‘Big Red One’ restores late director’s vision

Director Samuel Fuller spent decades trying to make “The Big Red One,” based on his own experience in the First Infantry Division in World War II.

This division — known as “the big red one” — saw lots of action, from Sicily and Italy to Omaha Beach at Normandy. Fuller was pushing 70 when he finally got to make his film, but when it was released in 1980, it was in a shortened version that didn’t really reflect his vision. The happy ending to the story finally came in 2004, when critic Richard Schickel put together a reconstruction of the original version of the film.

“The Big Red One: The Reconstruction” restored a full hour to Fuller’s film and made it a much more realized and significant picture. “The Reconstruction,” which stars Lee Marvin, is set to screen at the Berkeley Museum and Pacific Film Archive. “The Big Red One”: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31. $10-$14. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2155 Center St., Berkeley. www.bampfa.org

United Artists 1980