A newly restored version of “The Best Years of Our Lives” has its broadcast premiere on Wednesday, February 7, 2024 on Turner Classic Movies.
The film is one of five film restorations to be shown on Wednesday, February 7; the schedule is:
- 8:00 PM Antonia: The Portrait of a Woman (1974)
- 9:15 PM The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
- 12:15 AM Cane River (1982)
- 2:15 AM The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
- 3:45 AM Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
These films were restored by restored by the Academy Film Archive, the Library of Congress, and The Film Foundation. The Feb. 7 show will be introduced by TCM host Jacqueline Stewart and Director of the Academy Film Archive, Mike Pogorzelski.
The most well known of the films is The Best Years of Our Lives from 1946, which won seven Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (William Wyler), Best Actor (Fredric March), Best Supporting Actor (Harold Russell), Best Film Editing (Daniel Mandell), Best Adapted Screenplay (Robert E. Sherwood), and Best Original Score (Hugo Friedhofer).
The Best Years of Our Lives was the highest-grossing film in both the U.S. U.K. since the release of Gone with the Wind, and is the sixth most-attended film of all time in the United Kingdom, with over 20 million tickets sold.
The film follows three WW II veterans who meet on a flight to their midwestern hometown of Boone City: USAAF bombardier captain Fred Derry, U.S. Navy petty officer Homer Parrish, and U.S. Army sergeant Al Stephenson.
Each man faces challenges integrating back into civilian life. Homer lost both hands in the war and though he has become quite functional in the use of his mechanical hooks, he cannot believe that his fiancée will still want to marry him. Al, tired and jaded from the war, returns to the bank and is given a promotion, but wrestles with alcohol. Though highly decorated, Fred suffers from PTSD flashbacks by night, is unable to find a better job than soda jerk and returns to the same drug store.
Upon its release, The Best Years of Our Lives received extremely positive reviews from critics. NY Times critic Bosley Crowther hailed the film as a masterpiece:
“It is seldom that there comes a motion picture which can be wholly and enthusiastically endorsed not only as superlative entertainment, but as food for quiet and humanizing thought… In working out their solutions, Mr. Sherwood and Mr. Wyler have achieved some of the most beautiful and inspiring demonstrations of human fortitude that we have had in films.” He also said the ensemble casting gave the “‘best’ performance in this best film this year from Hollywood”.
The Best Years of Our Lives has an 8.1 rating on IMDB and a 97% “Fresh” rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Other Restored Films
The other restorations showing on February 7 are:
- 8:00 PM Antonia: The Portrait of a Woman (1974). A 1974 Oscar nominated documentary about the first female conductor to conduct major orchestras in the US and Europe, Antonia Brico. Read more at IMDB.
- 12:15 AM Cane River (1982). Two African Americans who come from a different class background try to find romance and reconciliation in Louisiana. Read more at IMDB.
- 2:15 AM The Masque of the Red Death (1964). A cult classic directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price. Read more at IMDB.
- 3:45 AM Story of G.I. Joe (1945). At the close of WWII, Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Ernie Pyle travels with the U.S. Army’s Company C Division during their liberation of Italy. Read more at IMDB.
Below are select previews.
More About TCM
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