1946: The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler)
This might have to go down as the most stellar year in the history of cinema. So how offensive of me to put William Wyler, the somewhat unrecognized auteur, at the top of the list. Please, I promise my intention is not to offend, only to represent my favorite film of the year.
Wyler made a slew of films in his career, and I've probably seen less than 20% of them, certainly not enough yet to determine whether he's been undervalued by film history. I feel comfortable saying this though -- Wyler sat a little more in the backseat of most of his films. He preferred an invisible style rather than something more evident for the auteurists to latch onto and recognize.
When I think about The Best Years of Our Lives, what I think I respond to most is the honesty of the storytelling and a certain realism that it strives for, thematically, emotionally, and formally. There's also a special fluidness to the way that Wyler allows all of it to unfold. It's fairly epic (at 172 minutes), but everyone is so well-drawn, and the story so well-written, that it all goes down quite easily for me.
The film is one of these ultra-rare, incredibly well-balanced works where everything is there and seems possible -- heaviness/lightness, exploration/entertainment, universal/personal, and reality/escape. I watch it and can't help but feel that it doesn't get much better than this.
This might have to go down as the most stellar year in the history of cinema. So how offensive of me to put William Wyler, the somewhat unrecognized auteur, at the top of the list. Please, I promise my intention is not to offend, only to represent my favorite film of the year.
Wyler made a slew of films in his career, and I've probably seen less than 20% of them, certainly not enough yet to determine whether he's been undervalued by film history. I feel comfortable saying this though -- Wyler sat a little more in the backseat of most of his films. He preferred an invisible style rather than something more evident for the auteurists to latch onto and recognize.
When I think about The Best Years of Our Lives, what I think I respond to most is the honesty of the storytelling and a certain realism that it strives for, thematically, emotionally, and formally. There's also a special fluidness to the way that Wyler allows all of it to unfold. It's fairly epic (at 172 minutes), but everyone is so well-drawn, and the story so well-written, that it all goes down quite easily for me.
The film is one of these ultra-rare, incredibly well-balanced works where everything is there and seems possible -- heaviness/lightness, exploration/entertainment, universal/personal, and reality/escape. I watch it and can't help but feel that it doesn't get much better than this.
Other contenders for 1946: What a year this was! There aren't that many major titles I've yet to see, but there are a few: Jean Cocteau's La belle et la bete, Kenji Mizoguchi's Five Women Around Utamaro, Michael Powell's A Matter of Life and Death, Raoul Walsh's The Man I Love, David Lean's Great Expectations, Ernst Lubitsch's Cluny Brown, and Lewis Milestone's The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Then, there is a special section this year of films that I have seen that I need to revisit at some point, as none of them had as great an impact as I would have expected. These are: Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious, Roberto Rossellini's Paisa, Vittorio De Sica's Shoeshine, and Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. This year I also have more runner-ups than in any other year so far. It's definitely not top-tier for him, but I really like Orson Welles' The Stranger. Also not among my absolute favorites for each director but ones I really enjoy are Howard Hawks' The Big Sleep and Jean Renoir's The Diary of a Chambermaid. John Ford's My Darling Clementine, on the other hand, is one of my favorite Ford films. Charles Vidor's Gilda is among my favorite noir films. And, Robert Siodmak had a banner year, directing my two closest runners-up: The Spiral Staircase and The Killers.
10/10/10 I watched David Lean's Great Expectations. A wonderful adaptation of a celebrated novel, Lean keeps things moving, depthful but entertaining, heartfelt with moments of relief and whimsy. Extraordinary acting with Lean's fantastic eye keeping it all interesting, I really enjoyed this one.
10/10/10 I watched Jean Cocteau's La belle et la bete. Cocteau, like James Whale before him, really brings great humanity to the monster and allows us to care deeply for him. Cocteau also employs slow-motion in an incredibly magical way and shows off his unique sensibility throughout.
10/13/10 I watched Michael Powell's A Matter of Life and Death. It's a film I believe everyone needs to see. It's incredibly ambitious and beautifully achieved, although perhaps not as warm emotionally as Powell/Pressburger might have hoped. But it's a technical marvel and something to greatly admire.
10/15/10 I watched Lewis Milestone's The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. It's a prototypical noir with many interesting elements, including performances from Stanwyck, Douglas, and Heflin. Rozsa's score is overbearing at times and not all the plot elements click as strongly as they could, but it's still a film that deserves a bigger reputation.
12/10/11 I watched Jacques Tourneur's Canyon Passage. I have to thank the great Peter Lenihan for placing this gem on my radar. And what a tremendous western it is. The first thing that jumps out is how contemporary it feels. It has the modern psychological complexity of the Anthony Mann westerns, and already in 1946, feels as though it's tearing the genre apart, with a most incisive analytical eye. But it's not cold and clinical like the Mann films. Tourneur's camera's always moving, and there's a tremendous vitality and feel for real-life in every single shot. It brings to mind another Tourneur favorite of mine, Stars in My Crown, in its acute ability to capture early American group and community, and makes yet another extraordinarily strong argument for Tourneur's deserved place in the highest of all cinematic pantheons.
1/21/12 I watched Jack Bernhard's Decoy. A tough, sick and unafraid Monogram noir. One of, if not, the strongest of all the Monogram pics I've seen.
