The Big Red One (1980)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Samuel Fuller

Writer:

Samuel Fuller (written by)

Release Date:

28 May 1980 (France)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

The real glory of war is surviving.

Plot:

The story of a sergeant and the inner core members of his unit as they try to serve in and survive World War II.

Plot Keywords:

Sergeant | French | D Day | Omaha Beach | Sicily

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Lee Marvin	...	The Sergeant
Mark Hamill	...	Pvt. Griff, 1st Squad
Robert Carradine	...	Pvt. Zab, 1st Squad
Bobby Di Cicco	...	Pvt. Vinci, 1st Squad
Kelly Ward	...	Pvt. Johnson, 1st Squad
Stéphane Audran	...	Underground Walloon fighter at asylum (as Stephane Audran)
Siegfried Rauch	...	Schroeder (German sergeant)
Serge Marquand	...	Rensonnet
Charles Macaulay	...	General / captain
Alain Doutey	...	Broban (Vichy sergeant)
Maurice Marsac	...	Vichy colonel
Colin Gilbert	...	Dog Face POW
Joseph Clark	...	Pvt. Shep (soldier on troop transport)
Ken Campbell	...	Pvt. Lemchek (#2 on Bangalore torpedo)
Doug Werner	...	Switolski

Also Known As:

The Big Red One - The Reconstuction (USA) (DVD box title)

MPAA:

Rated R for war violence and some language. (2004 reconstruction)

Runtime:

113 min | 162 min (reconstructed version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Italian | German

Color:

Black and White | Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (reconstruction) | Dolby (original release)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:14A | West Germany:16 (f) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1980) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1987) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:PG (original rating) | USA:R (2004 reconstruction) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Big Bear, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Company:

Lorac Productions

Trivia:

In the Reconstructed version, the Captain in the World War I prologue reappears in a short segment as the Commanding General of the Big Red One just prior to the Battle of Hurgten Forest in the Fall of 1944. The actual Commanding General during that time period, Major General Clarence R. Huebner, really was a Captain in the Big Red One at the end of World War I, so this is historically accurate rather than just poetic license.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the opening scene (WWI) in the bunker, the officer's shaving cream covers his lip and his chin, then his chin only, then back to his lip and his chin.

Quotes:

[the troop stops before a memorial]
Johnson: Would you look at how fast they put the names of all our guys who got killed?
The Sergeant: That's a World War One memorial.
Johnson: But the name's are the same.
The Sergeant: They always are.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

Good personal story from Sam Fuller

This film is really about the experiences that Sam Fuller had during WWII. It is a bit dated, and the low budget really shows, but SF clearly did the best with what he had, and it stands as a great monument on war from a director who was really there.

All of the characters are very likeable, and well acted by Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, and company. The movie is fiction but influenced by real events. Many of the scenes, especially one involving a group of older sicilian women who cook a big meal for the squad, ring very true, since a fiction writer would obviously try and spice them up--the film is very honest, and it is good that Fuller left this story for us. I also like how it ends on a positive, optimistic note.

"The real glory of war is surviving."