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42-523: The Big Red One is a 1980 American epic war film written and directed by Samuel Fuller , and starring Lee Marvin alongside an ensemble supporting cast, including Mark Hamill , Robert Carradine , Siegfried Rauch , Bobby Di Cicco , and Kelly Ward . Based on Fuller's own experiences as a soldier in World War II , it was produced independently on a low budget, and shot on location in Israel as

84-518: A German move and shoots him, setting off a skirmish in which the Americans wipe out the Germans with only minor injuries in their own ranks. While the sergeant's squad are patching up their wounded, a French couple arrives on a motorcycle and sidecar. The husband dies of his previous wounds, but not before begging the sergeant to help his pregnant wife. The squad clears the tank and puts the woman, who

126-438: A cost-saving measure. It was heavily cut on its original release, but a restored version, The Big Red One: The Reconstruction , premièred at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival , seven years after Fuller's death. Fuller wrote a book with the same title, which was more a companion novel than a novelization of the film, although it features many of the scenes that were originally cut. Fuller was a World War II veteran and served with

168-407: A lot of deep, significant speeches. In the ways that count, The Big Red One is still a B-movie – hard-boiled, filled with action, held together by male camaraderie, directed with a lean economy of action. It's one of the most expensive B-pictures ever made, and I think that helps it fit the subject. "A" war movies are about war, but "B" war movies are about soldiers. In November 2004, Ebert gave

210-572: A massive scale. Biographical films may be less lavish versions of this genre. They often have a Roadshow theatrical release and are often shot on 70 mm film . Many writers may refer to any film that is "long" (over two hours) as an epic, making the definition epic a matter of dispute, and raise questions as to whether it is a "genre" at all. As Roger Ebert put it, in his "Great Movies" article on Lawrence of Arabia : The word epic in recent years has become synonymous with big-budget B picture . What you realize watching Lawrence of Arabia

252-404: A score of 77 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In his review of the original, theatrical version of the film, Roger Ebert gave it three out of four stars, and wrote: While this is an expensive epic, he hasn't fallen to the temptations of the epic form. He doesn't give us a lot of phony meaning, as if to justify the scope of the production. There aren't

294-463: A young boy he finds in the concentration camp, but the boy dies that same afternoon. Shortly after this, the sergeant is in a forest at night when Schroeder approaches him, attempting to surrender. The sergeant stabs Schroeder and then his squad arrives and informs him that the war in Europe ended four hours earlier. This time, as the squad walks away, Private Griff notices that Schroeder is still alive;

336-523: Is in active labor, in the tank. After a somewhat comical series of attempts to help the mother give birth, a child is born. Schroeder takes advantage of all of this excitement to sneak away unharmed. The squad's final action in the war is the liberation of Falkenau concentration camp in Czechoslovakia , during which the American soldiers are shocked by what they witness. The sergeant befriends

378-485: Is that the word epic refers not to the cost or the elaborate production, but to the size of the ideas and vision. Werner Herzog's Aguirre: The Wrath of God didn't cost as much as the catering in Pearl Harbor , but it is an epic, and Pearl Harbor is not. The epic is among the oldest of film genres, with one early notable example being Giovanni Pastrone 's Cabiria , a two-and-a-half hour silent film about

420-536: The 1st Infantry Division , which is nicknamed "The Big Red One" for the red numeral "1" on the division's shoulder patch. He received the Silver Star , Bronze Star , and Purple Heart during his service. He was present at the liberation of the Falkenau concentration camp . World War I : In November 1918, a United States Army private kills a surrendering German Army soldier with his trench knife , thinking

462-719: The First Czechoslovak Republic . From 1938 to 1945, the town was occupied by Nazi Germany and administered as part of Reichsgau Sudetenland . During World War II , in April 1941, the Stalag 359 prisoner-of-war camp was established in the town by the occupiers, however, it was relocated to Poniatowa in German-occupied Poland in September 1941. The town was also the site of a sub-camp of

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504-554: The Flossenbürg concentration camp , which was liberated the U.S. 1st Infantry Division on 6 May 1945. Nearly all of the town's population, being Germans, were expelled after 1945 in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement . The region is known for mining of lignite . The largest employer based in the town is Sokolovská uhelná, a major Czech mining company. The D6 motorway from Karlovy Vary to Cheb runs through

546-564: The Punic Wars , which laid the groundwork for the subsequent silent epics of D. W. Griffith . The genre reached a peak of popularity in the early 1960s, when Hollywood frequently collaborated with foreign film studios (such as Rome's Cinecittà ) to use relatively exotic locations in Spain, Morocco and elsewhere for the production of epic films such as El Cid (1961) or Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The genre soon spread to other regions of

588-643: The "epic" film, encompassing such examples as Ben-Hur , Gone with the Wind and more recently, 300 and the Star Wars films [...] none of these comes from literary epics per se , and there is little that links them with one another. Among those who espouse film genre studies, epic is one of the most despised and ignored genres". Finally, although the American Movie Channel formally defines epic films as historical films, they nonetheless state

