...and the big red one"the real glory of war, is surviving" —samuel fuller
the bastard decided to go movie shopping this afternoon to make up for a raony day. picked up the remastered version of the big red one. now those of you that know me, know that i have lists. usually top five lists. top five deaths scenes. top five junkie films. top five steaks i've ever had. this falls under the bastard's top five war films. i'll do some list one day when i run out of material so coming next week, the bastard's top five lists. either way, i won't bore you with the plot. it was written and directed by sam fuller. sam could tell a story. one time in a documentary he was telling a story in which balzac runs into alexander dumas on a street in paris. now dumas had become wealthy off of the count of monte cristo at the time. they exchange pleasentries. kiss each other on the cheek and go there separate ways. after clearing one another, balzac says to himself, "that rat bastard son of a bitch. if only i had money like him". when alexander dumas was clear from balzac he said to himself, "that rat bastard son of a bitch. if only i could write like him."
anyway, i hadn't seen this film since i was much younger and i didn't understand film making as much back then but now that i'm older and i realize what the man was doing. i see the big red one as a well strung together diary of fuller's experiences in world war two. i also see it as one of the times that griff gets to see the end of the story. who's griff? well in this one, he's a sniper played by mark hamill. but in reality, griff was a buddy of sam's in the war who sam fell on a grenade and i think sam had to help hold his intestines in as he watched his friend die. as a result, sam fuller let griff live forever in his work as a reoccuring name of different people in his works. i never remembered the cast from when i was a kid but this time i looked for griff and i was glad he made it.
last but not least of all, there was this scene in which lee marvin shows us his finest hour. good stuff
—the bastard
8 comments:
It's just one of your balls, Smitty. These mines were not designed to kill you, just castrate ya.
Top 5 Coolest Actors
5. Lee Marvin, example already given.
4. Jack Nicholson, don't even question it.
3. Michael Madsen, "If they hadn't done, what I told them not to do, they'd still be alive."
2. Paul Newman, the guy ate 40 eggs!!
1. Steve McQueen. Period, end of sentence.
top 5 war films
5. apocolypse now
4. the dirty dozen (can't go wrong with lee marvin)
3. the big red one (aforementioned reasons)
2. patton (we're gonna hold 'em by the nose and kick em in the ass)
1. the great escape
i disagree with madsen while gary oldman still walks the earth
—b
Top 5 Comic-Book Films:
Batman Begins
Men in Black
V for Vendetta
Ghost World
Spider-Man 2
I was WRONG! About my own opinion, even. I'd forgotten about Sin City and American Splendor, and while Sin City is just going to miss the cut, Splendor has to bump either V or Men in Black. And since MiB does such a great job of transcending what i understand were some pretty mediocre comics, I'll have to drop V.
oh dip! you did not just dump v for vendetta.....scandalous
Splendor has to make the cut.
i haven't seen splendor so i'll have to take both of y'alls word for it.
top 5 steaks:
5. steak frite @ le basquet (paris, france)
4. aged steak frite @waterzooies
3. filet with maytag blue cheese and potatoes @ nola in new orleans
2. brooklyn filet @ stack las vegas
1. new york strip @ emeril's del monaco las vegas
honorable mention this roast beef i had at a church fundraiser in ireland a=on the way to the grainen of aileach. i never had grass fed beef before, and it's just a better tasting cow.
Post a Comment