They don't make 'em much better than this.

Rating: 9/10 (13 July 2005)

Most discussions of 1940's films will be tripping over themselves to again praise the overrated "Casablanca" and "Citizen Kane"; William Wyler's "Best Years of Our Lives" easily eclipses both of these and is easily one of the five best films of the decade.
The fact that the audience will not likely notice the film's tremendous running time is a tribute to how engaging the story is; when you finish watching "Gone With the Wind", you KNOW you've been watching it forever, there is no such feeling with BYOL.
Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, and even Fredric March (whom I'm not usually a great fan of) turn in the performances of their careers. Virginia Mayo's performance of a thoroughly unlikable character is also noteworthy. The weakest of the cast are Cathy O'Donnell as Wilma and much worse, Michael Hall as the wooden Rob, but they are easily compensated for by the rest of the players. The story is told beautifully, never over the top or too melodramatic, just very real. Harold Russell's portrayal of a handicapped veteran is quite unusual material for a film of this era, and is done so adeptly that one feels empathy, but never pity, and finally genuine relief when we see that his character will ultimately pass through the torturous adjustment and again enjoy a happy and fulfilling life.
Other reviews have outlined the story already, I'll just say this is a film that will not disappoint. You will feel you have been transported back to post-war middle America and are realizing things about it that never occurred to you before. This film will make you laugh, tempt you to cry, and above all, give you cause to think. This is what film-making should be like. 9 stars of out 10, only because nothing is perfect.