Directed by William Wyler
It's the hope that sustains the spirit of every GI: the dream of the day when he will finally return home. For three WWII veterans, the day has arrived. But for each man, the dream is about to become a nightmare.
黄金年代, Lo mejor de nuestra vida, Die schönsten Jahre unseres Lebens, De schoonste onzer jaren, Най-добрите години от нашия живот, Os Melhores Anos de Nossa Vida, Los Mejores Años De Nuestras Vidas, De bedste år, Parhaat vuodet, Ta kalytera hronia tis zois mas, Najbolje godine, De beste år av vårt liv, Najlepsze lata naszego zycia, Os Melhores Anos das Nossas Vidas, Cei mai Frumosi Ani ai Vietii Noastre, Najbolje godine naših života, Hayatımızın En Güzel Yılları, Glory for Me, Home Again, Samuel Goldwyn's The Best Years of Our Lives, 우리 생애 최고의 해, De Beste Jaren van Ons Leven, Həyatımızın Ən Gözəl İlləri, 我等の生涯の最良の年, Die besten Jahre unseres Lebens, I migliori anni della nostra vita, Лучшие годы нашей жизни, Les Plus Belles Années de notre vie, 黄金时代, De bästa åren, Los mejores años de nuestra vida, Τα Καλύτερα Χρόνια της Ζωής μας, De beste jaren van ons leven, שנות חיינו היפות ביותר, Életünk legszebb évei, Os Melhores Anos de Nossas Vidas, Najlepsze lata naszego życia, Nejlepší léta našeho života, Най-хубавите години от нашия живот, Найкращі роки нашого життя, 黃金時代, Najlepšie roky nášho života, De Bedste År, Những năm tháng khó quên, Cei mai frumoși ani ai vieții noastre, Els millors anys de la nostra vida, Најбоље године нашег живота
USANR (New York City, New York) 
Germany12 (TV premiere) USANR 
Brazile 12 
UKU 
Argentina13 
France 
Sweden 
Denmark 
SpainAPTA 
Hong Kong SpainAPTA 
NetherlandsAL 
Portugale 12 
Italy Germany 
Japan 
Austria 
FinlandS Denmark USANR Denmark FinlandS SpainAPTA France USANR NetherlandsAL NetherlandsAL Argentina Austria Brazil Denmark Finland France Germany Hong Kong Italy Japan Netherlands Portugal Spain Sweden UK USA 
The best movie ever made?
william wyler was like "i'm gonna make a 3-hour film where every single scene is absolutely necessary and every frame is intentioned and it will make viewers feel every single emotion" and HE DID IT and i wept
I'm struggling to think of what a contemporary equivalent of this would look like.... Something from Hollywood with A-list actors that confronts the emotional and psychological toll of war on fully realized characters while still working as masterfully filmed melodrama... How mentally malnourished are people who hold the (demonstrably false) opinion that new Hollywood movies are somehow more sophisticated than "old ones?" We've been at war for over a decade and we get a few Lone Survivors a year, but where are the stories about soldiers at home? Too uncomfortable to confront, I suppose.
If this film were to be released today exactly as is, it would still sweep the damn Oscars.
A powerful, moving, empathic look at the Greatest Generation and their struggles to re-assimilate into civilian life post-WWII, anchored by a deliberately paced script and heartfelt, intimate performances (including the award-winning turn of Harold Russell, a real life veteran and the first non-professional actor to receive an Academy Award). Despite the relatively simplistic direction by Wyler, this movie is a brilliant testament to the healing of all those returning soldiers who were asked to leave (ahem) the best years of their lives overseas. On both a technical and narrative level, it does nothing unique or innovative, yet it still succeeds in being…
Damn, William Wyler, you didn't have to go so hard in that bedtime scene with Homer and Wilma. I was already almost in tears 20 minutes in when the three returning soldiers ended up at the same bar that first night back home.
A 'they don't make 'em like they used to' hall of famer.
a movie about fundamentally decent people who are having a tough time because some other fundamentally decent people can never understand what they've been through. where can I get more of this
Hi everybody, after I rewatched Mrs. Miniver a few weeks ago, I rewatched this wonderful masterpiece from William Wyler and it was worth every minute. The story about three WWII soldiers coming home and struggling, each one with his own problems, to fit in post war society.
The movie based on the acclaimed book, it was brought masterly to screen by William Wyler and adapted by Robert E. Sherwood, both were rightfully received the Oscar for their work, second of three Awards for W. Wyler. The film showed three very different, but nevertheless quite similar ways to handle post-traumatic stress disorder and reintegration in a post war society. Love is the solution and it was written really grown up and…
It’s a nice movie. Did I LOVE it as much as everyone else seems to? No, the story isn’t really my thing. But the movie is so impressive in its characters and scale. The acting is all around wonderful and I love Myrna Loy especially. This movie is really reminiscent of the 40s and it captures that time frame with ease and beauty. The way it's shot is brilliant and really captivating. I don’t have much to say except to watch it and form your own opinion. It’s a big movie with great acting and even if the story isn’t for me I was still impressed.
Cried no less than half a dozen times. Desperate to rewatch Five Came Back, tbh. I’ve typed and deleted a bunch of incoherent things about bullshit military propaganda movies given far more cultural cachet for their depiction of the American military (and the culture’s relationship with it) than this humane, complex masterpiece, so I’ll just leave it at: fuck those movies. I would have spent another 3hrs staring into the sad smiles of this A+ ensemble.
The Best Years of Our Lives is classical Hollywood at its finest. Here is a humanist film, with sympathies for the ordinary man. It comes from a point in time when society was transforming. The American economy and way of life was drastically affected by World War Two. This was a rare time when the West embraced a belief in helping individuals and sharing economic prosperity. Yet returning to civilian life, soldiers found their years spent away prevented them from getting jobs. Injuries and nightmares plague those who return. The Best Years of Our Lives depicts these realities. It must have been incredibly affecting for those who saw it on initial release.
The Best Years of Our Lives depicts three…
In 1946, William Wyler's classic The Best Years of Our Lives achieved both critical and popular success, so much so that it became the only American feature film to be declared a national treasure by the Library of Congress. The film follows the lives of three World War II veterans—Al Stephenson, Freddie Mills, and Homer Parrish—as they struggle to resume their lives after the war. Wyler paints a realistic, intimate portrait of the veterans, made all the more powerful by the undeniable chemistry between the central trio.
Though the plot is movingly simple, Wyler refuses to take shortcuts or offer easy solutions. Instead, he focuses on the complex and thorny emotions of his characters as they grapple with being ordinary…
(Quest to Conquer the BFI/AFI Greatest Films of All Time Lists)
They are remembered as The Greatest Generation, but fighting a war takes a toll on people's lives both in combat and with how they cope with life back at home.
"You know, I had a dream. I dreamt I was home. I've had that same dream hundreds of times before. This time, I wanted to find out if it's really true. Am I really home?"
I had only recently heard about The Best Years of Our Lives now that I am trying to see all the (AFI top 100 films) and (Best Picture winners), and it is truly a poignant classic that deserves to be more well known. It…
