The Big Red One (1980)

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.

Director:

Samuel Fuller

Writer:

Samuel Fuller

Stars:

Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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	...	Sgt. Schroeder
Serge Marquand	...	Rensonnet
Charles Macaulay	...	General / World War I Captain
Alain Doutey	...	Sgt. Broban - Vichy Soldier
Maurice Marsac	...	Vichy Colonel
Colin Gilbert	...	Dog Face POW - Tunis Hospital
Joseph Clark	...	Pvt. Shep - Soldier on Troop Transport
Ken Campbell	...	Pvt. Lemchek - #2 on Bangalore Torpedo
Doug Werner	...	Switolski

Storyline

The story of a hardened army sergeant and four of his men, from their first fight at the Kasserine Pass after the invasion of North Africa through to the invasion of Sicily, D-Day, the Ardennes forest and the liberation of a concentration camp at the end of the war. As the five of them fight - and survive to fight yet again in the next battle - new recruits joining the squad are swatted down by the enemy on a regular basis. The four privates are naturally reluctant to get to know any of the new recruits joining the squad, who become just a series of nameless faces.

---

Plot Keywords:

20th century | infantry | year 1945 | year 1944 | year 1943 | 

---

Taglines:

Only chance could have thrown them together. Now, nothing can pull them apart.

---

Genres:

Drama | War

---

Certificate:

16

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the film commentary, Richard Schickel points out two incidents which really happened to Samuel Fuller while serving in the Big Red One and are given to Pvt. Zab (Robert Carradine) in the film: One was when Zab is playing basketball and spots Keiser (Perry Lang) reading his novel. In real life, Fuller didn't know his novel had been published until he spotted a soldier reading it. The other major incident is when Zab acts as runner during the D-Day invasion and tells the colonel that they've broken through. Fuller was awarded a medal for his actions.

---

Goofs

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.

---

Alternate Versions

In 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.

---

Connections

Referenced in Herz aus Stahl (2014)

---

Soundtracks

Horst-Wessel-Lied
Written by Horst Wessel

User Reviews

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."

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Italian German

Release Date:

24 July 1980 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Más allá de la gloria

Filming Locations:

Israel

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$7,206,220

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,206,823

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lorimar Productions, Lorac Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 162 min (reconstructed)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (reconstruction) Dolby (original release)

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1