Mrs. Miniver or The Best Years of Our Lives?
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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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bhoover247 — 16 years ago(February 26, 2010 11:15 AM)
They are both great movies, but my vote goes to The Best Years Of Our Lives. One reason in addition to it being the better drama, was that BYOOL dealt with the war from the perspective of Americans. Mrs. Miniver dealing with people in England being bombed had less chance for ambivalence among the characters.
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raketex — 16 years ago(February 26, 2010 11:09 AM)
I have to say that I believe "The Best Years of Our Lives" has just so many unusual, and "just right," set pieces and characters in it that it strikes a special place in me. I can watch it over and over (in part or in whole) whenever it's on TCM just to admire the quality put into every aspect of it. In that respect, it is more like a view into real life, with all of its attendant ups and downs, that just happens to have been recorded as a movie.
On the other hand, "Mrs. Miniver" is more a melodramatic movie-movie. As good as it is, you never lose sight of the fact that it is a "story-movie."
On the plus side, "The Best Years" and "Mrs. Miniver" both feature two of what I consider the most attractive actresses of their time - Myrna Loy and Greer Garson. In fact, if you look closely, they even seem to have some of the same facial expressions with their characteristically wide-eyed look. (Their arching eyebrows and eyeshadow certainly accentuated that beautiful feature of theirs.)
And then as an added bonus, you also get that fresh-faced, yet beguiling, child-woman Teresa Wright in both movies! -
kathymac1443 — 15 years ago(August 19, 2010 10:42 PM)
Mrs Miniver by far for me. I'm a war baby and "The Best Years of Our Lives" doesn't do it for me. I'm not even sure why. It had great acting but just lacked something for me. On the other hand "Mrs. Miniver" was supurb and delightful. Maybe it was Greer and Walter.
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ABetterDay — 15 years ago(November 14, 2010 03:48 PM)
While both films are excellent in their own way, I would give the nod to BYOOL. It develops a storyline following 3 completely different, flawed, typical American families. Miniver, by contrast, is very much a single storyline. BYOOL meshes the 3 storylines, sometimes purposely bruisingly, and results in something that is rare from Hollywood; a film about average (and even white trash) that is compelling and entertaining. Miniver was far more a typical vehicle of the time. Again, both are indeed excellent.
Remember When Movies Didn't Have To Be Politically Correct? -
IloveMuggy — 15 years ago(November 14, 2010 05:58 PM)
I agreewhile Mrs. Miniver is an excellent film, The Best Years of Our Lives is an even better one. Frederic March's performance (among many other great ones in the latter) is one for the ages. Unforgettable.
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CindyH — 15 years ago(February 19, 2011 02:51 PM)
Isn't that kind of like comparing apples to oranges? I think the only two similarities here are family and an actress. One is pre/during war, the other post war. The styles are different as is the writing.
Anyway, I'm just not sure which I like better because of the differences. I liked Mrs. Miniver because it showed the horrors of living at home in England during the war. I liked The Best Years of our Lives because it showed how the war affected them emotionally afterward. -
SarLei94 — 14 years ago(April 25, 2011 03:13 PM)
I think that both movies are wonderful and I loved everything (the story, the acting, the message etc.) in both but I enjoyed TbYooL more. I can't really say why, I really love them both, it's just a feeling.
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ABetterDay — 13 years ago(May 13, 2012 10:25 AM)
Keep in mind that the two films are quite different and really cannot be compared as films of the same genre. As entertainment vehicles, I much preferred TBYoOL. Mrs. was a bit too "Hollywood manufactured" for me. Wyler had learned a lot in 4 years.
Remember When Movies Didn't Have To Be Politically Correct?