The Big Red One - The Reconstruction

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  • The Big Red One - The Reconstruction

    Long ago, In 1980, the film The Big Red One debuted in theaters. It’s a WWII picture starring Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, and Robert Carradine.

    The Big Red One is a poignant anti-war film about a group of four young men and their Sergeant in a war they are ordered to fight but only endure.

    As WWII movies go, it’s unique in that it spans the whole of the war. Some research I did on WWII triggered a memory response to search for this film to watch it again. I ended up buying the Reconstruction DVD on eBay, new and unopened, and was glad to have all the extras on the 2-DVD set.

    But the film released in 1980 was cut by the studio prior to release, and even though it flopped at the box office, I believe it’s a gem in its class, one of those movies that goes unnoticed and then develops a cult-like following.

    IMO, though, the studio cut is not quite, but almost, as good as the Reconstruction version with its extra 47 minutes of “lost” footage.

    Even so, a few scenes of the restored material could have been left out and would have been had I been its editor. Here and there, the studio was correct, in that day and time, to delete some scenes prior to release, even though it meant those scenes were truncated almost too much.

    The Reconstruction film’s editor Bryan McKenzie made many excellent choices in how and where he re-entered the original film with the reconstruction footage.

    If you like WWII films, whether you watch the original or the Reconstruction version, this one is a well-cast classic.
    Last edited by Clint Hill; 08-01-2020, 03:34 PM.
    “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

  • #2
    Re: The Big Red One - The Reconstruction

    I'll check it out. The only decent WW2 movies I've seen are Saving Private Ryan and Fury. I'll put this on the list. The others I still need to watch River Kwai, Bridge Too Far, and Thin Red Line.

    On that note I'd like to see a movie about the Eastern Front. I might be mistaken but isn't there one in development right now?

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    • #3
      Re: The Big Red One - The Reconstruction

      Originally posted by DDoc View Post
      I'll check it out. The only decent WW2 movies I've seen are Saving Private Ryan and Fury. I'll put this on the list. The others I still need to watch River Kwai, Bridge Too Far, and Thin Red Line.

      On that note I'd like to see a movie about the Eastern Front. I might be mistaken but isn't there one in development right now?
      The Big Red One (1980) is directed by Sam Fuller, if that helps you decide to watch it sooner. During World War II, Sam Fuller served in the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division (“The Big Red One”), and actor Lee Marvin — a decorated, 24th Regiment, 4th Marine Division combat veteran — served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater.

      As to the movie about the Eastern Front, I don’t know about what’s in development; it seems “development hell” is such a roller coaster ride of off-again and on-again, I wait until the films’ release.

      Enemy at the Gates (2001), an Eastern Front war movie, was very well done, IMO. It’s the battle for Stalingrad dramatized between a Russian and Nazi sniper. If you have not seen it, by all means do so. As a screenwriter, watching good movies — just as readers reading good books — is a good use of your time.
      Last edited by Clint Hill; 08-01-2020, 08:59 PM.
      “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

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