GREAT CINEMAMASTER LIST
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Search 713 spoiler-free recommendations from 1916 to 2026. Filter by the night you want—not the list you’re supposed to finish.

Direct film viewShowing master rank #449 on its own—not above the ranking.
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Artwork
DirectorAll directors

Most represented · 6+ films

More recurring directors · 3–5 films54
All directors · surname A–Z438
ActorAll actors

Most represented actors

Big Three membership
Major award winners

1 selected film

Master Rank balances Greatness, Engagement, and Ease. Sort by Greatness for the artistic-canon view.

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View The Best Years of Our Lives film page
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

Spoiler-free premise

Three servicemen return to the same American town after World War II and struggle with work, family, disability, and readjustment.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

Airman Fred Derry, banker Al Stephenson, and sailor Homer Parrish meet while returning to Boone City after World War II. Fred faces unemployment and a strained marriage, Al returns altered to family and banking, and Homer confronts life with prosthetic hooks.

Why it belongs

Through deep-focus ensembles and performances attentive to work, marriage, disability, and shame, The Best Years of Our Lives gives postwar readjustment exceptional breadth.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Harold Russell's physical directness gives Homer's independence rare authenticity. Shared taxi rides, family rooms, bank offices, drugstores, aircraft graveyards, and Gregg Toland's deep-focus staging let separate veterans occupy one social world.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Academy Awards8 wins1947 · official ceremony record ↗
Best Motion Picture1947 · Samuel Goldwyn Productionsofficial ceremony record ↗Directing1947 · William Wylerofficial ceremony record ↗Actor1947 · Fredric Marchofficial ceremony record ↗Writing (Screenplay)1947 · Robert E. Sherwoodofficial ceremony record ↗Actor in a Supporting Role1947 · Harold Russellofficial ceremony record ↗

Plus 3 additional wins

Golden Globes2 wins1947 · official film record ↗
Best Motion Picture1947 · The Best Years of Our Livesofficial film record ↗

Plus 1 additional win

BAFTA1 win1949 · official BAFTA 1949 Film Awards results ↗
Best Film1948 · William Wylerofficial BAFTA 1948 Film Awards results ↗

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

Good for
Film Club
Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.

Institutional reference ranks

Sight & Sound—IMDb Top 250231AFI 10037
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score

Great Cinema Master List scores

Greatness9.3
Engagement8.4
Ease7.2

English · Not Rated
Narrative Feature
Mood: Serious & Intense