Personal observation bleeds out of every scene, and somehow it feels like a true story in a way that most war movies can't achieve.
The Big Red One (1980)
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Reviews Counted:43
Fresh:39
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7.7/10
Consensus: The reconstruction of Samuel Fuller’s epic account of his days in North Africa in World War II elevates the film into the pantheon of great war movies.
Runtime: 2 hrs 43 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: Episodic retelling of the exploits of the American First Infantry Division during World War II, focusing on the squad's sergeant and four of the soldiers. They struggle to survive campaigns from... Episodic retelling of the exploits of the American First Infantry Division during World War II, focusing on the squad's sergeant and four of the soldiers. They struggle to survive campaigns from North Africa in November, 1942, to Czechoslovakia in May, 1945, along the way participating in the invasion of Sicily and the D-Day invasion and freeing a lunatic asylum and a concentration camp. [More]
Starring: Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, Kelly Ward
Starring: Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, Kelly Ward
Director: Samuel Fuller
Director: Samuel Fuller
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Reviews for The Big Red One
The director's gift for bare-knuckles lyricism rescues scene after scene.
Fuller went a step further, baring not only his soul but the wartime scars inflicted upon it. For all its merits, the 1980 version of the film denied audiences that connection. The new version both restores and reaffirms it.
Fuller's only A-budget movie is still among the lesser works of this frequently brilliant filmmaker.
A solid war movie with a great performance by Lee Marvin. If you're a war buff, give this one a shot.
The cast smartly underplays things, with Marvin being as charismatic as usual playing a man of few words. And Hamill, an actor given to over-the-top outbursts, reins it in here; this may be his best big-screen performance.
There's a reason Fuller found it hard to get gigs in the US through the 70's; his pulp fiction style just didn't play anymore.
If you don't elect to watch The Big Red One through the lens of Sam Fuller's mystique ... you'll realize that it has been celebrated in ways that essentially make virtues of its flaws.
[Marvin's] understated authority and sincerity give the entire film a dignity it would otherwise lack.
meant to be the culmination of a life’s work... It didn’t come to pass.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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