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.
- GoofsDuring the WW1 scene between the Sergeant and the officer in the dug-out, the Sergeant learns that the armistice had been signed 4 hours previously at 1100hrs, November 11, 1918. While talking with the officer, the sergeant is cutting a piece of red cloth in the shape of a number '1' which he says he will submit as a proposed insignia for the division. However the shoulder sleeve insignia for the 1st Division consisting of a red number "1" was already approved on 31 Oct 1918.
- 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
See it – Picture a mix between HBO's miniseries "Band of Brothers" and the "Dirty Dozen." It co-stars Lee Marvin in his usual hard-nosed role. The other co-star is a pleasant surprise. In a rare role playing someone other than Luke Skywalker, we see Mark Hammel playing a young soldier struggling with the fear of combat. This movie is special because it follows a squad of soldiers as they serve tours of duty in every major theater, from North Africa to Berlin. Some moments feel very corny and 70's. Other scenes are very over-the top, such as when the main characters help a woman deliver a baby inside a tank while propping her legs up using machine gun belts. But at its heart it's just a good World War 2 movie, complete to its climactic final scene. 4 out of 5 action rating
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 Stereo(original release)
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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