California, March 16 -- Barbra Streisand brought the audience at the Oscars ceremony to its feet by capping an In Memoriam speech offered in tribute to actor-director Robert Redford with a stanza from the theme song for 'The Way We Were,' the romantic drama which featured both actors in lead roles.

According to Variety, Streisand's 40-second musical performance followed a three-and-a-half minute spoken homage in which the singer-actor-director spoke about the resonance that the film they starred in has social relevance today, as well as speaking to Redford's "backbone on and off the screen."

Streisand's appearance on the telecast was much-rumoured but still brought a significant bolt of buzz to the proceedings, given that she has been e...