The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) | Full Movie | Movies Anywhere

Name: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Released: 1946-11-21
Cast: Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Myrna Loy

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

NR
2h 50m
1946

97%

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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. Captain Fred Derry (Dana Andrews) is returning to a loveless marriage; Sergeant Al Stephenson (Fredric March) is a stranger to a family that’s grown up without him; and young sailor Homer Parrish (Harold Russell) is tormented by the loss of his hands. Can each man find the courage to rebuild his world? Or are the best years of their lives a thing of the past? Featuring a brilliant cast that includes Myrna Loy and Virginia Mayo, this postwar classic garnered eight Oscars®*, including Best Picture. Heart-wrenching, touching and “filled with emotional dynamite” (The Hollywood Reporter), it remains “one of the best films about war veterans ever made” (American Movie Classics Magazine). Includes Theatrical Trailer

Director:

William Wyler

Cast:

Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Myrna Loy

Rotten Tomatoes® Score

TOMATOMETER®

97%

Critics Consensus: An engrossing look at the triumphs and travails of war veterans, The Best Years of Our Lives is concerned specifically with the aftermath of World War II, but its messages speak to the overall American experience.

Reviews

Filmspotting

Adam Kempenaar

By the time [the three servicemen] are saying goodbye to each other, all I was thinking about was how I hope they reunite... and being elated that they do.

Perhaps no film detailed the struggles of our heroes returning home from battle as well. Its groundbreakingly authentic views were bolstered by Harold Russell’s visceral and tender-hearted performance.

June 8, 2023

FULL REVIEW

Christian Science Monitor

Edwin F. Melvin

On the surface, the tale seems easy-going and loosely knit. But it is compounded of an abundance of illuminating detail. The characters are of more than one dimension.

It has something to say to a dozen other publics... What I regret is that Sherwood, Wyler and Goldwyn should have preferred to say it in such naïve, really such rock-bottom terms.

It's too schematic and it drags on after you get the points. However, episodes and details stand out and help to compensate for the soggy plot strands, and there's something absorbing about the banality of its large-scale good intentions.

July 28, 2022

FULL REVIEW