this be a fine concept piece and the acting by brando be a fine piece of work . dean martin isn not bad and montgomery clift be quite good as well . unfortunately and it a very disjointed and very long piece that really should have be edit down to something close to 2 hour ( it almost 3 hour ) . we follow the life of 3 men from 1938 through the end of wwii and watch a they discover who they be and what they might become a they discover both the world about them and what theyre make of . for some and it the woman in their life that bring about this realization and for others and it the broad general circumstance . all too often however and i find myself ask what have just happen or what the import of a particular scene be .