Search - The Big Red One - The Reconstruction (Two-Disc Special Edition) on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 7/4/2023...

A classic epic story of the Big Red One, the nickname of the 1st Infantry Division of the United States Army. Established on June 8, 1917, the First Infantry Division has taken part in nearly every American War and is the longest continuously serving division of the U.S. Army. The 1st Infantry Division was the first unit to deploy and engage in battle during WWI, WWII, and Vietnam. Lee Marvin and others including Luke Skywalker shined in this! It's long at over 3 hours but an absolute must see!

Excellent, Realistic War Epic

JBGood | Lansdale USA | 05/23/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I did not see the The Big Red One when it was released in 1980 and just viewed it for the first time in its nearly 3-hour reconstructed version. This 30-year old movie is surprisingly good. The movie traces the WWII campaign of the First Infantry Division through North Africa, Sicily, Normandy, Belgium, and Germany. These parts are woven together to create a truely, satisfying war epic.



The Big Red One focuses on the exploits of a First Infantry squad led by a veteran Sergeant (Lee Marvin) and including Pvt. Griff (Mark Hamill), the writer Pvt. Zab (Robert Carradine, who also does the useful but limited narration), the Sicilian Pvt. Vinci (Bobby Di Cicco), and Pvt. Johnson (Kelly Ward). I think this is Marvin's greatest film achievement. The acting in the movie sets just the right tone with its balance of seriousness and humor. None of the battle action is over done. The sound track places the viewer right on the battlefield with it unexagerated, realistic explosions. This movie gets the job done without the star quality of Hollwood productions like The Longest Day and Battle of the Bulge.



The film combines fine battle action as was found in Patton and has at least a little of the cynicism of Catch-22. While presenting some of the gruesome aspects of war's toll on human flesh, it doesn't dwell on them as does Saving Private Ryan, but still conveys the message. It includes some touching scenes of soldiers interacting with the real victims of war, children and other civilians. If you like war movies, this definitely belongs in your collection. I hope that the Big Red One will be released on Blu-ray in the near future."

"The Reconstruction" version is MUCH better

Dave | North central Arkansas | 06/11/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had seen only the 113 minute version before buying The Reconstruction, and found it to be choppy, and some of the scenes seemed to be incomplete. The extra 50 minutes made it a lot more coherent.



I liked the special features - they included an old interview with Samuel Fuller, and a more recent interview with Sam's daughter (who also smokes cigars, just like her old man).



There were interviews with people involved in the reconstruction. One of them concluded that the reconstruction contained pretty much all of the original film - that there never was a four-hour version. I think he said Sam's wife had confirmed this.



Bottom line: I'm glad I spent the money for the reconstruction. It turned a good movie into a great one."