If you want to understand the generation leaving us now watch this

Rating: 10/10 (6 February 2008)

It is incredible to believe that tens of millions of 18-35 year old men(single and even many family men) left their home to travel thousand of miles away for many years to fight a war that affected the Continental USA not at all and Europe, Asia, and Africa far more. They gave up jobs(not that it was a booming time), girls, and family to fight and in 400,000 cases die, without complaint and in many cases never living to see what we consider normal life passages. Frederic March looks a little too old to have fought, but his presence and family provides a window into the business and romantic world of the post World War II era. Dana Andrews is a little old but still fantastic as the guy who gets kicked in the teeth but in the end prevails. Harold Russell is as natural as a new snowfall- most people at that time talked in a simple monosyllabic manner. Teresa Wright is magnificent, and I agree with Larry King that the ending kiss is the most romantic ever; probably a function of the time. Everyone else plays their role to a T; Andrew's father and (I guess) stepmother smoking like chimneys while sitting in a shabby apartment reading the citation from General Jimmy Dolittle with their voice cracking is incredible(I imagine that would be like getting a letter from Tom Brady or Simon Cowell now). And don't forget about the airplane graveyard sequence Corny, yes but maybe it was a corny time. If you have a chance please watch this- it is 3 hours well spent. It is hard to believe that EVERYBODY from this movie is dead now.