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Not rated. () |
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(1754) |
656 |
4275 |
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(804) |
301 |
1961 |
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355 |
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| Coming Home (100%) |
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Plot:
The story concentrates on the social re-adjustment of three World War II servicemen, each from a different station of society. Al Stephenson (Fredric March) returns to an influential banking position,...( read more 
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:August 18, 2008This film was pretty ahead of its time actually, and the humor actually made it more relatable to even today's audiences. The film takes place after War World II and follows the lives of three war veterans who meet on their way home. I think this film could easily be adapted to modern day experiences but will not live up to the acting in this movie unless you can find another Harold Russell...
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MCT:August 11, 2008
an honest and enduring slice of suburban post-war American life. three solid hours of real people enduring real problems in real ways - that's probably what I enjoyed most about this film. the writing and the acting are both so dynamically poignant that you feel you're watching a story about people you know in your own life, maybe even a little of yourself. nothing's overly withdrawn or cinematic, it's just great human drama with all that goes along with it. there's very little not to enjoy and appreciate about this superbly-made American classic.
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MCT:July 3, 2008This is probably one of the greatest movies ever made! It's dramatic, romantic, and funny. I could watch it a million times in a row.
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MCT:June 28, 2008
The Best Years of Our Lives tells the story of three World War II veterans returning home and attempting to adjust to civilian life. They all have various sorts of difficulties and wonder if the best years of their lives are behind them. As someone born more than forty years after the war ended, I found it somewhat difficult to relate to the actors' problems. Despite that flaw, the plot was well-paced and rather interesting so the film was still enjoyable.
The film features an ensemble cast and everyone does a reasonably good job. Of the ensemble, Fredric March and Dana Andrews seem to be the two principle actors in the film. They both did a pretty good job and March was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. I felt that Andrews actually had a larger role and was better, but March is probably more famous so that's why he won. The film also has Harold Russell who portrays a sailor who has returned home from war without any hands. Russell himself did not have hands and was not a professional actor. He delivers quite an impressive performance in a supporting role and deservedly won Best Supporting Actor. In fact, he won an honorary Academy Award for this performance as well because the Academy thought he had not shot at winning the actual award and wanted to honor him somehow. He remains the only actor to win two Oscars for the same performance and is one of just two non-professional actors ever to win an Oscar for acting. The film also has Teresa Wright, Myrna Loy, and Cathy O'Donnell all of whom deliver good performances.
Overall, this film is a pretty good one. As previously mentioned, the film seems somewhat dated in the sense that it is a feel-good post-War film and the War has long since passed. While any old movie is going to be at least somewhat dated, this felt a little more so than average. It's not all that bad, but worth noting - twice in fact. The story is rather uplifting and the ending is a happy one. It's a good movie and worth a watch for those that have three hours to spare.
83/100
B-
UP NEXT: Das Boot. -
MCT:June 23, 2008
The Best Years of Our Lives is a smart and complex drama that simply astounds. This is partly due to the fact that the acting is believable, as is the script. This made the film easy to sit through, considering its long run time. The filmwork isn't anything special, but that doesn't really change the way the film looks overall. Trust me, this film is too good to miss.
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MCT:June 19, 2008
What a remarkable film! Even with a near 3 hour running time, The Best Years Of Our Lives manages to keep your attention the entire way through! Going into it I thought it was going to be really boring, but I was proven wrong. Every single actor did a terrific job. My favorite part was at the beginning when the veterans were coming home for the first time. Even to this day this film has lost no impact. Overall a marvelous film!
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MCT:June 1, 2008
Great film about how WWII vets adapt to home life after the war. Very realistic and timeless with top notch acting. I highly recommend this movie.
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MCT:May 29, 2008
If you really want to appreciate this movie thoroughly, I guess you will have to explore the post-WWII history of the USA. But anyway, you will be moved by Harold Russell. The social messages behind, like the pain the war brought, the psychological change on US people and the hard life the veterans led, are well depicted. But, just slightly dated anyway......
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MCT:May 27, 2008
a bit sentimental but still great and remarkably honest portrait of the problems faced by returning veterans of ww2. i wish teresa wright had made more films. beautifully directed by william wyler
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A classic! If you have not seen this you better go rent it! Shows how our soldiers feel when they come home from war in WWII. Has a lot of patriotism we can apply in our country today!
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MCT:March 29, 2008
The Best Years of Our Lives is a monumental cinematic achievement that leads you on a profound emotional journey through the many shades of humanity.
The decimation inflicted upon homes and families during WW2 was a harrowing reminder of the destructive nature of humanity, born from prejudices that continue to infect our planet, inciting intolerance and conflict.
This idea is poignantly encapsulated by Dana Andrews, Frederick March and Harold Russell; three physically and emotionally scarred veterans, who have endured the horrors of the battlefield and their joyous homecoming has now faded into a painful struggle to reintegrate into a society that has progressed beyond them.
These three characters are traumatised by war and further afflicted by their own personal circumstances. Andrews' Fred Derry is plagued by nightmares and trapped in a loveless marriage that starves him of the comfort and support he desperately desires. March's Al Stephenson feels like a stranger in his own home. His children have grown almost beyond recognition and his wife has adapted to life without him. Finally, Russell's Homer Parish is consumed by bitterness and self-loathing after losing his hands in combat. He feels inadequate and despises the pity cast upon him, so he isolates himself from his family and friends.
