Owen Mcalister Title - The Best Years of Our LivesDate Released (UK) - 5 March 1947Average Rating at Time of Review - 8.1Position in IMDB's Top 250 at Time of Review - #249Directed By - William WylerStarring - Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews & Fredric MarshPlot - Three World War II veterans return home to small-town America to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed.To be honest, I'd never heard of this film before it came time to watch it. That fact along with the three-hour runtime of the film made me a little apprehensive. A film needs to be pretty great to make me want to pay attention for such a length and given that I'd never heard of it, my expectations weren't very high going in. What I did think was that it seemed like a brave venture; coming out just a short while after the Second World War this film looks at how war can negatively impact a soldiers state of mind. Not to mention it was surrounded by war movies filled with adventure and heroics. Watching the film, I realised that it wasn't the "pretty great" I needed to make me want to stick around, however it was enjoyable. Most importantly, it never felt like a slog - in fact I found myself quite surprised when the credits rolled. The fact that it never felt three hours long is a point in its favour. Was it a brave film? In theory, yes. Based off of IMDB's plot description, yes. In actuality, no. Whilst the film touched upon many very real issues that were (and still are) faced by soldiers returning home, I felt that they were sidelined pretty quickly in favour of the romance plot-line, in which two of veterans played critical roles. However the third veteran, the one with the most to say on post-war struggles given that he was an amputee, isn't important to the romantic sub-plot and has significantly less screen-time than the other two. Of course, those two still face their own post-war issues, however they seem to forget them pretty quickly.PROS:-The Acting: The acting in this film was by far the best thing about. Everyone seemed to fit perfectly into their roles and there was no performance I felt was under-delivered. When any of the three main gentleman are on screen together the acting really sticks out and those were some of the most enjoyable moments in the film. The Music: Music really helps to hold this film together and is used to great effect when acting as a scene-transition. It also doesn't feel intrusive and feels as though it belongs in the scene, unlike some other films from this same era. The Writing: This is a film based around character interactions and they are done wonderfully and you can tell the cast had fun playing their characters. Even during the more somber character interactions, they are written flawlessly and makes the film feel very grounded, no doubt helped by the set design and costumes. CONS:The Plot: I can't think of a great many flaws in this movie, but I can easily think of one and it is perhaps the biggest flaw a film can have. As I mentioned above, this film is about character interactions. No matter how good those character interactions are they do not carry a film of this length, it must also have a compelling plot-line. This film falls short on that front. There weren't a whole lot of moments that spring to mind as "memorable" and if I were caught-off guard I imagine I would struggle to recap the events of the film, even at the time of writing this review three hours after watching. There is also the aspect I mentioned earlier in regards to the post-war difficulties being put to the side for a more cliché romance story. This film could easily have been an hour shorter and due to the lack of a strong plot, it gets a lower rating than it perhaps could have. For every one thing I enjoyed about the film, there were 2 scenes that were completely inconsequential to the overall narrative. On top of that, the most compelling character in the film is the one with the least story and the film never really delivered on demonstrating issues faced by soldiers coming home. What they did show, however, was important. That is what this film is and what this film was - important, especially during its time. There would have been many people going through a lot of the stuff that the three soldiers went through and this film showed to them that they weren't alone. Seeing even the most downtrodden characters lives improve throughout the film also allowed them to hope, when some of them may not have had the will for it.

Ivan Lalic Coming back form the war is one of the most popular movie themes of all times, especially for the Americans, since they didn't have the experience on fighting on the home ground for more than 200 years. Cultural and emotional shocks for both the veterans and their family and friends is the subject for one of the best movies that describes the returning of warriors after the WWII, William Wyler's "The best years of our lives". Centered around three totally different stories, the crafty director manages to cover all the angles and to show that the things and the people are not who and how they seem like at the first look. The toll of war is basically same for all three men and their families, regardless of their approach, mental posture and starting and ending points. Although basically tragic, this post war syndrome story ends with a strong positive message for the generation of "baby boomers" it was meant in the first place. "The best years of our lives" is a solid, real and strong script that manages to avoid most of its inevitable pathetic.

jacobs-greenwood This Best Picture Oscar winning film about veterans returning home from World War II includes disabled Army veteran Harold Russell (in his screen debut), who received two Oscars (Best Supporting Actor and Honorary for bringing hope & courage to his fellow veterans) for his performance, the only time an actor has received two Oscars for the same performance.Producer Samuel Goldwyn's greatest success (and that's saying something!) is directed by William Wyler (of course) who also took home the gold, along with Best Actor Frederic March, Writing, Editing, and Musical Score (the Sound was nominated). The excellent cast includes Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo, Cathy O'Donnell, Hoagy Carmichael, Gladys George, and Ray Collins. Added to the National Film Registry in 1989. #37 on AFI's 100 Greatest Movies list. #11 on AFI's 100 Most Inspiring Movies list.March, Andrews as Fred, and Russell as Homer have returned home from the war to discover changes in themselves and their loved ones. Loy plays March's wife, Wright his daughter; Mayo plays Fred's wife, George his stepmother; O'Donnell plays Homer's fiancée. Though initially they go their separate ways, the veterans find that they are able to relate to each other in ways that their families cannot.

ceb I disagree with those who only went so far as to call "The Best Years of Our Lives" one of the best movies about returning servicemen. I believe it is one of the best movies ever made, period. It alternates with "Casablanca" for my all-time favorite movie, depending on which one I have seen most recently.The best compliment I can pay to this movie is that I hold it in such high regard despite having gone into my first viewing wanting to hate it. How dare this film win the best picture Oscar over my favorite movie (at the time) "It's a Wonderful Life," went my thinking. But when I saw "Best Years," I was blown away and I understood."Best Years" has an unbelievable number of scenes that bring a tear to the eye or a lump to the throat, with only a couple of those being the result of sadness, and with most being caused by beautiful depictions of love, loyalty, pride, patriotism, or the overcoming of personal adversity. I only need to hear the opening strains of the Homer and Wilma theme music before the bedroom scene to start losing it.What I enjoy most about the plot is how steadfast all of the lead women are, each in their own unique way. I know Harold Russell and Fredric March won the Oscars-- and they were great-- but for me, Dana Andrews as Fred and the wonderful Teresa Wright as Peggy are the standouts. I find Fred's statement that Peggy should be put into mass production to be very apt.One final aspect of the movie that fascinates me is how it can be such a perfect time-capsule of 1940s America, yet still not feel dated in terms of its human interactions.I am on the clock, waiting for my next opportunity to enjoy this complete and utter masterpiece!