Review of The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) by Katie M — 02 Feb 2010

I have to put this one at the very top- it's an absolute corker. The film does a masterful job of portraying what returning World War II veterans, and their families, dealt with on their return home. Much has been made of "the greatest generation" who simply did their duty, but this movie directly deals with the aftermath of the war- the bittersweet process of trying to get one's life back to "normal.".

Set in the fictional town of Boone City, it follows three combat veterans and their families-- an Army Air Corps Captain and former soda jerk, an Army Infantry Sergeant and former banker, and a young sailor who had lost both of his hands on an aircraft carrier when it was sunk out from under him (portrayed by a World War II Marine who had lost his).

The picture won seven Oscars, and it certainly deserved them. Excellent casting, excellent script, all-star cast, including quite a few uncredited up and comers.