This establishes the emotional platform, from which the movie soars into the stratosphere of American cinema, fuelled by inspired performances from the three principle actors that tangibly express the torment of their characters and vividly reflect the wounded world of the time; all a result of the darker aspects of human nature.
However, the resounding message is one of hope and the movie transcends the darkness through a heartfelt exhibition of humanity's capacity for compassion, symbolised by Teresa Wright, Myrna Loy and Cathy O'Donnell, who offer the distressed soldiers kindness and understanding.
They are the shining light of the movie, leading humanity to redemption and their performances, brimming with wholesome charm, wonderfully complement the male leads, forming a triumphant union of strength and tenderness that proves 'The Best Years of Our Lives' are still to come. -
MCT:March 27, 2008
What a GREAT movie. War heros coming home and how they adapt to getting back to 'normal life'. What an amazing film!!
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MCT:March 6, 2008
Wyler shows his skill by perfectly blending drama and comedy in this portrait of three ww2 veterans. All characters are wonderfully drawn and multidimensional, the humor is subtle, the problems it touches realistic, and nothing is simply black and white. Alas, although it's a masterpiece of cinematography, it's also a lengthy film (3 hours), and focusing on problems specific to post-war America, making it hard to relate to for most viewers, and maybe just a bit boring.
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MCT:March 6, 2008
Even though I was forced to watch this for a class, and I fast-forwarded through a lot of it because it's so long and I only had a limited time in the library movie room...I actually really dug it. There is some pretty raw drama in this old flick, and some memorable performances. I'm sure it deserved its best picture for its year.
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MCT:March 2, 2008This film gets 2nd place behind It's a Wonderful Life for being full of capitalist, idealist, & patriotic propoganda.
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MCT:February 9, 2008
Real, exceptional, heart warming and well acted. Harold Russell's performance is incredibly important.
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MCT:November 27, 2007
This movie was very interesting. I actually enjoyed watching it despite its age and being in black and white. Pretty crazy living with two hooks for hands. Everything ended pretty well for them all
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MCT:November 11, 2007
Wonderful ensemble acting about the post WWII world and the reintegrating of veterans into society. Very timeless, and compassionate view of love, loss, readjustment and valor.
This is a war tale, the internal war that veterans experience when they come home. The suffering can be as great as the war experienced on the battlefield, where numbness and fear take over to dull the senses as an aid to survival. But once home, and the trench dust clears from the mind, memories, post traumatic stress, and angst replace the life that was.
Re-acclamation is a painful process. Children have grown, time has passed, limbs may have been lost and spirit is broken.
The Best Years of Our Lives reveals the painful journey of three WWII vets at their homecoming and beyond. We follow 3 views of what should be a joyful occasion, instead we find Fredric March, returning to his perfect family and his former job as a bank clerk, Harold Russell who is struggling with the loss of his hands, played beautifully and truthfully by this real-life veteran whose hands have given way to hooks, and Dana Andrews, a hero pilot who faces his former job as a soda jerk. Loss all around. Of life as it was, of jobs, of relationships and spirit. Of the feeling of being appreciated by a country that sent them away to view atrocities.
As they each face their situations and try to regroup, they remeet at Butch?s Bar. Butch, played by Hoagy Carmichael,is the "play it again, Sam," piano playing bar-tender; the glue and the strength that holds the men together and helps them to push forward and move past their issues.
Frederic March reestablishes his wonderful marriage to his loyal and steadfast wife, played by Myrna Loy; Harold Russell faces the pain of his disability and finally realizes that his former girlfriend, played by Cathy O'Donnell, loves him still and sees beyond his handlessness, and Dana Andrews, the hero pilot, is left by his materialistic cheating wife, played by Viriginia Mayo, and ends up with the girl of his dreams, Teresa Wright, the daughter of March and Loy.
It all works out in the end, but this close to 3 hour movie is a lesson to us. War changes everything. -
MCT:October 27, 2007
some scenes seemed to be designed to evoke a'gung ho' response from movie goers, and it's not all very realistic, but what hollywood movie from this era is? I couldn't find many insights to take with me, althoug I think they hoped the audience would. It has some very invotive camerawork and a good 'soap operaish' story that keeps this flick worth seeing.
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MCT:October 18, 2007
Another social issue movie of the 40's. A topic today's TV and movies are starting to deal with again, returning vets adjusting to home life. One performer stands out exceptionally- Harold Russel! He was not an actor, but a real vet, and you can tell his performance is pure truth. Awe inspiring.
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MCT:August 25, 2007
A brilliant look at post-WWII America and the effect the war had on "The Greatest Generation." Fredric March shines...
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MCT:August 20, 2007
This movie is just so great on many levels. It's one of those rare films that shows life beyond the battlefield. There are three story lines, interwoven, with three different points of view.
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MCT:August 20, 2007
an anti war film; about the coming home part nobody likes to talk about when we're gettin' all fired up to go kick some camel jockey's ass...oh, wait, that's a different war, ain't it? our children coming home, well, at least they're the same children...ain't they?
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MCT:August 14, 2007
The kind of movie not often see, where soldiers returning from war go through a period of adjustment that often goes unmentioned. Very moving and well-acted.
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MCT:August 6, 2007
A timeless reminder of the remnants of psychological and physical flotsam and jetsam visited upon our vets. A bit long, but well worth the time.
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