Homefront stories are the calm center of World War II films. They tend to emphasize romance and tranquility, and they idealize domestic activities to an absolutely shameless degree. In that regard, William Wyler set a high standard with Mrs. Miniver. Seen today, it's a sincere soap opera that has nothing to do with reality. But to 1942 audiences, it touched a heartfelt emotional chord. Peop…
1989 Anne Wheeler The characters and conflicts in this story of the World War II homefront can be traced back as far as Homer's Odyssey, but writer-director Anne Wheeler tells it from an unusual point of view—western Canadian. That setting and a certain no-nonsense approach give a fresh quality to familiar material. It begins in India with the arrival of a piano. Army doctor Teddy C…
1987 John Boorman John Boorman's autobiographical look back at his childhood may be the most accurate portrait of the British homefront ever put on film. It's World War II seen through the eyes of a boy, but unlike most childhood memories, this one comes without the sentimentality. Beneath the unavoidable nostalgia is an honest understanding of the massive changes that the war broug…
1998 David Leland “1941. Britain is at war with Germany. As farm workers leave the land to join the armed forces, women from all walks of life volunteer to take their place. They call themselves ‘The Women's Land Army.’” That foreword sets the stage for three young women, played by beautiful actresses, who go to work on a farm that's even more beautiful. …
1942 William Wyler The years have been less than kind to William Wyler's early World War II propaganda/soap opera, but that does not diminish its importance. Any film that achieves such widespread popularity with audiences, critics, and the industry—it won virtually all of the important Academy Awards in 1942—deserves attention. The opening titles explain that this is …
1979 Steven Spielberg Steven Spielberg's tendency toward sweetness is offset by a cheerful destructiveness in his underrated comedy. It's a far from perfect film, with some derivative moments and poorly timed scenes. But it's also glowingly photographed by William Fraker and filled with cameos by some of the best comic character actors in the business. The premise is loosely …
1944 John Cromwell Producer-writer David O. Selznick's rosy view of the homefront is a transition film that stands somewhere between the genteel heroics of Mrs. Miniver and the uncomfortable realities of The Best Years of Our Lives. The flaws are undisguised—slow pace, stiff editing, transparent plot, unbridled sentimentality—but the picture is still delightful. Well acted mo…
1944 Clarence Brown From the opening credits that mirror Mrs. Miniver, it's obvious that this glossy propaganda is aimed at a female audience. In all senses of the term, it is a “women's picture” concerned with personal relationships, and the characters' emotional reaction to events, not the events themselves. (Only two images of combat appear on screen, and the…