7/22/12 I watched Joseph Mankiewicz's Somewhere in the Night. Twisty entry into the amnesiac noir genre from the great director. Some nice one-liners but fairly pat in terms of style or interest.
10/21/12 I watched Vittorio De Sica's Shoeshine. Has its moments of greatness, although for me not up there with the very best ne0-realist works nor the best of De Sica. The filmmaking is quite exquisite even when the storytelling a bit fatty and unfocused.
12/22/13 I watched Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. I had not seen the film in almost twenty years and had no real memory of it. What struck me first is just how well made it is - brilliantly plotted, masterfully cast and performed, and of course emotionally affecting of the highest order. Sure it is manipulative and sure it is very much a Hollywood film. But it is also very human and universal and as a result very life-affirming. If only Hollywood still had this much talent behind their films and this much desire to connect rather than escape, for all these years our cinema would have continued as the most powerful and important artform the world over.
2/6/18 I watched Ernst Lubitsch's Cluny Brown. Watching the film is yet another reminder of the infusion of great skill and sophistication that Hollywood experienced in the forties and fifties. The craft, perspective and sensibility brought to the States by the dozens of European craftsmen advanced the form in ways the country never again achieved by way of outside influence. What is most remarkable is Lubitsch's timing and the way he achieves profound emotional moments without leaning on music whatsoever. The film in fact is almost entirely devoid of a score. Somehow I missed this one in my original exploration of Lubitsch's work but I think it ranks up there with the very best of his extraordinary films.
10/10/10 I watched David Lean's Great Expectations. A wonderful adaptation of a celebrated novel, Lean keeps things moving, depthful but entertaining, heartfelt with moments of relief and whimsy. Extraordinary acting with Lean's fantastic eye keeping it all interesting, I really enjoyed this one.
10/10/10 I watched Jean Cocteau's La belle et la bete. Cocteau, like James Whale before him, really brings great humanity to the monster and allows us to care deeply for him. Cocteau also employs slow-motion in an incredibly magical way and shows off his unique sensibility throughout.
10/13/10 I watched Michael Powell's A Matter of Life and Death. It's a film I believe everyone needs to see. It's incredibly ambitious and beautifully achieved, although perhaps not as warm emotionally as Powell/Pressburger might have hoped. But it's a technical marvel and something to greatly admire.
10/15/10 I watched Lewis Milestone's The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. It's a prototypical noir with many interesting elements, including performances from Stanwyck, Douglas, and Heflin. Rozsa's score is overbearing at times and not all the plot elements click as strongly as they could, but it's still a film that deserves a bigger reputation.
12/10/11 I watched Jacques Tourneur's Canyon Passage. I have to thank the great Peter Lenihan for placing this gem on my radar. And what a tremendous western it is. The first thing that jumps out is how contemporary it feels. It has the modern psychological complexity of the Anthony Mann westerns, and already in 1946, feels as though it's tearing the genre apart, with a most incisive analytical eye. But it's not cold and clinical like the Mann films. Tourneur's camera's always moving, and there's a tremendous vitality and feel for real-life in every single shot. It brings to mind another Tourneur favorite of mine, Stars in My Crown, in its acute ability to capture early American group and community, and makes yet another extraordinarily strong argument for Tourneur's deserved place in the highest of all cinematic pantheons.
1/21/12 I watched Jack Bernhard's Decoy. A tough, sick and unafraid Monogram noir. One of, if not, the strongest of all the Monogram pics I've seen.
7/22/12 I watched Joseph Mankiewicz's Somewhere in the Night. Twisty entry into the amnesiac noir genre from the great director. Some nice one-liners but fairly pat in terms of style or interest.
10/21/12 I watched Vittorio De Sica's Shoeshine. Has its moments of greatness, although for me not up there with the very best ne0-realist works nor the best of De Sica. The filmmaking is quite exquisite even when the storytelling a bit fatty and unfocused.
12/22/13 I watched Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. I had not seen the film in almost twenty years and had no real memory of it. What struck me first is just how well made it is - brilliantly plotted, masterfully cast and performed, and of course emotionally affecting of the highest order. Sure it is manipulative and sure it is very much a Hollywood film. But it is also very human and universal and as a result very life-affirming. If only Hollywood still had this much talent behind their films and this much desire to connect rather than escape, for all these years our cinema would have continued as the most powerful and important artform the world over.
2/6/18 I watched Ernst Lubitsch's Cluny Brown. Watching the film is yet another reminder of the infusion of great skill and sophistication that Hollywood experienced in the forties and fifties. The craft, perspective and sensibility brought to the States by the dozens of European craftsmen advanced the form in ways the country never again achieved by way of outside influence. What is most remarkable is Lubitsch's timing and the way he achieves profound emotional moments without leaning on music whatsoever. The film in fact is almost entirely devoid of a score. Somehow I missed this one in my original exploration of Lubitsch's work but I think it ranks up there with the very best of his extraordinary films.
10/7/21 I watched Douglas Sirk's A Scandal in Paris. Sirk's special gifts for light, poetry, inventive framing are periodically on display in this period noir. But for me it does not compare to Written on the Wind or some of his other towering work.
