A veteran sergeant of World War I leads a squad in World War II, always in the company of the survivor Pvt. Griff, the writer Pvt. Zab, the Sicilian Pvt. Vinci and Pvt. Johnson, in Vichy French Africa, Sicily, D-Day at Omaha Beach, Belgium and France, and ending in a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia where they face the true horror of war.

A re-working, re-editing, and restructuring of Sam Fuller's The Big Red One bringing it closer as originally envisioned by the late filmmaker. It includes forty-seven additional minutes which was not utilized in the film's original release. Supervised by Richard Schickel, Peter Bogdanovich, and editor Bryan McKenzie.

Killing as many commies as he can is the goal of a hatred consumed private in the Israeli Army. The memory of his torture in a Russian mental hospital has driven him to revenge. Persuading his friends and lovers to join him in his quest, he sets out on a mission of blood and vengeance. Sigourney Weaver stars as the brave woman who must love and trust a madman.