Rewind, Review and Re-Rate: 1946’s ‘The Best Years of Our Lives’: Honoring Veterans

The uneasy yet moving transition to civilian life

(L–R) “The Best Years of Our Lives” charts the return of three servicemen to civilian life: Homer Parrish (Harold Russell), Fred Derry (Dana Andrews), and Al Stephenson (Fredric March). RKO Radio Pictures

Approved | 2h 50min | War, Drama, Romance

The Golden Age of Hollywood can rightly claim a wide array of excellent action-oriented World War II films, such as 1945’s “They Were Expendable” and 1957’s “The Bridge on the River Kwai.” Indeed, war movies contributed greatly to making American cinema the most influential and copied style of film production the world over.