Review of The Big Red One (1980) by Alex R — 14 May 2014

Sam Fuller's The Big Red One is a fine war film with stunning direction, a great story and exceptional acting. This ranks as one of the genre's finest achievements, a film that shows the harrowing nature of war, which is based on the experience of the director during his years fighting the war.

I thought that this was an exciting piece of cinema. The Big Red One may have outclassed by other war films, but its impact is unmatched. This is a highly engrossing picture that is definitely going to appeal to genre fans, and there are several standout performances here as well.

I've seen two previous Lee Marvin films, and I very much enjoy his work, however here, he really shines and delivers a standout performance that ranks as one of the finest I have seen of him. He really brings his character to life.

Another performance is that of Mark Hamill, aside from fresh of the success of Star Wars, he had some momentum going for him, and he delivers something terrific here, I found him to be that type of character in a war film that steadily become alienated from war, and he really brought a vulnerability that was necessary to the film.

With effective storytelling, Fuller crafts a picture that connects with the audience on so many levels, and in turn, it's one of the few genre classics to really thrill, and engage the viewer. Some war films tend to never get the story right, but here, considering the director was a WWII veteran; we get a different picture, a side of war that we've never seen.

The Big Red One may seem a little dated by today's standards, but it's a classic war film that every film freak should view. I've watched the longer reconstruction because that was meant as the complete vision of Samuel Fuller's original work, since 50 minutes of footage were cut from the film, and it's a broad, ambitious version that really stands out among the older war pictures.

The film may look dated, but it's definitely one of the finest war films ever made, and the fact that the director based it on his wartime experience makes this a definite must watch.