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I watched the 'Reconstruction' version which was remastered in 2004 and has some deleted scenes restored. It's a 'directors cut' but only the director, Samuel Fuller passed on in 1997 so it can't be called that. The original 1980 theatrical release was 113 minutes and this 2004 version is 162 minutes.
What makes The Big Red One interesting is that the director/writer Samuel Fuller actually lived this movie. This is a fictionalized, semi auto biographical movie based on his time in the Army's 1st Infantry Division. His story starts off in North Africa battling Rommel's Afrika Korps, then he goes on to invade Sicily and Italy....fighting his way through France, Belgium and into Germany, then finally into Czechoslovakia where he helps liberate a concentration camp. Now that's one helluva adventure! and it's true, he lived it.
What I liked about this film is Sam Fuller gives us insight into the everyday lives of WWII infantry men. We learn all sorts of little things that other movies leave out.
Lee Marvin like always is a force on the screen. He's the savy and tough Sergeant. In fact his characters name is just 'The Sergeant'. Robert Carradine is also good in this film.
"By now we'd come to look at all replacements as dead men who temporarily had the use of the arms and legs. The came and went so fast and so regularly that sometimes we didn't even learn their names." Pvt. Zab
The Big Red One: The Reconstruction
Director: Samuel Fuller
Writer: Samuel Fuller
Cast: Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine
Based on director/writer Samuel Fuller's personal experiences during the European campaign in WWII.
Writer: Samuel Fuller
Cast: Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine
Based on director/writer Samuel Fuller's personal experiences during the European campaign in WWII.
I watched the 'Reconstruction' version which was remastered in 2004 and has some deleted scenes restored. It's a 'directors cut' but only the director, Samuel Fuller passed on in 1997 so it can't be called that. The original 1980 theatrical release was 113 minutes and this 2004 version is 162 minutes.
What makes The Big Red One interesting is that the director/writer Samuel Fuller actually lived this movie. This is a fictionalized, semi auto biographical movie based on his time in the Army's 1st Infantry Division. His story starts off in North Africa battling Rommel's Afrika Korps, then he goes on to invade Sicily and Italy....fighting his way through France, Belgium and into Germany, then finally into Czechoslovakia where he helps liberate a concentration camp. Now that's one helluva adventure! and it's true, he lived it.
What I liked about this film is Sam Fuller gives us insight into the everyday lives of WWII infantry men. We learn all sorts of little things that other movies leave out.
Lee Marvin like always is a force on the screen. He's the savy and tough Sergeant. In fact his characters name is just 'The Sergeant'. Robert Carradine is also good in this film.
"By now we'd come to look at all replacements as dead men who temporarily had the use of the arms and legs. The came and went so fast and so regularly that sometimes we didn't even learn their names." Pvt. Zab