630-514: The 18th century, there was a great expansion of urban crafts and hop growing. From 1867 to 1918, the town was part of Austria-Hungary , head of the Falkenau an der Eger District, one of the 94 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Bohemia . In 1919, the town, being part of the continuous German Sprachraum , was proclaimed part of the Republic of German-Austria , but shortly afterwards became part of

672-475: The German dead from a recent battle at this location, but the sergeant senses a trap and checks out the bodies in a burned-out tank. Noticing that the piping on the German uniforms is not consistent, he silently kills the living Germans in the tank. Feigning orders from his commander on the radio, the sergeant begins leading his men away, quietly telling them that living Germans are about. One of his new recruits sees

714-529: The Great is one of the landmarks of the town centre. It was first documented in the 13th century and rebuilt in the late Renaissance style in 1632–1637. In 1671–1681, it was modified in the early Baroque style. The church tower is built in the spirit of the Saxon Renaissance . The Sokolov Castle was built on the site of a former water fortress in late Renaissance and early Baroque styles. In 1800–1805,

756-592: The Wind is the highest-grossing film ever, with two other romantic epics ( Titanic and Doctor Zhivago ) also featuring among the global top ten. So far the most Academy Awards ever won by a single film stands at eleven. This feat has only been achieved by three films: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), all of which are above three hours long and considered epic films. The previous record holder

798-532: The basis of their enormous scope and the sweeping panorama of their settings such as How the West Was Won or East of Eden that do not have the typical substance of classical epics but are directed in an epic style. When described as "epic" because of content, an epic movie is often set during a time of war or other societal crisis, while usually covering a longer span of time sometimes throughout entire generations coming and passing away, in terms of both

840-592: The building was modified in the Neoclassical style. Since 1960, the castle has been the seat of the Regional Museum, focused mainly on the development of mining and the history of the region. A cultural monument is the former Capuchin monastery with the Church of Saint Anthony of Padua. It dates from the end of the 17th century. Today, the premises of the monastery are privately owned and the premises of

882-449: The epic film may be combined with the genre of science-fiction and cite Star Wars as an example. Stylistically, films classed as epic usually employ spectacular settings and specially designed costumes, often accompanied by a sweeping musical score, and an ensemble cast of bankable stars . Epics are usually among the most expensive of films to produce. They often use on-location filming, authentic period costumes , and action scenes on

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924-426: The epic is often credited to their ability to appeal to a wide audience. Several of the highest-grossing films of all-time have been epics. James Cameron 's 1997 film Titanic , which is cited as helping to revive the genre, grossed $ 1.8 billion at cinemas worldwide to become the highest-grossing film—a record it held for twelve years. If inflation is taken into account, then the historical romantic epic Gone with

966-402: The events depicted and the running time of the film. Such films usually have a historical setting, although speculative fiction (i.e. fantasy or science fiction ) settings have become common in recent decades. The central conflict of the film is usually seen as having far-reaching effects, often changing the course of history. The main characters' actions are often central to the resolution of

1008-744: The film four out of four stars, and added it to his list of "great movies". The Big Red One ranks 483rd on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time. Terry Lawson of the Detroit Free Press called it the greatest war movie of all time. Epic film Epic historical films would usually take a historical or a mythical event and add an extravagant setting, lavish costumes, an expansive musical score , and an ensemble cast , which would make them extremely expensive to produce. The most common subjects of epic films are royalty and important figures from various periods in world history. The term "epic" originally came from

1050-576: The film's running time, bringing it much closer to the form Fuller imagined before the studio took it away from him. Film critic Richard Schickel — who praised the 1980 version in Time when it was released — took the lead on the restoration, which relied on locating footage allegedly stashed in the Warner Bros. vault in Kansas City. He was aided by editor Bryan McKenzie and Bogdanovich. The film

1092-404: The highest point of Sokolov, the hill Zelený močál at 797 metres (2,615 ft) above sea level. The Ohře River flows through the town. On the eastern outskirts of the town there is Lake Michal, an artificial lake created by flooding of former coal quarry. It has an area of 30 ha (74 acres) and serves recreational purposes. The first written mention of Sokolov is from 13 April 1279 under

1134-420: The late 1950s, sending Fuller on a trip to Europe to scout locations. Fuller directed Merrill's Marauders as a dry run for the film. When Fuller argued with Jack L. Warner and his studio over cuts they made to Merrill's Marauders , the plans for The Big Red One were dropped. In the project's early stages, at Jack L. Warner's urging, John Wayne was lined up to play the sergeant, but Fuller felt that he

1176-626: The name Falkenau / Falknov. The town was a property of noble families of Nothaft and later Schlick. The Schlick family built here a small castle, which was rebuilt in the 16th century. After the Battle of White Mountain the Nostitz family gained Sokolov. During the Thirty Years' War the town and the castle was repeatedly burned out. The town and the castle was recovered in the 1760s by Johann Hartwig of Nostitz-Rieneck  [ de ] . In

