History Creator / SamuelFuller

-->''"It’s been said that if you don’t like TheRollingStones, then you just don’t like RockAndRoll. By the same token, I think that if you don’t like the films of Sam Fuller, then you [[SeriousBusiness just don’t like cinema]]. Or at least you don’t understand it."''

--> ''"Film is a battleground. Love, hate, violence, action, death...In a word, emotion."''

There's RealityIsUnrealistic and then there's Samuel Fuller. Born in August 12, 1912, in Worcester, Massachusetts to a Russian Jewish family called Rabinowitz(which had anglicized to Fuller), he was [[MeaningfulName named after]] Dr. Samuel Fuller, who served on The Mayflower. This pedigree and lineage defined Fuller, a WorkingClassHero who was an outsider but who was paradoxically, more American than American and represented the same profile to his European fans as satirists like MarkTwain and H. L. Mencken. After his father's death, Fuller's mother arrived in New York where Fuller's autodidactic zest eventually led him to skip school and work as a [[ExtraExtraReadAllAboutIt newspaper boy]]. This started an association with the Hearst press, and Fuller eventually became a copyboy, and then left the newspaper and became a crime journalist. His first big story was the death of Broadway star, Jeanne Eagles. In the years of TheGreatDepression, Fuller traveled the land, covering strikes, race riots, brothels, bar dives and the Klan in the South. He even ran into Al Capone. Then he became a pulp fiction writer, then he went to Hollywood as a screenwriter and then the Second World War broke out and Fuller enlisted as a US First Infantryman serving several tours of duty in North Africa, Sicily and he was part of the first waves on Omaha Beach on D-Day. [[SeenItAll All this]], before directing his first film in 1949 at the age of 36.

There's TaughtByExperience and there's a life that allows you, in Fuller's words, "to cover [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor the biggest crime story of the century"]]. The very first film Fuller shot was footage of the liberation of the concentration camp Falkenau, an experience which needless to say left a mark on him. When Fuller made his films, he had little time for sentiment, phony gimmicks and a journalist's instinct to get [[HatesSmallTalk to the heart of things]]. The result is some of the most visually exciting and unforgettable films of the 50s, in genres like TheWestern, FilmNoir and especially WarMovies. He also made some GenreBusting satirical films like ShockCorridor, The Naked Kiss and White Dog, which explored the underbelly of America. As a director, Fuller's personality was incredibly charismatic and large hearted and he was never without his impressive cigar, instead of calling action, he would fire a revolver on set. He wrote, produced and directed his best films and was prized in France for being an auteur, counting many a BigNameFan like Jean-Luc Godard, FrancoisTruffaut and others.

The FallOfTheStudioSystem led to a period in wildnerness for Fuller, where he worked in Television and as a screenwriter for hire with many projects stuck in DevelopmentHell. Paradoxically, Fuller became a LivingLegend, appearing in films by other directors and regarded as an OldMaster who young directors took pilgrimages to seek advice and inspiration from. He was the first choice for the role of Hyman Roth in Creator/FrancisFordCoppola's ''[[Film/TheGodfather The Godfather Part II]]'', and an audition with him and AlPacino exists(the role was passed over by Elia Kazan and was later played by acting teacher Lee Strasberg). Eventually, Fuller made his comeback with the film he waited all his life to make, TheBigRedOne starring Creator/LeeMarvin and MarkHamill. ExecutiveMeddling prevented it from becoming a major hit(a ReCut after his death restores the full vision of Fuller's great film). It's the only major World War Two film shot by an actual veteran infantryman and survivor and is uncanny for its accuracy in portraying the psychology of warfare. His second film of the 80s, ''White Dog'' was shelved and {{Misblamed}} although it would be VindicatedByHistory. Fuller made TV films after that, and retired in France where he had a daughter in his later years and spent his final years working on his autobiography with the distinct title, ''A Third Face : My Tale of Writing, Fighting and Film-making'' which was published and edited by his wife Christa Fuller(herself an actress who appeared in Godard's ''Alphaville'').

-->-- ''Creator/MartinScorsese''

-->-- ''Sam Fuller'' in Creator/JeanLucGodard's ''Pierrot le Fou'' (1965)

-->''"It’s been said that if you don’t like TheRollingStones, then you just don’t like RockAndRoll. By the same token, I think that if you don’t like the films of Sam Fuller, then you [[SeriousBusiness just don’t like cinema]]. Or at least you don’t understand it."'' - Creator/MartinScorsese

--> ''"Film is a battleground. Love, hate, violence, action, death...In a word, emotion."'' - Sam Fuller in Jean Luc Godard's ''Pierrot le Fou'' (1965)

The list of people influenced by Fuller are legendary. StevenSpielberg (who cast him in his ''1941'' in a brief cameo), Creator/MartinScorsese, Creator/JonathanDemme, Creator/QuentinTarantino and Creator/JimJarmusch in addition to his large following in Europe. There's a street named after him in {{Finland}}. Put it simply, they don't make 'em like Sammy Fuller anymore.

