular playwright Arthur Laurents. However, the movie likely wouldn’t
have ended up becoming the monumentally successful product that it did if it weren’t for its two
stars. The film starred Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford, both of whom were already at the
top of the world in terms of celebrity status when they signed on. The success of The Way We have
only cemented their superstardom, though Robert Redford was allegedly hesitant to sign on.
Of all of the interesting stories contained in Robert Hofler’s new book,
the most notable one would have to be the story wherein an innocuous love scene between the
characters played by Barbara and Robert took two entire days to film. The scene in question was
the very first love scene that shows up in the film, and those that have scene it will likely
be shocked to realize just how much work went into filming it. The reason that the love scene took so
long to film was that Barbara kept demanding that they do another take. After 50 years, the reason
why the actress felt the need to do so many takes is still unclear, though there is a good theory.
Did Barbara Want to Keep Robert in the Bed? At the time that Barbara Streisand was demanding
take after take of her first love scene with costar Robert Redford, the production of The
Way We Were had already gone over budget and was starting to fall behind schedule. This may
cause some to assume that Barbara had a good reason for taking up two days of filming with
a relatively unimportant love scene. However, it seems that the most likely reason Barbara
kept demanding the scene be reshot was that she just wanted to keep Robert Redford on top of her.
Those that have seen the scene in question will know that it
involves little except Robert Redford’s sleeping character waking up momentarily,
giving Barbara Streisand and kiss, and then falling back asleep. Given this description,
it should stand to reason that the scene would only take a few minutes to film after all of the
necessary preparations had been made. The fact that the scene took two entire days
to film is staggering. Some may be hesitant to accept the theory that Barbara was holding up
filming of the picture for the sole reason that she wanted to get some intimate time
with Robert Redford. Barbara was one of the biggest stars on the planet at the time,
and most likely wouldn’t have assumed that she needed to take advantage of anyone to get action.
However, multiple members of The Way We Were’s production team have backed these claims up.
In his new book, Robert Hofler asserts that Barbara Streisand was unhealthily infatuated
with Robert Redford from the word “go”. Barbara was heavily involved in the casting process that
saw Robert Redford cast as her lover, and Robert Redford himself would go on to claim that he felt
he was being used in the role of a cinematic Ken doll. Robert Hofler has some demining testimony
to support his hypothesis that Barbara expanded the filming of her and Robert Redford’s first
love scene for ulterior motives. According to Robert Hofler, director Sydney Pollack,
and writer Arthur Laurents both noticed Barbara’s unhealthy obsession with Robert Redford. It
seems that Barbara’s love for Robert Redford was an open secret on the set of the film.
All Women Were in Love with Robert Redford The fact of women being infatuated with Robert
Redford was certainly nothing new. The star had made a name for himself thanks to both his
good looks and his machismo well before The Way We Were was a thing. Other female stars
that have claimed to develop a crush on Robert while starring alongside him in films include
Meryl Streep and the late Natalie Wood. There were plenty of actors from around
the same time that would’ve reciprocated all of the Hollywood crushes, but Robert Redford
was not one of them. Despite the fact that every woman in Hollywood wanted to get with the actor,
Robert was a rare performer that wasn’t interested in dabbling in high-profile
affairs. Robert was already married at the time that he broke into the entertainment industry,
having married his first wife Lola Van Wagenen in 1958. Robert and Lola stayed married until
the mid-1980s, and they had several children by the time he starred in The Way We Were.
As Barbara Streisand continued to ask for take after take while her and Robert Redford were
trying to film their love scene, it got to the point where the actor couldn’t take it
anymore. It got to the point where Robert finally had to signal to director Sydney Pollack that he
had experienced enough of the demanding scenario. After two days, filming of the love scene finally
wrapped. Despite appearances, neither of the film’s two lead stars was nude during
the love scene’s filming. Barbara Streisand was wearing a bikini, while Robert Redford was
wearing a pair of athletic supporters. This is common practice in Hollywood,
as it prevents performers in love scenes from having to handle each other’s genitalia.
When it came time to film the second love scene between Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford,
issues continued. This time, the issue was that Robert didn’t want to say the
line that had been written for him. The line was “it’ll be better next time”. Of course,
Robert didn’t want to say the line because he didn’t want the audience to think that he had any
weaknesses when it came to the art of making love. Meanwhile, the writer of the film was adamant that
the line remained, as he felt it was chivalrous of Robert’s character. Filming of the movie was
apparently so strenuous that director Sydney Pollack began fantasizing about leaving the
production only a week in. Despite all of the trouble that occurred on set, Barbara
and Robert exuded great chemistry when they showed up on cinema screens in the fall of 1973.
Robert Was Afraid of Barbara Beforehand Robert Redford was hesitant to sign on
and take his role in The Way We Were, and the biggest reason for this was that he was afraid
Barbara Streisand’s ego would get in the way of the production. Though Robert was a huge
star in his own right, he wasn’t quite on the level of Barbara. Barbara had previously had a
major hit with the musical film Funny Girl. Before agreeing to star in The Way We Were,
Robert had heard a horror story from the set of Funny Girl that affected him quite a bit. The
story came from a bit player in the film that grew agitated when Barbara demanded that a small
action that was scripted for his character be performed again and again. This resulted
in a small scene taking three days to film, similar to what would happen in The Way We Were.
It seems that Robert Redford had good reason to be afraid to star in The Way We Were,
as what happened to that bit player in Funny Girl ended up happening to
him. Since people have started talking once again about the behind-the-scenes drama that
occurred on the set of the film, neither Barbara Streisand nor Robert Redford has
given any comment. Both stars are still alive, and they’re both in their 80s. With
five decades removed from the production, it’s hard to imagine that either performer
would have any regrets about appearing in a film that did so much for their careers.
Upon its release, The Way We Were would go on to become one of 1973’s most successful films,
and it is now considered one of the most revered films from the decade as
a whole. The movie only cost around $5 million, and it went on to make around
$50 million at the box office. Though the film is highly regarded in and of itself,
the success of its titular theme song arguably trumps it in terms of ubiquity.
Though Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford didn’t always get along during the filming of The Way We
Were, they still ended up making magic happen on camera. Now it’s time to hear from you: did
you know that the first love scene between Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford in The Way We Were
allegedly took two days to film and that Barbara had a crush on her costar? Comment down below!