As part of its "Honoring The Masters" series, DGA Special Projects Committee recently presented the newly-reconstructed version of Samuel Fuller's 1980 tour de force The Big Red One. With nearly an hour of previously-omitted footage added, including 24 entirely new scenes and more than 30 to which substantial additions were made, an appreciative audience confirmed what Fuller fans have long suspected: the movie is unquestionably the crowning achievement of the late director's kinetically kaleidoscopic career.
"The film that went out in 1980 was essentially cut by hands other than Sam's, as a kind of war-action-adventure picture," noted critic and director Richard Schickel, who spearheaded the intensive reconstruction project with the assistance of co-producer Doug Freeman, editor Bryan McKenzie, and Warner Home Video's Brian Jamieson. (The released version of The Big Red One) had been cut down from a negative that was at least three hours in length, and possibly somewhat more. There had been a number of efforts, over the years, to try and reconstruct the film. By the time that we got on the case, no one was entirely certain exactly what was in the vaults, what condition it was in, and so forth. The upshot is, I believe the film is as close as it's now humanly possible to come to Sam Fuller's original intentions."
Following the screening, Schickel discussed the film with several members of the original production team, including cinematographer Adam Greenberg and cast members Robert Carradine, Mark Hamill, Perry Lang, and Kelly Ward.
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