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Poster for The Best Years of Our Lives

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

NR ★ 7.8/10 171 min Drama, Romance United States English
Director: William Wyler
Screenplay by: Robert E. Sherwood
Novel: MacKinlay Kantor
Streaming on:
Three wonderful loves in the best picture of the year!

Description

It's the hope that sustains the spirit of every GI: the dream of the day when he will finally return home. For three WWII veterans, the day has arrived. But for each man, the dream is about to become a nightmare.

Trailer

Top Cast

Dana Andrews
Dana Andrews Fred Derry
Fredric March
Fredric March Al Stephenson
Harold Russell
Harold Russell Homer Parrish
Teresa Wright
Teresa Wright Peggy Stephenson
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy Milly Stephenson
Cathy O'Donnell
Cathy O'Donnell Wilma Cameron
Virginia Mayo
Virginia Mayo Marie Derry
Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagy Carmichael Butch Engle

The Best Years of Our Lives Appears on 21 Curated Movie Lists

Awards

Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Awards #79
Academy Awards: Best Actor
Academy Awards #21
Academy Awards: Best Director
Academy Awards #20
Golden Globe Award For Best Motion Picture (Drama)
Golden Globe Awards #80

Canon Institutions

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2024)
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die #819
AFI’S 100 YEARS…100 MOVIES — 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
American Film Institute #37
IMDb Top 250
IMDb #226
Metacritic Must-See Movies of All-Time (Metascore: 81+/100) Redux
Metacritic #186
Metacritics Top 250 Movies Of All Time
Metacritic #108
National Board Of Review's Yearly Top 10
National Board of Review #799
National Film Registry
National Film Registry #58
Russian Culture Ministry’s 100 Recommended Films
Russian Culture Ministry #10
The Film Foundation (by Martin Scorsese)
The Film Foundation #749
UNESCO ‘Memory of the World’
UNESCO #660

Critic Curated

BBC Culture: 100 Greatest American Films
BBC #15
Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 Movies as of 2013
Entertainment Weekly #63
Roger Eberts Great Movies
Roger Ebert #44
Rotten Tomatoes 300 Best Movies Of All Time
Rotten Tomatos #87

Filmmaker Curation

Bill Hader's Favorite Movies
Collider #25
Steven Spielberg's Favorite Movies
Far Out Magazine #16

Letterboxd Lists

Letterboxd 120 Highest Rated 1940-1949 Films
Letterboxd #16

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