MovieChat Forums > The Big Red One (1980) Discussion > The beach scene was stupid!

The beach scene was stupid!


Okay, American troops are landing on the beach. THe French open fire on them. Americans are killed possibly wounded. Yet, the French surrender (Shock of all shocks!!) and suddendly the Americans are their best buds! I think if the French commander wasn't killed the French would've continued to kill Americans. Somebody please help the Americans that were wounded and gather up the dead Americans. This was Hollywood schtick pure and simple.

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You totally misunderstood the scene. Not all the scenes in this movie are supposed to be taken literally. However, I can see how someone could get a "hollywood shtick-esque" feel from the scene.

jaustin035, on Sun Dec 16 2007 18:50:29, wrote something that made me laugh.

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Yeah, I personally think that the whole thing was just the script writer's simplified way of showing that Vichy North Africa rejoined the Allies (under Admiral Darlan, then General Giraud).

Certainly as well, some French units did immediately surrender. One French commander, after fighting for five minutes out of honor, surrendered and outright told the Americans that they were late.

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You completely missed the point of the scene. It is to show the madness of war.

What you saw was the French were given fliers about the Americans' arrival. However, it is war, and everyone is antsy. The Colonel and the junior officer have a disagreement about firing on the Americans, and then The Colonel takes matters into his own hands. Even as something as a simple support landing can cause deaths. The point of the scene is to show that nothing is certain in war...even soldiers coming to the aid of reluctant allies.

There are no happy endings in war.

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"The point of the scene is to show that nothing is certain in war...even soldiers coming to the aid of reluctant allies."

That scene came off incredibly absurd and weird, complete with music hysterics. If Fuller had a point, he blew it.

"There are no happy endings in war."

But apparently there is in The Big Red One?

It fails as an absurdist comedy and it fails as a war film. It doesn't dramatically engage and has way too many ideas to support itself.

They're funny people, the Italians. Culture really isn't their thing.

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Spot on EmmanuelLuzebecki.

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i just re-watched this (after some 20 years) on TCM, and had to change my vote from 7 to 5, and that was being charitable. what a mess of a movie! the reconstruction might make it better, but only if it cuts about 50% of what is in the original. the ambush scene? absurd. the germans running in shuttles into the cave, and the GIs shooting and "relay"-ing the corpses out of the way. seems the combat could have been much better at no additional cost...and the acting just sad, and bad. yikes.

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this person here is ON THE MONEY.

the big red one is a joke. the people who adore it are war veterans themselves who squirt their annual tear at the american troops wading through the water, holding their rolls of toilet paper above their heads, so they can turn around to their wife after drunkenly knocking her cold and say, "that's how it was. that was the *beep*

hey geezers EUTHANISE YOURSELF ASAP.

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[deleted]


I'm a veteran and should be offended by the above comment, but honestly it is funny as hell and very true!!! Blam....get me another beer...b*tch



another round for all my friends...all my friends

once a cardinal...always a cardinal

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the people who adore it are war veterans themselves who squirt their annual tear at the american troops wading through the water, holding their rolls of toilet paper above their heads, so they can turn around to their wife after drunkenly knocking her cold and say, "that's how it was. that was the *beep*

LMAO!

CIVILIZED:http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-washington





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> That scene came off incredibly absurd and weird, c

Because wars are absurd and weird.

> But apparently there is in The Big Red One?

Where? There isn't. The release cut sort of pretends something remotely uplifting perhaps, but not the reconstruction.

> It doesn't dramatically engage

For people who wants false heroism in action movies perhaps this is too uncomfortable as it is too honest and real.

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[deleted]

Join a military branch go to war and then watch this film. Bet you will not feel the same unless your a rock

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Rubbish, you have obviously never been in real conflict situations or fights before. The sudden release of tension, the knowledge that all is well and that there's no more killing to be done, the release of all the pent up fear, all these things would easily make the americans and french embrace after firing on eachother.

Maybe you should read a bit more about the history of warfare where you will find many instances of such behavior. The comments here are nothing more than the ignorant bleatings of a bunch of nerds playacting at being men. None of you would know how a real man behaves if your life depended on it. Your opinions are worthless.

This IS a wonderful film, and you are a pathetic bunch of geeks.

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this IS NOT a wonderful film, but thanks for your well-crafted and considered opinion of those who disagree with you. (bleated whiningly)

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"This IS a wonderful film, and you are a pathetic bunch of geeks."

No it isn't. It's full of poorly shot scenes, historical inacurracies, terrible acting etc etc. So if anyone doesn't like it that makes them a nerd does it? Playacting at being men? LOL I'm sorry, what makes you think YOUR opinion is more worthwhile than anybody else's?

"you have obviously never been in real conflict situations or fights before." My favourite part is where you added "or fights" because clearly YOU'VE never been in combat before either but perhaps you got beat up a few times you think that makes you a real man?

Did you hug the guy afterwards?

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amen, staggabob!

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[deleted]

i agree with the other guy your point is worthless.

