An amazing movie

Rating: 10/10 (3 September 2011)

I love movies, old and new, and I just love The Best Years of Our Lives. While It's a Wonderful Life is my personal favourite movie of the year 1946, The Best Years of Our Loves is an amazing,timeless movie and a more than worthy Best Picture.
First of all, the film looks exquisite. The costumes, lighting and settings are beautiful and don't date the film in any way, and not only are the shots in The Best Years of Our Lives adeptly composed but they enhance the mood to very moving effect.
I love the score too, it is very poignant-sounding and stays true to all the other film scores of that time, however it doesn't feel too overly romantic or mushy. The script is thoughtfully written, the story is always well paced, engaging and never fails to touch me, the characters are well defined and William Wyler's direction is immaculate.
The acting is superb. Myrna Loy and Teresa Wright are lovely actresses and manage to do a lot with their roles, Harold Russell and Cathy O'Donnell are wonderful and I don't think I have ever seen Dana Andrews this good. Fredric March also gives one of the best performances of his career.
In conclusion, amazing. 10/10 Bethany Cox