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The Big Red One

The Big Red One

Drama · War · 1980

A veteran sergeant of World War I leads a squad in World War II, always in the company of the survivor Pvt. Griff, the writer Pvt. Zab, the Sicilian Pvt. Vinci and Pvt. Johnson, in Vichy French Africa, Sicily, D-Day at Omaha Beach, Belgium and France, and ending in a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia where they face the true horror of war.

Movie details

The Big Red One

“Only chance could have thrown them together. Now, nothing can pull them apart.”

1980 Drama · War 1h 53m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

A veteran sergeant of World War I leads a squad in World War II, always in the company of the survivor Pvt. Griff, the writer Pvt. Zab, the Sicilian Pvt. Vinci and Pvt. Johnson, in Vichy French Africa, Sicily, D-Day at Omaha Beach, Belgium and France, and ending in a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia where they face the true horror of war.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Big Red One?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Samuel Fuller

Written by

Samuel Fuller

Lee Marvin

Lee Marvin

The Sergeant

Mark Hamill

Mark Hamill

Griff

Robert Carradine

Robert Carradine

Zab

Bobby Di Cicco

Bobby Di Cicco

Vinci

Kelly Ward

Kelly Ward

Johnson

Stéphane Audran

Stéphane Audran

Walloon

Siegfried Rauch

Siegfried Rauch

Schroeder

Court is in session

Put The Big Red One on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.