Mrs. Miniver or The Best Years of Our Lives?
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boxerrebellion — 12 years ago(March 17, 2014 07:53 PM)
Really, apples & oranges. One is early war (before the US was even in it), the other after war (at least for those men). One is family POV (especially Mrs. M, the Mom), the other is the service men's POV. They both blew me away, and I didn't realize until tonight that they were related.
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BillieDove — 18 years ago(February 28, 2008 07:23 PM)
I'll go with Best Years Of Our Lives, too, because i can relate more to it. It's just so heartbreaking, this story about the boy who has lost his arm (a litle bit like The Men, first movie of Marlon Brando, in 1950). I think the characters are more interesting and it's really powerful to see them do what they used to do But it's not the same. And they try to hide it. Mrs. Miniver too is really great, but i prefer the second one.
More subtle.
"Well, I think if people loved eachother more, they'd shoot eachother less!" -
countrygirltori — 17 years ago(June 13, 2008 07:20 PM)
I love them both equally, but if I had to choose between the two I would have to say Mrs. Miniver. The main reason being that when they filmed it the war was still going on. And that scene with Mrs. Miniver and the German soldier is so frightening when you think about it. Looking at it today, you know the German's lost and you are hearing the conversation between the two and you are like "well, you lose so stop with your 'I'm so much better than you' talk". When the movie came out in 1941, the audience had a totally different view. It was more frightening and you honestly did not know how the war was going to turn out, but you had hope.
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Euphrosyne — 16 years ago(October 11, 2009 12:01 AM)
I agree with you on this - BYOOL is a great movie, but it's all about the aftermath of the war.
I find 'Mrs. Miniver' to be much more powerful because they had no idea how it was going to end up.
Great movie - still holds up. -
spasek — 17 years ago(July 13, 2008 01:35 PM)
Man, that is a tough one! I also love both films, and are probably in my top 10 list of all-time favorites. Also, Teresa Wright is in both, and I just thought she played the down-to-earth, girl-next-door roles so well.
If I had to choose, Best Years of Our Lives would barely edge out Mrs. Miniver, for me. The story with Homer is touching for me every time that I watch it, and I liked the romantic storyline between Fred and Peggy.
You really can't go wrong at all with either one. The Vicar's speech at the end of Mrs. Miniver is one of the best speeches in cinematic history, in my opinion. -
jimbo97-1 — 17 years ago(July 14, 2008 10:42 AM)
Who cares? They both have TERESA WRIGHT!!
Her part is bigger in BEST YEARS, but both movies are GREAT for what they depict wartime and post-war, respectively.
Beyond a doubt, I recommend Hitchcock's SHADOW OF A DOUBT for an even better Teresa Wright characterization! She's just lovable! -
mark-1589 — 17 years ago(December 15, 2008 12:32 PM)
They are both superb films, but I would give the edge to The Best Years of our Lives. For obvious reasons, Mrs. Miniver had a very clear element of propoganda (which Wyler openly acknowledged) and in my view that element does not wear so well over time (but clearly was viewed as very important in its day). Also, I think part of what Mrs. Miniver was trying to do was to shock people into the reality of war by juxtaposing rather mundane things with the harsh reality (flower show or the extravagence of new hats vs. German soldiers threatening to destroy your city or air raids killing the elderly, women and children). Unfortunately, I found the portrayal of some of these everyday things to be both too melodramatic and sacharine. Certainly it doesn't ruin the film, but it is a flaw. The Best Years of Our LIves, on the other hand, was nearly flawless. It is unstintingly realistic, dealing with the issues without sentiment. The script, sets, cinematography, acting, and direction were all uniformly great - even if only by a certain degree, I think they were all better than in Mrs. Miniver. The speech ending Mrs. Miniver was fantastic, packing lots of emotional impact, but I think Best Years was uniformly better throughout the whole of the film.
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Clothes-Off — 17 years ago(January 16, 2009 07:55 PM)
Easy.
TBYoOL has definitely held up better over time. It has more sincerity and streaightforwardness, whereas MM went heavy on the propaganda, which MGM felt was necessary at the time to counteract people who were against the U.S. getting involved in WWII. (Lillian Gish held that opinion, but then she was known for her prejudice and anti-Semitism.)
Last year TCM aired a documentary about Wyler, and his friend playwright Lillian Hellman told him upfront she thought MM was his weakest effort as a filmmaker!
"Well, for once the rich white man is in control!"
C. M. Burns -
simplemines — 17 years ago(January 23, 2009 02:18 AM)
I don't think Lillian Hellman's opinion on World War 2 carries a whole lot of weight. She was an avid Stalin supporter; in fact, before the american involvement in WW2, she had served on a committee to keep the US OUT of the war.
Hellman changed her mind in a minute when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union and was no longer an ally of Stalin. -
thbryn — 16 years ago(October 17, 2009 09:17 PM)
I might not be giving BYOOL a fair shake as I've seen MM maybe 10/1, times viewed.
I look at MM as a call to war and BY' as a realization that post-war problems would exist for a generation and shouldn't be forgotten.
I'd say both were important films with BY' the less entertaining but more socially significant work. -
SpitfireIXB — 16 years ago(February 06, 2010 02:02 AM)
@ladylavende
I'm with you on this, The Best Years of Our Lives [current IMDb rating 8.2] is indeed a superior movie to Mrs. Miniver [current IMDb rating 7.7] - in every cinematic way. The ratings say it all.
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