The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) at Reel Classics

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

A poster from THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES

William Wyler's 1946 masterpiece, THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, is the story of three servicemen and the trials they face readjusting to society and their families after World War II. It is one of my all-time favorite movies, and though it is almost three hours long, the first time I saw BEST YEARS, I was so impressed that I rewound it and watched it again. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was of the same opinion in 1946 when it awarded the film seven Oscars, including those for Best Director (Wyler), Best Scoring (Hugo Friedhofer), Best Screenplay (Robert E. Sherwood) and Best Picture of the Year. BEST YEARS' producer Samuel Goldwyn also received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award that year in recognition of the "high quality of motion picture production" which BEST YEARS embodied. Though on lists of the greatest movies ever made, it is often outranked by more stylized films (like CITIZEN KANE (1941)) or more grandiose productions (such as GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)), in terms of pure cinematic storytelling, BEST YEARS is quite simply one of the finest films ever made.

Unlike so many other great movies of the last century however, THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES is not about the incomparable lives of extraordinary personalities; nor is it about ordinary people thrust into extreme situations. Rather, BEST YEARS relates the story of typical characters facing the then-typical challenge of resuming their lives after years of upheaval, separation and individual growth precipitated by the second World War; it is about people in transition in a world in transition. Brought to life by a cast of exceptionally talented actors, including both veteran performers and screen novices, the personal dramas in BEST YEARS are not only compelling, they also transcend the specific historical period in which they take place, making BEST YEARS a film about people and relationships to which an audience of any time period can relate.

It is not only the timeless characters and performances which make BEST YEARS so universal however, but also the exceptional craftsmanship with which the film is put together. Wyler's direction and Gregg Toland's deep-focus cinematography guide the narrative so transparently that nothing about the filmmaking distracts the audience from the drama unfolding before it. Robert E. Sherwood's masterful screenplay seamlessly weaves together the separate and distinct worlds of the returning veterans. And Hugo Friedhofer's score manages to both unite and differentiate the three parallel storylines. Nothing about the production of BEST YEARS -- from the acting to the editing -- is ever permitted to draw attention to itself, allowing the audience to forget it is watching a movie and making the overall experience of seeing the film exceptionally personal and powerful. If ever there was one, THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES is a testament to the frequently unappreciated effectiveness of less-is-more moviemaking.

Al, Fred and Homer on the plane to Boone City

Sailor Homer Parrish (Harold Russell, lower left), Air Force Captain Fred Derry (Dana Andrews, center) and Infantry Sergeant Al Stephenson (Fredric March, right) on the plane home to Boone City. Each has his own anxieties about what awaits him when the plane lands.

"Homecoming" (clip) by Hugo Friedhofer (a .MP3 file courtesy Fifth Continent).

Discovered by Wyler in a training film about the rehabilitation of double amputees, Harold Russell was a real veteran who had lost both hands in a training accident during the war. Although an acting novice, Russell won two Oscars for his performance in BEST YEARS, an honorary award and a statuette as the year's Best Supporting Actor, making him the only performer in the history of the Academy Awards to win two statuettes for the same performance. And not to be outdone by the newcomer, Hollywood veteran Fredric March won an Oscar of his own for Best Actor.

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