Directed by William Wyler. Starring Fredrick March, Dana Andrews, Myrna Loy, and others.
This is a really interesting film, but in my opinion, more so from a historical perspective than a film perspective. Of course, the two go hand in hand. Let me explain. This film was part of my Film History course's section on Hollywood's role in World War Two. I find it really fascinating that film was declared an "essential industry" during the war -- because of its role in keeping morale high, and its potential for propaganda. I've actually learned a fair amount about this subject before (and had seen this film once already) for a course I took last Spring, on film in the 1950s and 60s. But back to my main point... Hollywood played an important role in documenting the war, and in making films about the home front -- or, in the case of Best Years, about veterans returning home.
This film is long, but interesting (so much so that I didn't mind seeing it a second time). The three men who are the main characters must deal with the adjustment of returning from the war. Throughout the course of the film, the issues of readjustment, trauma (aka PTSD, though it wasn't named thus at the time), disability, reasons for the war / start of the Cold War, home front sacrifices, 40s love and marriage, consumerism, and much more are all raised.
Interestingly, one of the characters is a man who lost both of his hands in the war, and was trained by the Navy to use hooks instead. He, his family, and his girlfriend must all learn to live with his disability. The man who played this role was a non-actor: Harold Russell, and a veteran who really did lose his hands and receive training with hooks (a photo can be seen here). This brings a whole layer of realism to the film and makes it historically important.
Artistically/aesthetically, this film is important because it had the same cinematographer as Citizen Kane, Gregg Toland. Thus, it exhibits some of the same artistic characteristics... long takes and deep-focus; both of which make this quite a beautiful film.
There is a classic scene in this film which really, to me, represents true achievement in creative filmmaking. You can watch this clip on YouTube, here. In this scene, one of the film's veterans (who was a bomber pilot) is left to reflect in a junkyard of airplanes left over from the war. This character seems to have some lasting trauma in the war, as seen in a nightmare scene earlier in the film. The clip I've linked to seems to represent his working through his trauma to some extent.
To round out my discussion of this film, I just want to add that it was very successful in its release, winning the Best Picture Academy Award (and several other categories) the year it was released and garnering a huge domestic box office for its time. It's worth seeing if anything I've said intrigues you, or if you like films that capture their moment in history effectively.
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