Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, Thin Red Line... just to name a few of the modern Hollywood depictions of the WWII movies with graphic contents and breath-on-your-neck realities.
But the Big Red One is none of that. Although some graphic details, such as an Arab cutting off a dead German's ear, did make my wife cringe, the movie is overall quite light-hearted. I enjoyed the darkish humorous, at some points even funny way of story telling by Sam Muller. It's got the typical charm of a classic war time movie that sucks you into the story with few special effect or overly dramatic acting.
The story takes us along with 5 soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division, aka the Big Red One, from North Africa to Sicily, from Omaha Beach all the way to the liberation of the Nazi death camps. Lee Marvin, who played the poker-faced but warm-hearted sergeant, shined in the movie - his role shows so little facial expression that it actually became the trademark of his complex character. And as if to make him look even colder, Sam Muller would make him wear a flower-decorated helmet (or should we say a flower crown?) made by a little Sicilian girl, which really keeps it from reminding us the nastiness of the war.
A romanticized and entertaining war movie based on true experiences, the Big Red One is a must-see for all you WWII bluffs. Oh, make sure you sit comfortably, this movie is 2 hours 43 minutes long.
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