'Prior to ordering this film I had just watched the superb Mrs Miniver and was attracted to this title by the awards and favourable reviews on Amazon. I have to say I found the film overlong and boring, perhaps life in post war America is not very appealing to us Brits!'
Unbelievable.
An absolute classic, Best Years of Our Lives takes its sweet time: begins in a most leisurely manner as three demobbed servicemen catch a flight to return to their hometown. Here they are, Harold Russell, Dana Andrews (never better) and Frederic March:
I hadn't realised in the many times I've seen this film how long the takes are, allowing extra concentration on the acting. Russell, whose only film this was, received a special Oscar but also won for Best Supporting Actor. Wyler holds the record for directing actors to Oscars (13*): March also won, as did Robert Sherwood's brilliant screenplay and Daniel Mandell's editing, which is very smooth, using little dissolves to move us from one scene to another.
I hadn't realised in the many times I've seen this film how long the takes are, allowing extra concentration on the acting. Russell, whose only film this was, received a special Oscar but also won for Best Supporting Actor. Wyler holds the record for directing actors to Oscars (13*): March also won, as did Robert Sherwood's brilliant screenplay and Daniel Mandell's editing, which is very smooth, using little dissolves to move us from one scene to another.
Here's some interesting background from Wikipedia:
'Samuel Goldwyn was inspired to produce a film about veterans after reading an August 7, 1944, article in Time about the difficulties experienced by men returning to civilian life. Goldwyn hired former war correspondent MacKinlay Kantor to write a screenplay. His work was first published as a novella,' Glory for Me', which Kantor wrote in blank verse. Robert Sherwood then adapted the novella as a screenplay.
'The Best Years of Our Lives won seven Academy Awards [eight, actally], including Best Picture, Best Director (William Wyler), Best Film Editing (Daniel Mandell), Best Adapted Screenplay (Robert Sherwood), and Best Original Score (Hugo Friedhofer). In addition to its critical success, the film quickly became a great commercial success upon release. It became the highest-grossing film and most attended film in both the United States and UK since the release of Gone with the Wind.'
That I did not know. Because Wyler has these long takes and he's not in a hurry with his actors you get these just great moments. One example is when March tells Andrews he can't see his daughter any more, you can see Andrews really thinking, wrestling with the problem and his feelings for her and knowing the father is right. Most of this scene is payed with these two looking directly in each other's eyes and not breaking the gaze. Teresa Wright (who is as fantastic as all the other cast members) - when she sits down with Andrews' shallow wife Virginia Mayo and gradually realises what she's like - this look of barely perceptible face changes is her hallmark - she does it again in confrontation scene with Andrews later. March is a great drunk. Loy has wonderfully subtle registrations, they both do. And so on. And you forget while all this stuff is going on that it's normally in some really long take in which Russell's lit two matches and had a glass of beer or something equally complicated.
Despite its reputation for being a brave and powerful film about the after effects (social, physical, psychological, financial, romantic) of war - timeless reflections - it is superbly a top class director directing top class actors.
And unlike Now Voyager the camera is rarely moving. Gregg Toland allows everything to take place in the lovely deep staging that you just never get any more. The framing is so precise that I feel only a viewing in 1.37:1 will do, and the Blu Ray is a must.
What is quite remarkable (and it's not the first such occasion) is that Gregg Toland's incredible deep focus photography was completely overlooked by the Academy - yes, not even nominated (but not overlooked by the filmmaker, who in recognition gave him a full screen credit). Look at this shot: we're more interested in what's going on in the far, far background as Andrews breaks it off with March's daughter Teresa Wright then the foreground conversation:
And in the climactic wedding scene, the deep focus allows us to consider the thwarted relationship between Andrews and Wright:
This wonderful shot helps us to appreciate Wright's growing disgust of Andrews' money-grabbing wife Virginia Mayo:
'Samuel Goldwyn was inspired to produce a film about veterans after reading an August 7, 1944, article in Time about the difficulties experienced by men returning to civilian life. Goldwyn hired former war correspondent MacKinlay Kantor to write a screenplay. His work was first published as a novella,' Glory for Me', which Kantor wrote in blank verse. Robert Sherwood then adapted the novella as a screenplay.
