Part of Americana

Rating: 9/10 (16 September 2003)

Despite having heard much about this film over the years, I only recently saw it for the first time on DVD. I expected something good and I wasn't disappointed. Despite being over 50 years old now, this is still an involving film. You won't be bored.
When first released, many people identified with 'The Best Years of Our Lives'. Films now rarely if ever speak to a common, shared experience and instead, mass successes like 'Titanic' or 'Lord of the Rings' must rely on fantasy. Maybe that's a good thing. We live in a better world, as anyone watching this film can't help on reflection but realise.
Three last points: I was struck at how much 'The Deer Hunter' owes to this film. It was good to see genuine 1940s style instead of a modern production designer's recreations. And I liked the scene at the end in the drugstore when Homer angrily asks whether the 400 guys on his ship were suckers too.