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The Big Red OneThe Big Red One is a 1980 war film written and directed by Samuel Fuller. Fuller saw much action in WW II as a member of the US First Infantry Division, which was nicknamed The Big Red One for the red "1" on the Division's shoulder patch. The movie attempts to portray the horrors of war as it affects the men on the front lines. Lee Marvin, who was wounded and almost killed in the real war, portrays a sergeant who leads a squad of men through North Africa and Sicily, then on to the D-Day landings where The Big Red One lands on Omaha Beach at the start of the Battle of Normandy. The squad then treks though Europe, ending up at the liberation of Falkenau concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. The story's focus is on the four enlisted men who survive the war from beginning to end with their sergeant, becoming known as "The Sergeant's Four Horsemen." The battle scenes are realistic, bloody and well done. However, some of the details are a bit cheesy, such as the German Tiger tanks actually being surplus US Sherman tanks painted with WWII German insignia. But this detail does not detract at all from the drama of this brilliant story. There is a scene in a mental hospital complete with throat slashings and inmates walking around unconcerned while fighting rages and romantic music plays. As men are killed, one patient picks up an MP40 submachine gun and begins shooting at everyone in sight, shouting, "I am one of you now! I am sane! ...I am sane!" That pretty much sums up the insanity that Fuller remembers from his own experiences in the war. Mark Hamill of Star Wars fame and Robert Carradine play supporting roles as soldiers under the leadership of Lee Marvin. External links Suggested Reading - The Fighting First: The Untold Story of The Big Red One on D-Day by Flint Whitlock - 2004. ISBN 0-8133-4218-X
Big Red One,The
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