'The Best Years of Our Lives won seven Academy Awards [eight, actally], including Best Picture, Best Director (William Wyler), Best Film Editing (Daniel Mandell), Best Adapted Screenplay (Robert Sherwood), and Best Original Score (Hugo Friedhofer). In addition to its critical success, the film quickly became a great commercial success upon release. It became the highest-grossing film and most attended film in both the United States and UK since the release of Gone with the Wind.'
That I did not know. Because Wyler has these long takes and he's not in a hurry with his actors you get these just great moments. One example is when March tells Andrews he can't see his daughter any more, you can see Andrews really thinking, wrestling with the problem and his feelings for her and knowing the father is right. Most of this scene is payed with these two looking directly in each other's eyes and not breaking the gaze. Teresa Wright (who is as fantastic as all the other cast members) - when she sits down with Andrews' shallow wife Virginia Mayo and gradually realises what she's like - this look of barely perceptible face changes is her hallmark - she does it again in confrontation scene with Andrews later. March is a great drunk. Loy has wonderfully subtle registrations, they both do. And so on. And you forget while all this stuff is going on that it's normally in some really long take in which Russell's lit two matches and had a glass of beer or something equally complicated.
Despite its reputation for being a brave and powerful film about the after effects (social, physical, psychological, financial, romantic) of war - timeless reflections - it is superbly a top class director directing top class actors.
And unlike Now Voyager the camera is rarely moving. Gregg Toland allows everything to take place in the lovely deep staging that you just never get any more. The framing is so precise that I feel only a viewing in 1.37:1 will do, and the Blu Ray is a must.
And in the climactic wedding scene, the deep focus allows us to consider the thwarted relationship between Andrews and Wright:
This wonderful shot helps us to appreciate Wright's growing disgust of Andrews' money-grabbing wife Virginia Mayo:
For such a serious film it also has some great humour (modern film writers please take note). Myrna Loy: "They make a lovely couple!"
Hugo Friedhofer's score isn't necessarily one you'll rush out and buy but it most successfully underscores the emotion.
Also supporting brilliantly are Hoagey Carmichael, Cathy O'Donnell (sympathetic fiancée), Ray Collins (bank boss), Roman Bohnen (Dana's dad) and Gladys George (Hortense).
Wyler must have been a hell of a director to get these performances (e.g. Russell was a non-professional, Cathy O'Donnell a newcomer) in such long takes. Also there's a kind of poetry in it. The way the camera moves in the bathroom scene between Wright and Mayo is sublime, picking up its various combinations of mirrors and reflections (without a lighting shadow in sight). The staging in those deep, deep focus shots (not one is shallow) in which the actors' movements are carefully staged, like in a play. Note Myrna Loy's very subtle restraining motion towards March where Wright is threatening to become a homewrecker. And the line that is drawn between Andrews and Wright in final, beautifully staged wedding scene (in which we're not as interested in the couple getting married).
A brave film, one of the Hollywood Greats, and one of our favourites.
A brave film, one of the Hollywood Greats, and one of our favourites.
* They were:
Greer Garson and Theresa Wright in Mrs Miniver
Harold Russell and Frederic March The Best Years of our Lives
Bette Davies and Fay Bainter in Jezebel
Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday
Burl Ives in The Big Country
Barbara Streisand in Funny Girl
Walter Brennan in Come and Get It
Olivia de Havilland in The Heiress
Charlton Heston and Hugh Griffith in Ben Hur
P.S. 26/10/20.
We've been chatting about editing in preparation for Q's new film about Great Women Film Editors. It occurred to me that I couldn't think of any close ups in The Best Years of Our Lives - most of the action is kind of medium or even further away than that. I'm not sure it's true to say there are none - below is about as close as you get, though...
No comments:
Post a Comment