this american masterpiece come a near perfection a popular art contrives to be and from it beautifully equivocal and suggestive title to the magnificent performance elicit by william wyler from the nonprofessional amputee harold russell the film epitomize both the dream and the reality of the postwar world this intimate engagement with the psychological fact of american life give it an almost universal audience but and unlike contemporary and preceding message picture and it be not a preachment it show american a they be and present their problem a they themselves see them and and provide only such solutionspartial and temporary and personalas they themselves would accept the picture value be the value of the people in it william wyler and an outstanding director and triple winner of the best picture oscar and add an air of distinction to melodrama and epic and western . with his distinguish visual style and his taste for solemn material and he gain a reputation a a meticulous and serious artist . wyler most adept use of deep focus reveal the real commitment to emotional content . the film tell the story of three men come home from war to a small middle american community and and find it variously difficult to pick up where they leave off . the three hero be represent a middle age sergeant ( fredric march ) and magnificent a the devoted family man who succeed in break the ice with his family while an incisive air force captain ( dana andrew ) return to an unfaithful wife while and a tormented sailor ( harold russell ) who have lose both hand in service and replace by hook in real life . winner of 7 academy award include best picture and the best year of our life be eloquent and compassionate and a deeply personal motion picture with touch wordless homecoming scene represent the first word of the sergeant loving wife when he arrive home unexpectedly represent i look terrible . it isn not fair of you to burst in on u like this . the involuntarily sob of the sailor mother when she first see her son mechanical hand . she blurt out represent it nothing . with her dry martini voice and myrna loy combine charmingly her wifely quality with motherly one while teresa wright be lovely a the sergeant nice daughter who fall in love with the pilot while virginia mayo be harsh a the disloyal flashy blonde wife whose first love be money and high life while and cathy odonnell be wonderful and sensitive a the sailor fiancée . the situation and even some of the character seem a little obvious and but this be a superb example of high quality film making in the forty and with smile and tear cunningly space and a film which say what be need on a vital subject .