Milestone delivered a lengthy four-hour version of "Arch of Triumph" that had been pre-approved by Enterprise. Executives reversed that decision shortly before its release, cutting the picture to the more standard two hours. Entire scenes and characters were eliminated, undermining the clarity and continuity of Milestone's work. The film includes some of the macabre elements of the novel through effective use of expressionistic camera angles and lighting effects. Milestone's overall disaffection from the project is evident in his indifferent application of cinematic technique, contributing to the failure in his film adaption. Biographer Joseph Millichap observes: