Very Cool!!!

Fresh and Exciting

As Good As It Gets

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

I won't go into the story which has been extensively covered in other reviews. What I will say is that this film deserved every one of it's seven Oscars. It is unashamedly sentimental at times, but is perfectly acted by a superb cast. They don't make films as good as this anymore, and I think it should rank in the top ten of anyone's list of favourite films. Very highly recommended.

Three World War II veterans return home to small-town America to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed. I don't get what's so special about this movie and it's definitely not a War film or even a Drama it's mostly about a bunch of people who eat and sleep under the same room and they talk to each other for almost 3 hours long and basically nothing happens from start to finish. For it's time it might have been some Oscar Masterpiece but now it's just generic, old and quite boring to even sit threw and just skip it in general.

I must have seen this film ten times on the Bill Kennedy Show while growing up. Sometimes in snippets and often times all the way through. I have seen it over a half a dozen times on Turner Classic Movies. I remember seeing it in my high school English Literature text book. The only screenplay I ever saw in a book about serious literature. Now I finally have a DVD copy of it for my personal collection. I still can't believe it runs nearly three hours. It just never seemed that long.Strange how time is affected when you become involved in a story. CITIZEN KANE always seems longer than it really is; nearly three hours and yet it barely comes in under two hours. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES is the exact opposite. It seems like it comes in under two hours, but runs nearly three.Go figure.This is an entirely character driven story that doesn't depend on sex and violence to carry the narrative. It could have easily degenerated into soap opera, but somehow never does. The chemistry between the three male leads; Dana Andrews as Fred Derry, Harold Russell as Homer Parrish and Fredric March as Al Stephenson is largely responsible for this. But this is still one of the greatest examples of ensemble acting in cinema because it all seems so ordinary and everyday and effortlessly true to life.The women are also a revelation. Myrna Loy as March's wife Milly Stephenson hits all the right notes as the beleaguered wife, Teresa Wright shines as their bewildered daughter, unwillingly caught in a love triangle between Fred Derry and his wife, Marie, memorably portrayed by Virginia Mayo. Cathy O'Donnell is achingly poignant as Homer Parrish's girl friend Wilma Cameron, sympathetically standin' by her man with no hands.Russell won two Oscars for his moving portrayal as Homer Parrish and I have never been more reluctant to write a spoiler. This time I'll just advise you to see for yourself what his performance is all about. Dana Andrews as Fred Derry gives one of the best interior monologues you will ever see in film and hungover Fredric March waxes eloquent about the rights of the returning veteran.Here is a great place to start dissecting that complex of relationships that make for absorbing drama. There is nothing forced or histrionic about this film. The ending I found resoundingly fitting as everything fell into place. You should easily be able to relate the experiences of your own life to what you see on the screen. Even so, this 'life as it is' version of service men returning home from war will register stirring, vivid images in your mind that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

I watched "The Best Years of Our Lives" for the very first time this morning prepared to loathe every minute of its almost three hour running time. Why ? I have an aversion to "prestige films". Movies that are made it seems just to win Oscars ("Gandhi", "Titanic"). I know that my prejudice is unreasonable and I risk missing some very good movies because of it but what can I do-I like quirky flicks, also ran's and B-movies the hell with the Miss America's I want the bearded lady in the side show. I was a bit disappointed I kinda liked this movie. I liked Myrna Loy and Dana Andrews, both great screen actors. I love Teresa Wright-she can do no wrong in my book. Fredric March was the weakest of the leads despite winning the Oscar for best actor (too much fat on this ham) but Virginia Mayo's performance holds up (and talk about va-voom! What a knock out. I wish they had gone with an actor for the role of the disabled vet. Harold Russell was admirable to tackle the part but his inexperience as a performer was off putting (think Sofia Coppola in "The Godfather 3"). Thank god we have William Wyler helming the picture-he is a great director and keeps this cumbersome vehicle humming along. Best scene: March's homecoming when Loy realizes it is her husband who has rang the doorbell. Almost wordlessly executed it is an exquisite piece of filmmaking. Too bad there are not enough of them to make this a great movie-only a pretty good one