'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. 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, including Best Picture, Best Director (William Wyler), Best Actor (Fredric March), Best Supporting Actor (Harold Russell), 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. 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.
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