Episode #154

The Best Years of Our Lives

(1946)

Coming home can be the hardest. William Wyler flexes some considerable cinematic muscle in this ensemble WWII story of three soldiers who struggle to return to their normal lives after serving in World War II. We have Homer who’s lost his hands and can’t find the will to ask his long-time girlfriend to marry him; we have Fred, who’s married but find himself in love with somebody else; and then there’s Al, who can’t seem to find meaning in his bank job any more. Made in 1946, when each of those men had thousands like them in the real world, it’s amazing just how much this film has stood the test of time. We discuss it, this week on Film School!