Intense and compelling. Kudos to Dana Andrews for an incredibly great performance.

Rating: 10/10 (4 November 2007)

This is a great movie with outstanding performances by the entire cast, especially Dana Andrew's and Harold Russell's. Although released just after World War Two the movie has survived the test of time, principally because of the the nature of the story which deals with issues that are timeless in their relevancy. This movie is proof that "they don't make 'em like that anymore." It is hard to imagine Hollywood being able to recreate this movie today. The audience would be able to relate to the story - who couldn't?. But who'd play the roles? Could any actor today play Fred Derry without it becoming a laughable caricature of the returning war vet? Could any actor today play an Al Stephenson without coming off as being a bloated middle-aged phony? The trouble with Hollywood today is that when it tries to make a movie about a serious subject, especially one based on actual events, it usually becomes a confused jumble of special effects interspersed with inane dialogue which veers away from the actual historical event which is shunted to the background. There are exceptions. "Forrest Gump" with Tom Hanks and Gary Sinese deals in part with the subject of returning war vets, but that is not the main theme of the movie. "Saving Private Ryan" with Tom Hanks, Vin Diesel and Tom Sizemore must get high marks for its excellent portrayals of soldiers in combat, but this movie deals with soldiers who are still fighting, not the postwar aftermath. "Dear Hunter" with Robert DeNiro and Christopher Walken, "Born on the Fourth of July" with Tom Cruise and "Coming Home" with Jon Voight and Jane Fonda, are about postwar adjustment issues and all three are very good, very powerful movies. But even these movies have certain melodramatic features that make them rather stagy, with more focus on interpersonal dysfunctionality than on the actual events that may have contributed to the problematic behavior. The closest that Hollywood comes to approaching Best Years in terms of artistic style and thematic content is "The Men" with Marlon Brando, made in 1950. Filmed in a film-noir style, Best Years is far more subdued, far more intense, far more sophisticated, far less hysterical and therefore far more compelling than the other aforementioned movies. Anyway, go watch the movie.
One other item. This movie is proof that Dana Andrews was one of the greatest actors ever in the history Hollywood. The entire movie centers around his performance as Fred Derry, a character which Mr. Andrews brings to life and which has become a symbol for all soldiers who return home.