Big Red One Reconstruction, The [2 Disc]

The extended version of director Sam Fuller's epic war film The Big Red One. Working with 70,000 feet of vault materials and Fuller's shooting script, critic/filmmaker Richard Schickel headed a reconstruction that adds over 40 minutes and transforms a truncated but admired war film into an epic masterwork.

Lee Marvin, in a richly layered performance now revealed as one of his finest, stars as the sergeant of peach-fuzzed riflemen fighting from North Africa to Normandy and across Europe. The film is the squad's combat diary, war as it's fought and sweated and bled, and, maybe, survived. This full-length version, which is close to the late director's original cut, is one of American cinema's great war movies.

Special Features:

• Commentary by Reconstruction producer Richard Schickel
• Alternate scenes
• 2004 Reconstruction trailer
• Stills gallery
• Profile The Men Who Make the Movies: Samuel Fuller
• War department film The Fighting First
• New documentary The Real Glory: Reconstructing The Big One
• 1980 promo reel, theatrical trailer and TV and radio spots
• Anatomy of a Scene: Watch the director at work and examine the before/after restoration comparisons

Critic Reviews:

• " It's a terrific war yarn, a picture of palpable raw power which manages both Intense intimacy and great scope at the same time. " – Variety Staff

• " The director's gift for bare-knuckles lyricism rescues scene after scene. " – Ty Burr

• " Even though it has gained more than 45 minutes, it doesn't feel longer. Scenes that were choppy or half-baked are now allowed to play out as Fuller intended. " – John Hartl