This is still my favorite WWII movie, including Private Ryan. The real attraction of this film is the ongoing psychological development of the four main characters as they move deeper into the war and into themselves. The title refers to the long-suffering 1st Infantry, which served successively in the fronts of N. Africa, Sicily, Italy and Normandy. Their Sgt. (Lee Marvin) becomes attached, from the distance of his position, to these endearing '4 Horsemen' as their unit becomes, in the end, only nameless replacements and themselves. While the D-Day scenes are not a sensationally effective as in Private Ryan, the emotional impact of knowing the players is much more psychologically interesting. While there is lots of action, this is a movie about the psychology of war, the brotherhood of survival, and life on the very edge of chaos.
Review of The Big Red One
