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Movies / On DVD / The Big Red One
The Big Red One

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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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Release:

Apr 29, 1999

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Big Red One

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1 - 20 (sorted by source)
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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.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
09/12/07
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

No review available.

comment Comment
08/08/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
01/05/05
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/26/05
BBC

The director's gift for bare-knuckles lyricism rescues scene after scene.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
12/03/04
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
12/04/04
Boston Phoenix

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.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
01/21/05
Wade Major
Wade Major
Boxoffice Magazine
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/08/04
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Fuller's only A-budget movie is still among the lesser works of this frequently brilliant filmmaker.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
11/18/04
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

No review available.

comment Comment
10/22/06
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

An American masterpiece by one of the last great American directors.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

A solid war movie with a great performance by Lee Marvin. If you're a war buff, give this one a shot.

comment Comment
09/27/02
Larry Carroll
Larry Carroll
Countingdown.com

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.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
02/18/05
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

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.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
05/13/03
Oz
Oz
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
07/04/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

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.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
12/02/04
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Marvin's] understated authority and sincerity give the entire film a dignity it would otherwise lack.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
12/02/04
Daniel Eagan
Daniel Eagan
Film Journal International

meant to be the culmination of a life’s work... It didn’t come to pass.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
05/10/05
Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
08/13/02
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium
 
 
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