The Best Years of Our Lives

Rating: 4.5/5

The Best Years of Our Lives was a lot longer than I realized, but while watching it, it felt the runtime flew by.

This movie chronicles the lives of three men returning home from war, each coping with their own adversities of adapting to civilian life. Homer (Harold Russell) lost his hands in the war and now has hooks at the ends of his arms. Al (Fredric March) must try and become part of his family again, though his relationships with his wife and children are far more distant than he expected, and Fred (Dana Andrews) struggles to find employment now that he feels he doesn't have any skills that can be used outside of the Air Force.

Many of the Best Picture winners who's duration reached the near three hour mark are ones that are considered grand, cinematic epics, but The Best Years of Our Lives is definitely not part of that category, and it's better off for it. By being so long, we really get a sense of who everyone is and the struggles that they're facing. It's a deep dive into the emotions of each character, pulling the audience in close to their stories.

Everyone in The Best Years of Our Lives is giving A+ performances, but it is Harold Russell who makes his portrayal of Homer be the clear standout. Russell is one of the rare cases of someone without any previous acting experience, giving an incredibly impressive and earnest performance of a lifetime, and then receiving the well deserved accolades for it. It was 100% clear that Russell knew how to use the hooks he had in place of his hands, and that it wasn't an actor who was only wearing the prosthetics while the cameras were rolling. This authenticity added so much to Russell's performance, but it wasn't just his real life injuries that made his role in The Best of Years of Our Lives so memorable, but the way he portrayed the character. Homer is trying to prove to everyone around him that he is fully capable of living a normal life, but he's having such a hard time convincing them of that concept, that he starts to believe it as well. You get to see the ups and downs of him adapting to his "new" life, and whenever he succeeds, his moments of triumph are guaranteed to put a smile on the audience's face and have them rooting for him from the moment the film's title is shown at the beginning, to the minute the credits roll at the end.

The Best of Years of Our Lives is something I will definitely revisit, and is truly a must see for any fan of classic film.

1947 Honorary Award Winner- Harold Russell

1947 Best Picture Winner- The Best Years of Our Lives

1947 Best Actor in a Leading Role Winner- Fredric March

1947 Best Actor in a Supporting Role Winner- Harold Russell

1947 Best Director Winner- William Wyler

1947 Best Writing, Screenplay Winner- Robert E. Sherwood

1947 Best Film Editing Winner- Daniel Mandell

1947 Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture Winner- Hugo Friedhofer