Capt. Derry, There is a B-17 bound for Boone City.....

[Pat Carry]

Does anyone else agree w/ me when I say "The Best Years of Our Lives" is a great movie? And oh yeah, the opening shots of a flight home in a B-17 for the 3 principal characters isnt bad either!

[Steve Nelson]

Probably one of the first films to address what has bcome known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Pretty insightful stuff for its day.

SN

[Russ Matthews]

I, for one, agree with you.

And so did the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, who awarded "Best Years of Our Lives" the Oscar for Best Picture of 1946.

Last edited by Russ Matthews on Thu Feb 12, 2009 8:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Pat Carry]

Harold Russell who played Homer received 2 Oscars for his role. This was his first film and he had no acting experience or training of any kind.

[Steve Nelson]

He was the double-amputee, right? I understand he did lose his arms in the military, but in a Stateside training accident rather than combat, like the character he played. Of course, that certainly doesn't lessen his sacrifice.

SN

[Chicoartist]

Interesting bio here -
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0751174/bio

I like the part where he jokes about being so adept with his hooks that he "could do almost anything with them, except ..."

Wade

1947 Academy Awards

The film received seven Academy Awards. Despite his touching Oscar-nominated performance, Harold Russell was not a professional actor and the Board of Governors considered him a long shot to win, so he was given an honorary award "for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance". However, he was named Best Supporting Actor to a tumultuous reception, making him the only actor to receive two Academy Awards for the same performance.

Won: Best Picture - Samuel Goldwyn Productions (Samuel Goldwyn, producer)
Won: Best Leading Actor - Fredric March
Won: Best Supporting Actor - Harold Russell
Won: Best Director - William Wyler
Won: Best Editing - Daniel Mandell
Won: Best Original Music Score - Hugo Friedhofer
Won: Best Adapted Screenplay - Robert E. Sherwood
Won: Academy Honorary Award - Harold Russell
Nomination: Best Sound Mixing - Gordon Sawyer

1947 Golden Globe Awards

Won: Best Dramatic Motion Picture
Won: Special Award for Best Non-Professional Acting - Harold Russell

1948 BAFTA Awards

Won: BAFTA Award for Best Film from any Source Other wins

National Board of Review: NBR Award Best Director, William Wyler; 1946.
New York Film Critics Circle Awards: NYFCC Award Best Director, William Wyler; Best Film; 1946.
Bodil Awards: Bodil; Best American Film, William Wyler; 1948.
Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain: CEC Award; Best Foreign Film, USA; 1948.
In 1989, the National Film Registry selected it for preservation in the United States Library of Congress as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

American Film Institute recognition

1998 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies #37
2006 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers #11
2007 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) #37

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

In WW1 it was known as Shell Shock

In WW2 it was Battle fatigue

In Korea it was something else.

In Vietnam it was Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome

The dearly departed George Carlin did a great segment on how the name had changed to soften it for the home front while it still sucked for the vets.

In WW2 it was Battle fatigue

If you ever get a chance to see a film made by John Huston called " Let there be light" It was filmed at Edgewood State Hospital Long Island New York in 1946 and deals with servicemen returning to the US. Very powerful film it was banned for 35 years. Battle fatigue was also referred to as "Nostalgia" in that film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7uJ7hEh ... re=channel

[Jerry O'Neill]

Wonderful film.
One of my all time favorites.
Jerry

[Pat M]

I'm sitting at my desk in an industrial park that was carved out of the old Edgwood Hospital property. Most of the hospital buildings are gone. Strange coincidence.

[ww2John]

...more The Best Year’s of Our Lives information.

Directed by 3 time Academy Award winner William Wyler, native German, who also directed during WWII The Memphis Belle, The Fighting Lady and Mrs. Miniver. He directed Best Years to finish his contract with Samuel Goldwyn so he could work with his partner fellow director Frank Capra, also a 3 time Academy Award winner.

Frank Capra’s pre-WWII work includes Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Meet John Doe, Shangri-La, etc.

Their collaboration resulted in It’s a Wonderful Life, which did not fare well with critics or audiences in its initial release and was overlooked entirely by the Motion Picture Academy when it handed out Oscars that year, while Best Years won 7.

Ironically, as great a film as The Best Years of Our Lives remains, it is largely unknown by most movie fans today. But they all know Wyler & Capra production companies’ “failed” film – It’s a Wonderful Life, shown on TV m-a-n-y times each Christmas season.

[Jerry O'Neill]

Ironically, as great a film as The Best Years of Our Lives remains, it is largely unknown by most movie fans today. But they all know Wyler & Capra production companies’ “failed” film – It’s a Wonderful Life, shown on TV m-a-n-y times each Christmas season.

The first time I saw BYOL was in a film class as a junior sophomore in High School. It resonated then and still resonates today. Many film schools study it today.
Jerry

[tom d. friedman]

a great movie. sadly, russell had to sell his oscar in his waining years, he was that destitute. derry's wife in the movie was a royal bit*ch

[aerovin]

Just a mention there is more information on the film here:

http://www.aerovintage.com/bestyrs.htm