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Theirs no way of defending such a terrible scene like that.It was just one of the many stupid scenes in the movie. This is one of the worst WW2 films ever made it was just laughable bad.

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The writer of the film was in WW II and landed with the troops in France and served with the REAL Big Red One. He actually refused to allow the film to be made until it passed several historical reviews from other veterans and military historians. And as a war vet my self, can tell you it was much more true then most war films.

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Right on, gsorops! It's funny how many many non-veterans think they know more about war then the actual WWII vet who made this movie.

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[deleted]

From what I know about Samuel Fuller, that does sound like him.

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[deleted]

Interviews with people that met Samuel Fuller.

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[deleted]

Well, he was a well renowned cigar chomper (in almost every interview I've seen him in his chomping a cigar and everyone that knew him said, yes, he was a cigar chomping machine), and while he clearly basted the protagonist on himself, he is still more or less a fictitious character so it's safe to say that the guy in the movie isn't exactly like Fuller, but they do share more than a few similarities.

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No, it sounds more like you have no idea of the political disarray and utter chaos the French nation, and especially their armed forces, were in during the immediate aftermath of the German-Italian invasion of Metropolitan France - and because of this you have no idea of how the Operation Torch landings really went. They were messy, awkward, and confusing, as neither US, British, nor Vichy forces were always 100% sure what would happen or how they should respond to the landings. Would they be shot at? Should they offer full resistance? Or just return token fire, as their duties as soldiers binds them? Or do nothing at all but greet the invaders with smiles and flowers? Some French units were ordered to go along sraight from the Vichy playbook; many others heavily sympathized with General de Gaulle's Free French Forces and were either on the verge of mutiny against their commanders loyal to Vichy, or were already out and out anti-Vichy and were ready & waiting to join FFF & the Allies at their first opportunity.

Your comments show that you fail to understand the delicate politics and unorthodox nature of the conditions on the ground of French West Africa, nor the overall absurdity and rapidly changing conditions experienced by those directly fighting a war, which was more of what Mr Fuller was going after.

And your insult about the French implying that they're cowards who surrender at every hint of a fight shows how ignorant you really are and how your opinions of people & events are more shaped by dumb jokes & stereotypes, instead of reality. I assume this is about as far as your knowledge of French history extends...

For the record, France is one of last nationalities I would so arrogantly characterize as displaying widespread tendencies toward cowardice. When Americans finally have a fullscale hostile invasion and apocalyptic industrial warfare destroy their country while political corruption/ineptitude replaces leadership, and US citizens respond to their disaster by forming a 'free' military overseas, while Stateside large groups of psrtisans band together to engage their much more powerful invaders and collaborationist forces in desperate struggle - for about a full five years, at least - then we'll see how well people like you really can walk the walk.

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No, it sounds more like you have no idea of the political disarray and utter chaos the French nation, and especially their armed forces, were in during the immediate aftermath of the German-Italian invasion of Metropolitan France - and because of this you have no idea of how the Operation Torch landings really went. They were messy, awkward, and confusing, as neither US, British, nor Vichy forces were always 100% sure what would happen or how they should respond to the landings. Would they be shot at? Should they offer full resistance? Or just return token fire, as their duties as soldiers binds them? Or do nothing at all but greet the invaders with smiles and flowers? Some French units were ordered to go along sraight from the Vichy playbook; many others heavily sympathized with General de Gaulle's Free French Forces and were either on the verge of mutiny against their commanders loyal to Vichy, or were already out and out anti-Vichy and were ready & waiting to join FFF & the Allies at their first opportunity.

Your comments show that you fail to understand the delicate politics and unorthodox nature of the conditions on the ground of French West Africa, nor the overall absurdity and rapidly changing conditions experienced by those directly fighting a war, which was more of what Mr Fuller was going after.

And your insult about the French implying that they're cowards who surrender at every hint of a fight shows how ignorant you really are and how your opinions of people & events are more shaped by dumb jokes & stereotypes, instead of reality. I assume this is about as far as your knowledge of French history extends...

For the record, France is one of last nationalities I would so arrogantly characterize as displaying widespread tendencies toward cowardice. When Americans finally have a fullscale hostile invasion and apocalyptic industrial warfare destroy their country while political corruption/ineptitude replaces leadership, and US citizens respond to their disaster by forming a 'free' military overseas, while Stateside large groups of psrtisans band together to engage their much more powerful invaders and collaborationist forces in desperate struggle - for about a full five years, at least - then we'll see how well people like you really can walk the walk.


QFT.

I'm an American by the by. So many times I read or hear how the French are all cowards, and I shake my head in disbelief. Were they cowards when they helped us during the American Revolution?

Their overall military history makes the US overall military history like a baby crawling on all fours. There's different hatreds of the French in the US on many levels, some political, and others just prejudiced. Of course, during WWII, the US military handing out a book to its military personnel called "112 Gripes About the French" didn't help any.

-Nam

I am on the road less traveled...

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