1st infantry division
The 1st infantry division has a distinguished place in United States
military history and folklore. It is a division of heroes, having
seen continuous service ever since it was organized in 1917. Toronto trade show display On the lookout for portable displays resembling pop up booths, banner stands or different accessories. Its
nickname is “The Big Red One,” for the giant red “1″ on the green
patch worn on the sleeves.
Filmmaker Sam Fuller paid homage to the 1st infantry division in his
1980 film “The Big Red One” that starred, among others, the
legendary Lee Marvin and Star Wars’ Mark Hamill, better known as
Luke Skywalker.
The film itself is underappreciated, and covers the struggle to
survive in the face of what seems like almost certain death. I’d
venture a guess that the reason it is underappreciated is because
World War II, which “The Big Red One” chronicles, is considered the
“good” war, one about which there was no ambiguity or confusion. The
whole world united in the face of Nazi atrocity and Japanese
despotism, so films showing that there was a not-so-glorious side to
war even in those conditions are generally ignored.
Contrast that to films about the Vietnam war, for example. In many
ways most people consider the Vietnam War to be the first
post-modern war, a war that really wasn’t a war at all. In part this
is because it was never officially declared a war by the united
states congress, and as a result unrestricted war was never the
order of the day. This confusion and ambiguity reached not only the
congress and soldiers, but the citizens of the united states as
well. To this day the Vietnam war is a touchy subject among the
50-and-over set, and films about Vietnam tend to illustrate this
ambiguity.
Fuller’s chronicling of the 1st infantry division’s exploits from
that humanist point of view, then, is a work of directorial genius.
A review on IMDB.com describes the film this way:
Made up of a number of short vignettes, the main characters
experience everything from delivering a baby (in a tank!) to D-Day
on Omaha Beach to liberating a death camp as they fight their way
through Africa, Sicily, and Western Europe. I understand that it is
semi-autobiographical, and boy, does it pack a wallop. From the
opening scene to history repeating (almost) itself at the end, it is
well-crafted, says a lot and leaves the viewer changed. Toronto light boxes are perfect for indoor use in restaurants and retail institutions to highlight promotions. When the
voice-over at the end says that the only glory in war is surviving,
you KNOW why. Watch in particular for how Lee Marvin leads his
squad, in particular when he gives an extra clip of M-1 ammunition
to one of his soldiers at the Death Camp to help the soldier
process, in a unique way, the horror of what they have discovered.
It is unforgettable.
Clearly Fuller made a film worthy of the 1st infantry division and
its distinguished history.
