THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
80TH ANNIVERSARY PRESENTATION
Producer Samuel Goldwyn correctly judged that post-World War II audiences would be interested in the struggles of veterans re-adjusting to peacetime life. The result was a powerful tale of three veterans: bank president Fredric March, soda jerk Dana Andrews and wounded Navy man Harold Russell (a real-life double amputee). Director William Wyler, a World War II veteran himself, kept the picture as realistic as possible, sending the actors to buy their own costumes off the rack and having life-size sets built that created an intimacy underlying the human drama. It all paid off when THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES became the decade’s highest-grossing film. It also brought Goldwyn his only Best Picture Oscar along with honors for Wyler, screenwriter Robert E. Sherwood, March and supporting actor Russell. When the latter also won a special award for inspiring fellow veterans, he became the only actor to win two Oscars for one performance. On the film’s 80th anniversary, it has lost none of its power in exploring the lingering trauma of war.
d. William Wyler, 171m, DCP
DCP courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films and Park Circus. Restored by The Academy Film Archive, The Library of Congress and The Film Foundation. Restoration funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.