The Best Years Of Our Lives Details

Undoubtedly one of the finest and most satisfying achievements in American cinema, this Samuel Goldwyn production now tends, regrettably, to be overlooked by film scholars. The tale of three returning GIs adjusting to civilian life after the Second World War may have lost some relevance post-Vietnam, but there's no denying the magnificent craftsmanship as director William Wyler and photographer Gregg Toland (Citizen Kane) bring Robert Sherwood's vivid screenplay to life. Stars Fredric March, Myrna Loy and Dana Andrews are at their postwar peaks here, but it is the performance of real-life wartime amputee Harold Russell that is most touching, and he rightly won two Academy Awards for his role (a special award for bringing hope to other veterans along with that of best supporting actor). Awarded six other Oscars, this movie is hard to overpraise: clocking in at close to three hours, it provides a substantial and rewarding experience for all who watch it.

The situations and even some of the characters now seem a little obvious, but this was a superb example of high-quality film-making in the forties, with smiles and tears cunningly spaced, and a film which said what was needed on a vital subject.