1218-611: The next two years, the squad is part of the Allied invasion of Sicily , where they are given intelligence on the location of a Tiger I tank and are fed by grateful Sicilian women; the landing on Omaha Beach at the start of the Normandy campaign ; the liberation of France , where they battle Germans inside a mental asylum; and the invasion of western Germany . The sergeant's German Army counterpart, Schroeder, participates in many of these same battles, and at different times both he and

1260-428: The original German name Falkenau was " falcon 's riparian forest ", the original Czech name Falknov was created by transcription of the German name. According to legend, it was related to hobby of knight Sebastian, who is said to have been the founder of the town, of falconry . After World War II, when it was customary to change names of German origin, the town was renamed Sokolov. According to communist propaganda at

1302-676: The poetic genre exemplified by such works as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the works of the Trojan War Cycle . In classical literature, epics are considered works focused on deeds or journeys of heroes upon which the fate of many people depends. Similarly, films described as "epic" typically take a historical character, or a mythic heroic figure. Common subjects of epics are royalty , gladiators , great military leaders, or leading personalities from various periods in world history. However, there are some films described as "epic" almost solely on

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1344-419: The sergeant and his men work frantically to save his life as they return to their encampment. Private Zab, in voice-over , remarks that he and his fellow American troops have more in common with this Nazi soldier, because they have all been through the war and survived, than they do with all of the replacements they fought alongside, but who are dead. Warner Bros. was interested in filming The Big Red One in

1386-414: The sergeant express the same sentiment that soldiers are killers, but not murderers, though Schroeder also displays a ruthless loyalty to Hitler and Germany . During the advance across northern France , the American squad crosses the former WWI battlefield on which the sergeant killed the surrendering German, where a memorial now stands to the earlier war. Schroeder has sprinkled his own living men among

1428-474: The societal conflict. In its classification of films by genre, the American Film Institute limits the genre to historical films such as Ben-Hur . However, film scholars such as Constantine Santas are willing to extend the label to science-fiction films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars . Lynn Ramey suggests that "Surely one of the hardest film genres to define is that of

1470-465: The surrender is a trick. When he returns to his company's headquarters, the private is told that the war ended four hours earlier. World War II : In November 1942, the US soldier, now a sergeant in the "Big Red One", leads his squad of infantrymen through North Africa ; they are initially fired on by a Vichy French general, who is then overpowered by his French troops, who are loyal to Free France . Over

1512-725: The time, the name was not related to a falcon (i.e. sokol in Czech), but to the Battle of Sokolovo in which Czechoslovak soldiers had fought alongside Soviet soldiers on the Eastern Front in World War II. Sokolov is located about 16 kilometres (10 mi) southwest of Karlovy Vary . It lies mostly in the Sokolov Basin . The eastern part of the municipal territory extends into the Slavkov Forest and includes

1554-544: The town. Sokolov is located on the major railway lines Prague –Cheb and Plzeň –Karlovy Vary. The town is also the starting point of a railway line heading to Kraslice and Mehltheuer in Germany. The town is home to the football club FK Baník Sokolov . It used to play in the Czech National Football League (second tier), but today it plays in lower amateur tiers. The Church of Saint James

1596-627: The world, such as India where it's flourishing Bollywood industry produced the landmark Mughal-E Azam (1960), which is widely considered as one of the greatest films of all time and a milestone in Asian epics. This boom period of international co-productions is generally considered to have ended with Cleopatra (1963), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). Nevertheless, films in this genre continued to appear, with one notable example being War and Peace , which

1638-601: Was Gone with the Wind (1939), also an epic, with ten awards. Sokolov, Czech Republic#History Sokolov ( Czech pronunciation: [ˈsokolof] , until 1948 Falknov nad Ohří ; German : Falkenau an der Eger ) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic . It has about 22,000 inhabitants. The villages of Hrušková and Novina and the area of the former village of Vítkov are administrative parts of Sokolov. The meaning of

1680-551: Was entered into the 1980 Cannes Film Festival . Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 90% approval rating with an average rating of 7.8/10, based on 48 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "The reconstruction of Samuel Fuller's epic account of his days in North Africa in World War II elevates the film into the pantheon of great war movies." For "the Reconstruction" cut, Metacritic assigned

1722-639: Was not right for the role. Peter Bogdanovich helped set up the film at Paramount Pictures, which paid Fuller to write a script. When Paramount head Frank Yablans left the studio, though, the project was put in turnaround . It shifted over to Lorimar with Bogdanovich to produce (he says Fuller wanted him to play the Robert Carradine part), but then Bogdanovich pulled out and brought in Gene Corman to produce. The restored version, dubbed "the Reconstruction" and completed in 2004, adds 47 minutes to

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1764-448: Was released in the former Soviet Union during 1967–1968. Epic films continue to be produced, although since the development of CGI they typically use computer effects instead of an actual cast of thousands. Since the 1950s, such films have regularly been shot with a wide aspect ratio for a more immersive and panoramic theatrical experience. Epic films were recognized in a montage at the 2006 Academy Awards . The enduring popularity of

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