Both The Best Years of Our Lives and The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit are Hollywood attempts at realism. They weren’t sci-fi or action movies where the hero always wins and gets the girl.
Both movies took place in current times (the late 1940s and 1950s) and had mostly realistic characters, story lines and scenes. The two movies have interesting characters and very good acting.
The following are some very realistic parts of the two movies and are as real today as they were when the movies were made:
· The characters were all looking for a better life – Both movies
· The male characters going off to war, coming back from a war and having trouble adjusting to living a normal life again – Both movies
· The characters could get hurt, people died, and people cried. In both movies, characters had multiple problems happening at the same time that don’t have easy answers. - Both movies
· Husbands and wives worrying about money- Both movies
· Couples trying to take more chances while at the same time paying the mortgage and being secure - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
· Cheating affairs between non-married people - Both movies
· Men coming back from war with real injuries that aren’t pleasant - The Best Years of Our Lives
· People had real problems. Problems with money, health, bosses, and spouses. Legal troubles that require lawyers and judges - Both movies
· Two parties both thinking they are noble and just. In other words, there are circumstances that are not just right or wrong and the audience often doesn’t know who is right. - Both movies
· Women and men falling in and out of love - Both movies
· Divorce - Both movies
· The past coming back to haunt them - Both movies
· Parents questioning how to raise children - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
· The characters had normal jobs like Fred working at the soda counter - The Best Years of Our Lives
· Characters dealing with their lives passing them by and dealing with getting older - Both movies
However, as realistic as the movies were, they were still a few things that were struck me as unrealistic (though they could have been more realistic back when they were filmed)
· The family in the The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit were wealthy. Not super rich, but he had a good job on Madison avenue, lived in an affluent suburb, and were given a large estate from a grandparent. They were a lot richer than most people in the audience.
· The character in The Best Years of Our Lives just walked around the airport and looked at all the planes and there was no security or police men. The security man gave the him a job after catching him.
· There is a pretty happy ending in both movies. Life isn’t always like that. In The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, the couple kisses and everything ends fine. In The Best Years of Our Lives, there is a happy wedding at the end and the main characters get together and begin a new life together with most problems in the past.
· All the characters are very good looking. Gregory Peck is very handsome for example. In real life, not everyone is so well put together. – Both Movies
· In both movies, the characters smoked a lot and drank a lot. Maybe that was realistic at the time, but not today.
Both movies were realistic but The Best Years of Our Lives was more realistic. The characters were just more realistic and you connected with them. You could feel their struggles and they seemed like real people.
Both movies took place in current times (the late 1940s and 1950s) and had mostly realistic characters, story lines and scenes. The two movies have interesting characters and very good acting.
The following are some very realistic parts of the two movies and are as real today as they were when the movies were made:
· The characters were all looking for a better life – Both movies
· The male characters going off to war, coming back from a war and having trouble adjusting to living a normal life again – Both movies
· The characters could get hurt, people died, and people cried. In both movies, characters had multiple problems happening at the same time that don’t have easy answers. - Both movies
· Husbands and wives worrying about money- Both movies
· Couples trying to take more chances while at the same time paying the mortgage and being secure - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
· Cheating affairs between non-married people - Both movies
· Men coming back from war with real injuries that aren’t pleasant - The Best Years of Our Lives
· People had real problems. Problems with money, health, bosses, and spouses. Legal troubles that require lawyers and judges - Both movies
· Two parties both thinking they are noble and just. In other words, there are circumstances that are not just right or wrong and the audience often doesn’t know who is right. - Both movies
· Women and men falling in and out of love - Both movies
· Divorce - Both movies
· The past coming back to haunt them - Both movies
· Parents questioning how to raise children - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
· The characters had normal jobs like Fred working at the soda counter - The Best Years of Our Lives
· Characters dealing with their lives passing them by and dealing with getting older - Both movies
However, as realistic as the movies were, they were still a few things that were struck me as unrealistic (though they could have been more realistic back when they were filmed)
· The family in the The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit were wealthy. Not super rich, but he had a good job on Madison avenue, lived in an affluent suburb, and were given a large estate from a grandparent. They were a lot richer than most people in the audience.
· The character in The Best Years of Our Lives just walked around the airport and looked at all the planes and there was no security or police men. The security man gave the him a job after catching him.
· There is a pretty happy ending in both movies. Life isn’t always like that. In The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, the couple kisses and everything ends fine. In The Best Years of Our Lives, there is a happy wedding at the end and the main characters get together and begin a new life together with most problems in the past.
· All the characters are very good looking. Gregory Peck is very handsome for example. In real life, not everyone is so well put together. – Both Movies
· In both movies, the characters smoked a lot and drank a lot. Maybe that was realistic at the time, but not today.
Both movies were realistic but The Best Years of Our Lives was more realistic. The characters were just more realistic and you connected with them. You could feel their struggles and they seemed like real people.