The Best Years of Our Lives

[whitehall]

Hollywood gushes that the movie, released in 1946, was "the best movie ever made and reviews give it 5 stars and it swept the Academy Awards that year. It almost seems unpatriotic to criticize the movie but I think the characters are way too old. The Frederick March character was a banker and married 20 years with grown kids. He would hardly be wearing staff sgt. stripes and chasing Japanese in the Pacific. The Dana Andrews character was a soda jerk who somehow became an officer in the AAF. He was way too old also. The only main character that rang true was Harold Russell as Homer Parrish, the horribly wounded young Navy Vet. Actually Russell was an Army Vet who had his hands blown off in a training accident. The motion picture academy awarded him an honorary Oscar and to their surprise he won a real Oscar for the same role. Hollywood pretended to love the guy for about a year and then sent him home and forgot about him. When his wife needed medical attention later in life he was forced to auction off his Oscar which brought about $50,000. He died of a heart attack at 88.

 

[Pennywise]

It's a great film. I don't get the need to nitpick it.

 

[Moonglow]

What makes people think that old folks do not fight in wars???

 

[whitehall]

Young folks fight in wars. If the movie wanted to be an honest representation of Veterans they all would be in their 20's even AAF officers. My 2nd point is the callus way Hollywood treated Harold Russell. "Go home kid, there are no roles for armless actors". It's OK to critique a movie, Penny.

 

[whitehall]

In real life March was 49 (and he looked it) when he made the movie. His character would have been 45 when he enlisted as a private which was the top of the age limit. It's unlikely that his character would have ended up in the Pacific fighting the Japanese at his age. Dana Andrews was 37. Subtract four years and his character would have been a 33 year old soda jerk when he enlisted. Sounds kinda retarded to me.

 

[Esmeralda]

In real life March was 49 (and he looked it) when he made the movie. His character would have been 45 when he enlisted as a private which was the top of the age limit. It's unlikely that his character would have ended up in the Pacific fighting the Japanese at his age. Dana Andrews was 37. Subtract four years and his character would have been a 33 year old soda jerk when he enlisted. Sounds kinda retarded to me.

In Hollywood movies, actors often play characters who are much younger than the actor is in reality. They do this because Hollywood is about making money, and well known actors are a better box office draw. They put box office draws in staring roles, which means the star is often much older than the character he plays is meant to be.

 

[namvet]

its really outstanding