The Big Red One (1980) Second Viewing Directed by: Samuel Fuller Rating: ***/****
Searching through my history teachers closet today, I found a VHS copy of Sam Fuller's, "The Big Red One". A huge fan of the new reconstruction (Perhaps the greatest war film ever and one of my personal favorites), I was loaned the copy and I saw a film, that even trunicated, still is extremely effective. However, watching the original 1980 cut I am reminded of just how criminal it was to cut almost an hour of fotage from the film and it also reinforces my love of the reconstruction. The original cut eliminates many of the best scenes I've grown accustomed to and the pacing is awkward, making it from the amazing war epic I love into a more faster paced but weaker film and in fact the cuts made by Warners in 1980 really made some scenes just really hard to comprehend. At any rate, it's worth seeking out the original 1980 cut to compare with the 2004 reconstruction which again, I rate amoung the ten greatest films in history. Tomorow I am watching, "Michael Collins".
Madness! Madness! - Major Clipton The Bridge On The River Kwai
GOLD - GOLD - GOLD - GOLD. Bright and Yellow, Hard and Cold, Molten, Graven, Hammered, Rolled, Hard to Get and Light to Hold; Stolen, Borrowed, Squandered - Doled. - Greed
