Good but not great

Rating: 8/10 (17 December 2005)

The stories of three men (Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Harold Russell) returning home from WWII and having problems readjusting to civilian life. Andrews has to deal with dissatisfied wife Virginia Mayo; March has to adjust to being back with wife Myrna Loy and their two grown children; Russell has had his hands blown off in war (he was played by non-actor Russell who really had lost his hands in the war).
I first saw this back in the 1980s at a revival theatre. I remember being totally bored and fighting to stay awake. I think I was too young to appreciate it. Years later I started watching it casually on TV--and liked it. I was almost never bored and the stories pulled me in. It is exceptionally well directed by William Wyler and virtually the entire cast is flawless. The women in the movie actually give the best performances. Loy, Mayo and Theresa Wright are all just great. Andrews also was very good. March, however, came across as very unsympathetic and Russell was terrible (but he never was an actor).
However it's way too long--three hours is a bit much. This movie could easily lose an hour. And this movie was (for its time) relevant and pretty shocking. Today it still is relevant (sadly with the war we have now) but no longer shocking. I found many of the situations contrived and forced and there were some REALLY unbelievable happy endings all around. Still this should be seen for just the acting and directing alone.
A good film but no masterpiece. I give it an 8.