• The poster plays up the stars- Redford as big as they come in 1973 and Streisand a cross-over movie and music star and sensation
  • Two Oscars—one for the title song and one for the score—
  • Its an interesting romantic dynamic and chemistry—the outspoken Jewish intellectual and the WASP athlete. He’s smarter than meets the eye at first and Streisand more beautiful
  • It’s a great star vehicle for both but particularly for Streisand- she had her second (and last) acting nomination (winner in 1968 for Funny Girl
  • Timely in 1973’ with some of the politics and anti-war stuff on college campuses- many critics lament (then and now) that the film doesn’t go farther but the politics here are the backdrop- not the focus of Pollack which doesn’t factor into the artistic evaluation
  • Young James Woods- first archiveable film
  • It’s an interesting male/female gaze film- we have Redford here essentially as eye candy (apparently he forced some rewrites (that seem to have paid off) prior to accepting the role to flush out this character) but there’s a lot of Babs just in awe of Redford’s looks. In the scene where they reconnect (that starts the film before the flashback) he’s drunk, he slips out of his clothes at her apartment and goes under the covers – it’s a flip of typical gender roles on screen. Still- Redford had to shake his head at the idea of his character writing a short story called “the all-American smile”-
  • There’s a strong scene of them dancing with no dialogue- just eyes- clearly falling for each other
  • Apparently Redford sort of traded doing this with Pollack as long as Pollack did Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
  • A complex relationship- there’s a clear chemistry and intellectual connection beyond what Redford has with model and stunner (and Bond girl in Moonraker) Lois Chiles. But Babs- like she is- is also a damn handful- she doesn’t compromise and they don’t make it. I find that to be realistic in the romance genre especially.
  • The theme song and sadness can be parodied but it’s beautiful—just as Babs is an easy target for ridicule but she’s undeniably gifted. She’s meant to grind on you at times like say Katharine Hepburn was
  • Clearly believes that most good romances have to be tragic somewhat like Casablanca– it’s a very heartfelt ending and resolution– a strong coda after a passage of time
  • Recommend