Overview
Experience the harrowing journey of soldiers as they navigate the brutal realities of World War II.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- hard boiled
- unsentimental
- visceral
- historical cinema night
- war film marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Samuel Fuller's lean, hard-boiled reconstruction of his World War II experience as a major and unusually unsentimental war film.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The sergeant and his surviving privates repeatedly encounter new recruits who are killed before the squad can emotionally absorb their loss.
Samuel Fuller drew on his own World War II service, with Private Zab serving as a representation of his wartime perspective.
The story moves through North Africa, Sicily, D-Day, the Ardennes, and the liberation of a concentration camp.
Critics specifically characterize the film as an expensive B-movie held together by action and male camaraderie rather than grand speeches.
Films like The Big Red One, and why
A Walk in the Sun
hard-edged World War II infantry drama centered on male camaraderie and combat survival
The Longest Day
episodic, unsentimental World War II combat narrative focused on soldiers rather than grand strategy
Platoon
gritty ensemble war film combining battlefield action with moral and psychological strain
Saving Private Ryan
ambitious historical combat epic balancing visceral action with the dehumanizing repetition of war
Movie Details
- Director
- Samuel Fuller
- Release Date
- 1980-05-28
- Runtime
- 162 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (359)
Cast
- Lee Marvin
- Mark Hamill
- Robert Carradine
- Bobby Di Cicco
- Kelly Ward
- Stéphane Audran
- Siegfried Rauch
- Serge Marquand
- Charles Macaulay
- Alain Doutey
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Howdy Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Big Red One about?
- A battle-hardened sergeant and four soldiers endure a relentless procession of World War II campaigns, where survival itself becomes their only continuity.
- What is The Big Red One like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Big Red One as brisk, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Big Red One violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Big Red One as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Big Red One?
- Critics broadly regard Samuel Fuller's lean, hard-boiled reconstruction of his World War II experience as a major and unusually unsentimental war film.
- Which films are like The Big Red One?
- Films with a similar feel include A Walk in the Sun, The Longest Day, Platoon, and Saving Private Ryan.
- How long is The Big Red One?
- The Big Red One runs 162 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Big Red One?
- In United States, The Big Red One streams on Howdy Amazon Channel.
