Review of The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) by Asen B — 13 Sep 2010

Hollywood at its most heartrendingly humane back in its Golden Age that was never to be replicated, not even during its second such era - the seventies.... much of it here is due to the taut, cogent, cohesive direction from that veteran tyrant who would elicit lovely performances from his entire casts - performances etched in humanity which therefore make us care about the characters as though we were experiencing their tragedies and existential dilemmas.

Hugo Friedhofer's marvelous score, the glorious script and dead-on editing all contribute to make for one of the most delightful cinematic experiences one can possibly have out there, as long as people are bent on watching the real thing - already long gone from the crass age we inhabit nowadays.

..... Magnificence incarnate!