A hardened sergeant and the four core members of his infantry unit try to survive World War II as they move from battle to battle throughout Europe.A hardened sergeant and the four core members of his infantry unit try to survive World War II as they move from battle to battle throughout Europe.A hardened sergeant and the four core members of his infantry unit try to survive World War II as they move from battle to battle throughout Europe.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 2 nominations
Stéphane Audran
- Underground Walloon Fighter at Asylum
- (as Stephane Audran)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe bulk of the picture was shot in Israel, and director Samuel Fuller remarked that it was unsettling after a scene was shot when the German soldiers and SS troops would take off their helmets and Fuller would see them wearing yarmulkes; also, between takes they would be sitting around the set in full Nazi uniform speaking Hebrew or reading the Torah.
- GoofsIn the crematorium scene Griff doesn't fire 18 rounds as often thought. He fires 8, then if you listen closely, the ninth noise is a clip ejected, and the tenth is the sound of a new clip being inserted. He then fires another 8, which is correct.
- 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.
- Alternate versionsIn 2004, film critic Richard Schickel restored this film to a new director's cut length of approximately 160 minutes. Using Samuel Fuller's production notes and the full-length, unexpurgated script, Schickel restored the footage that was forced to be cut by the studio upon its original 1980 release (which runs 116 minutes). The restored version's DVD release date is 3 May 2005. This longer, epic-length version is closer to Fuller's original vision for the film.
- ConnectionsFeatured in A tout coeur: Episode dated 7 May 1984 (1984)
- SoundtracksHorst-Wessel-Lied
Written by Horst Wessel
Featured review
Vignettes of the Survivors of War
The Big Red One isn't so much a war movie as it is a message, sometimes obscure, of what war is really like. There is much symbolism in this movie, for example the human arm, with a wristwatch on it, washing in the bloody surf of Omaha Beach. If you want realistic detail of combat, watch Saving Private Ryan. If you want to the voice of experience, blurry from the passage of time, The Big Red One is a movie to see.
Keep in mind that this movie reflects the life experiences of some survivors of WWII. That Lee Marvin was cast as the grizzled sergeant is part of the symbolism: Marvin was a combat Marine who participated in the invasion of Saipan; he is cast as a survivor of WWI who is retracing part of the path he took during that conflict. I found some of the scenes from the movie barely believable, for example, the French insane asylum, but you must keep in mind that there is a message from the survivors of that war in each and every scene. How you take the message, apparently, is up to you.
Keep in mind that this movie reflects the life experiences of some survivors of WWII. That Lee Marvin was cast as the grizzled sergeant is part of the symbolism: Marvin was a combat Marine who participated in the invasion of Saipan; he is cast as a survivor of WWI who is retracing part of the path he took during that conflict. I found some of the scenes from the movie barely believable, for example, the French insane asylum, but you must keep in mind that there is a message from the survivors of that war in each and every scene. How you take the message, apparently, is up to you.
helpful•157
- JerryP-2
- Jan 9, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- The Big Red One: The Reconstruction
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $4,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $7,206,220
- Gross worldwide
- $7,206,823
- Runtime1 hour 53 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Dolby(original release)
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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