Samuel Fuller/USA/1980; R4 (2-disc SE)
Warner Bros, NZ$29.95 | Reviewed by John Spry

SAM FULLER began his career with a Western and ended it with a War film, two genre films that form much of the basis of his oeuvre as well as the American staples of the film business. The Big Red One (1980) was Fuller's last major film before his death in 1997 at the age of 85, a vital director who had lost none of his enthusiasm for film, especially this kind of film.

Whilst most cineastes will identify Fuller as being a director of at least two seminal classic film noirs, being Pick up on South Street (1953) and Shock Corridor (1963), Fuller was also the director (as well as author) of some of the best war films made in their respective times. Many of Fuller's work was low-budget and this can be seen in much of the limited production values evident in most, if not all of his films. In terms of The Big Red One, Fuller created a personal film that he identifies with his own days in World War II.

This is the second edition of the film released on DVD, and is far superior to the initial Region One version released when the format was still in its infancy. It bears the name "The Restoration" below the main title and a better description could not be made in regard to the film and the extra features that have now become available. The film itself has been added to (or completed) in running time and the picture and sound has been re-mastered to take into account technologies available today.

The Big Red One centers on a unit that operates together throughout the war and is framed around separate incidents that the men and their commander encounter during their campaign.

Whilst the film offers a linear narrative of sorts, it does not have a classical Hollywood feel, as the there is no individual plot holding the film in frame of reference that an audience can easily identify with. Instead, the audience is offered a chance to see highlights of a journey that few have or will be witness to again; the last Great War as the backdrop to a personal story of men that age and change through an event that they have no control over. The way the sections are structured also allows the audience to bear witness to the worst of the war and the finality of the conflict where the real victims are shown to the unit as well as the audience.


THE DVD is presented in widescreen (1.85:1) and is spread over two discs with the film and a commentary on one disc and the goldmine of extras on the second disc.

Without doubt the best special feature is the documentary on Samuel Fuller, which runs for an hour and includes excerpts from Fuller's films and interviews with the director before he passed away in 1998. Fuller has always been brutally honest on any subject asked of him and there is no exception made in this gripping and enlightening documentary. The other major feature is the commentary available alongside the main film that features The Reconstruction producer Richard Schickel.

This film is highly recommended for those who love war films, Fuller or for those that missed its screening at last year's New Zealand International Film Festival.