The Big Red One (1980) on Netflix
A sergeant who served in the First World War leads a rifle squad of the 1st Infantry Division into World War II. His men include Private Griff, a cartoonist.
- Netflix3.6/5
- IMDb7.1/1023,089 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes90%
Trailer
Plot summary
In November 1942, the 1st Infantry Division of the United States Army, nicknamed the Big Red One, commits a rifle squad to World War II. The squad follows a sergeant who fought in the First World War. Among the men at his side are Private Griff, a cartoonist, Private Zab, an aspiring writer, and Privates Vinci and Johnson. Their landing in North Africa meets no resistance from the Vichy French army. A German sergeant named Schroeder serves in the same battles and shares the sergeant's view that soldiers are killers but not murderers.
Cast
- Colin Gilbertas Dog Face POW
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Big Red One (1980)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- In the project's early stages, at Jack L. Warner's urging, John Wayne was lined up to play the sergeant in The Big Red One, but Samuel Fuller felt he was not right for the role.
- Samuel Fuller's rough cut of The Big Red One ran nearly four hours, which he reduced to two, but distributor United Artists insisted on more cuts and the theatrical release ran 113 minutes.
- Warner Bros. wanted to film The Big Red One in the late 1950s and sent Samuel Fuller to Europe to scout locations. The plans were dropped when Fuller argued with Jack L. Warner over cuts the studio made to Fuller's earlier film Merrill's Marauders, which he had directed as a dry run for The Big Red One.
- Samuel Fuller wanted to shoot in the countries where the film is set, including France, Germany, Libya and Italy, but the reduced budget meant filming took place mainly in Israel, with support from the Israel Defense Forces.
- The film is based on Samuel Fuller's own World War II service in the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, the unit nicknamed "The Big Red One" for the red "1" on its shoulder patch. Fuller received the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart, and was present at the liberation of the Falkenau concentration camp.
- Sergeant Possum, the character played by Lee Marvin, was inspired by Command Sergeant Major Theodore L. Dobol, who served with distinction in the 1st Infantry Division in World War II, according to a journalistic account published in Poland in 2023.
- The 2004 restoration, "the Reconstruction", adds 47 minutes and came much closer to the form Samuel Fuller imagined before the studio took the film away from him. Critic Richard Schickel led the restoration, which relied on locating footage allegedly stashed in the Warner Bros. vault in Kansas City.
