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The Best Years of Our Lives

Play trailer Poster for The Best Years of Our Lives 1946 2h 52m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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98% Tomatometer 97 Reviews 93% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Fred, Al and Homer are three World War II veterans facing difficulties as they re-enter civilian life. Fred (Dana Andrews) is a war hero who, unable to compete with more highly skilled workers, has to return to his low-wage soda jerk job. Bank executive Al (Fredric March) gets into trouble for offering favorable loans to veterans. After losing both hands in the war, Homer (Harold Russell) returns to his loving fiancée, but must struggle to adjust.
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The Best Years of Our Lives

The Best Years of Our Lives

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Critics Consensus

An engrossing look at the triumphs and travails of war veterans, The Best Years of Our Lives is concerned specifically with the aftermath of World War II, but its messages speak to the overall American experience.

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Critics Reviews

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Adam Kempenaar Filmspotting 03/22/2024
5/5
By the time [the three servicemen] are saying goodbye to each other, all I was thinking about was how I hope they reunite... and being elated that they do. Go to Full Review
Pauline Kael The New Yorker 07/28/2022
It's too schematic and it drags on after you get the points. However, episodes and details stand out and help to compensate for the soggy plot strands, and there's something absorbing about the banality of its large-scale good intentions. Go to Full Review
Marjory Adams Boston Globe 04/14/2021
The Best Years Of Our Lives is an eloquent tribute to returned veterans [and] a magnificent, brilliant contribution to motion pictures as an art. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Nov 25
4/4
This enduring classic remains perhaps the best film ever made about the hardships endured by soldiers returning home from war. Go to Full Review
Mark Johnson Awards Daily 06/08/2023
Perhaps no film detailed the struggles of our heroes returning home from battle as well. Its groundbreakingly authentic views were bolstered by Harold Russell’s visceral and tender-hearted performance. Go to Full Review
Edwin F. Melvin Christian Science Monitor 08/16/2022
On the surface, the tale seems easy-going and loosely knit. But it is compounded of an abundance of illuminating detail. The characters are of more than one dimension. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Barbara R Nov 18 This movie is nearly 80 years old and has aged SOOO well! Each of the veterans has a great story-young love, impetuous love, mature love and even though I've seen it twice in six months, I'm still bawling like a baby. You will care about each and every one of them, promise! My other favorite of all time is "Its a Wonderful Life". So if you love that, this is a poignant touching movie! See more mark g @Mark_Alan_G. Nov 12 As close to perfection as any movie ever and the definitive post-WWII film. Tremendous performances by an incredible cast. So many films before it were so wrapped up in the heroism of veterans, but none before this focussed on the difficult transition so many of these proud heroes faced. In this movie, three different veterans face three different and difficult post-war transitions. In the end there is optimism, but by no means are their outcomes glorious. See more Perry B @Louiswin Aug 31 The Best Years of Our Lives tells the story of three men returning from World War II, each struggling to adjust to life back home. Resuming normalcy isn’t as simple as they’d hoped, but the film handles their journeys with honesty and heart. One scene between Homer and Wilma later in the movie is especially touching—truly one of the sweetest moments ever put on film. A beautiful, emotional classic. It truly deserved to win the Oscar for Best Picture released in 1946. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Jun 7 Success in 2 hours and 52 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fantastic cast and crew members!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! William Wyler is the director and starring Fredric March as Al Stephenson!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Emma F @MovieFan97 Mar 7 “The Best Years of Our Lives” is a 1946 film about three veterans struggling to adjust to civilian life after WWII. The film won seven Academy Awards. See more Peter G 07/13/2024 One of the few older best picture Oscar winners that still holds up significantly today. It demonstrates much of the best work that I have yet seen that director Wyler accomplished as a filmmaker & the performances & dialogue have an immediacy that grabbed my attention straight away. The very first scene between March, Andrews, & Russell had a believability in the characters interaction that was rare in those days & for the most part this carried through the entire film. My primary criticism was the background music which, being fairly typical in films at the time, often detracted from the genuine atmosphere of the rest of the film. The issues presented were done with more realism & imagination than I have yet seen in films of its type for 1946. See more Read all reviews
The Best Years of Our Lives

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Movie Info

Synopsis Fred, Al and Homer are three World War II veterans facing difficulties as they re-enter civilian life. Fred (Dana Andrews) is a war hero who, unable to compete with more highly skilled workers, has to return to his low-wage soda jerk job. Bank executive Al (Fredric March) gets into trouble for offering favorable loans to veterans. After losing both hands in the war, Homer (Harold Russell) returns to his loving fiancée, but must struggle to adjust.
Director
William Wyler
Producer
Samuel Goldwyn
Screenwriter
MacKinlay Kantor, Robert E. Sherwood
Distributor
RKO Radio Pictures
Production Co
Samuel Goldwyn Company
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 21, 1946, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 1, 2012
Runtime
2h 52m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.37:1)
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