The FallOfTheStudioSystem led to a period in wildnerness for Fuller, where he worked in Television and as a screenwriter for hire with many projects stuck in DevelopmentHell. Paradoxically, Fuller became a LivingLegend, appearing in films by other directors and regarded as an OldMaster who young directors took pilgrimages to seek advice and inspiration from. He was the first choice for the role of Hyman Roth in FrancisFordCoppola's TheGodfather Part II, and an audition with him and AlPacino exists(the role was passed over by Elia Kazan and was later played by acting teacher Lee Strasberg). Eventually, Fuller made his comeback with the film he waited all his life to make, TheBigRedOne starring Creator/LeeMarvin and MarkHamill. ExecutiveMeddling prevented it from becoming a major hit(a ReCut after his death restores the full vision of Fuller's great film). It's the only major World War Two film shot by an actual veteran infantryman and survivor and is uncanny for its accuracy in portraying the psychology of warfare. His second film of the 80s, ''White Dog'' was shelved and {{Misblamed}} although it would be VindicatedByHistory. Fuller made TV films after that, and retired in France where he had a daughter in his later years and spent his final years working on his autobiography with the distinct title, ''A Third Face : My Tale of Writing, Fighting and Film-making'' which was published and edited by his wife Christa Fuller(herself an actress who appeared in Godard's ''Alphaville'').

** CulturedBadass : Loved i.php/Creator/LudwigVanBeethoven and classical music, and would quote all kinds of references in his works.

-->''"It’s been said that if you don’t like TheRollingStones, then you just don’t like RockAndRoll. By the same token, I think that if you don’t like the films of Sam Fuller, then you [[SeriousBusiness just don’t like cinema]]. Or at least you don’t understand it."'' - MartinScorsese

The list of people influenced by Fuller are legendary. StevenSpielberg (who cast him in his ''1941'' in a brief cameo), MartinScorsese, Jonathan Demme, Creator/QuentinTarantino and Creator/JimJarmusch in addition to his large following in Europe. There's a street named after him in {{Finland}}. Put it simply, they don't make 'em like Sammy Fuller anymore.

* ''I Shot Jesse James (1949)''
* ''The Steel Helmet (1951)''
* ''Park Row (1952)''
* ''Pickup on South Street (1953)''
* ''House of Bamboo (1955)''
* ''Run of the Arrow (1957)''
* ''Forty Guns (1957)''
* ''The Crimson Kimono (1959)''
* ''Underworld U.S.A. (1961)''
* ''Shock Corridor (1963)''
* ''The Naked Kiss (1964)''
* ''The Big Red One (1980)'' (ReCut version released in 2004)
* ''White Dog (1982)''

* AmbiguouslyGay : Or not so ambiguous, his first film ''I Shot Jesse James'' asserts this of Robert Ford and also in ''House of Bamboo'' via gang leader Robert Ryan.

* BackedByThePentagon : A major subversion. His film ''The Steel Helmet'' made at the height of the RedScare made [[ValuesDissonance controversial]] anti-racist statements and showed American soldiers violating the Geneva convention which earned him an invitation to the Pentagon to explain himself. Years later, Fuller was proud when a screening of ''Film/TheBigRedOne'' by Army brass resulted in one officer lamenting it had "no recruitment potential".

** BadassBookworm : Was a voracious reader all his life, and wrote pulp novels and his books quoted Balzac, Dickens, Dostoevsky, Shakespeare.
** CulturedBadass : Loved Beethoven and classical music, and would quote all kinds of references in his works.

* {{Deconstruction}} : He was especially concerned with how war and violence was shown in movies. ''The Steel Helmet'' has a JerkAss AntiHero deliberately making fun of NoOneGetsLeftBehind when one private insists on recovering dog tags from a corpse, and ends up getting blown up by a booby-trapped body. His films even attack the BandOfBrothers sentimentalism, with a squad composed of soldiers who are bound more by TeethClenchedTeamwork, with each one focused on their survival and they avoid people they consider incompetent and accident prone and avoid forming bonds with newer soldiers or "replacements" once they become veterans.
** Fuller's films constantly deconstructed the underbelly of America, showing them as being closer to the mainstream than they would allow, with ''The Naked Kiss'' criticizing a StepfordSuburbia which turns out to be more corrupt than the brothel the HookerWithAHeartOfGold is fleeing. Gangsters likewise are shown as PunchClockVillain and AntiVillain.

* GoAmongMadPeople : His film ShockCorridor is a famous example of this trope.

* SophisticatedAsHell : This is perhaps the truest definition of Fuller's style. His dialogue and plots were over-the-top and obvious but they were also intelligent, critical and brilliant, mixing high and low culture frequently.

The list of people influenced by Fuller are legendary. StevenSpielberg (who cast him in his ''1941'' in a brief cameo), MartinScorsese, Jonathan Demme, QuentinTarantino and Creator/JimJarmusch in addition to his large following in Europe. There's a street named after him in {{Finland}}. Put it simply, they don't make 'em like Sammy Fuller anymore.

The FallOfTheStudioSystem led to a period in wildnerness for Fuller, where he worked in Television and as a screenwriter for hire with many projects stuck in DevelopmentHell. Paradoxically, Fuller became a LivingLegend, appearing in films by other directors and regarded as an OldMaster who young directors took pilgrimages to seek advice and inspiration from. He was the first choice for the role of Hyman Roth in FrancisFordCoppola's TheGodfather Part II, and an audition with him and AlPacino exists(the role was passed over by Elia Kazan and was later played by acting teacher Lee Strasberg). Eventually, Fuller made his comeback with the film he waited all his life to make, TheBigRedOne starring LeeMarvin and MarkHamill. ExecutiveMeddling prevented it from becoming a major hit(a ReCut after his death restores the full vision of Fuller's great film). It's the only major World War Two film shot by an actual veteran infantryman and survivor and is uncanny for its accuracy in portraying the psychology of warfare. His second film of the 80s, ''White Dog'' was shelved and {{Misblamed}} although it would be VindicatedByHistory. Fuller made TV films after that, and retired in France where he had a daughter in his later years and spent his final years working on his autobiography with the distinct title, ''A Third Face : My Tale of Writing, Fighting and Film-making'' which was published and edited by his wife Christa Fuller(herself an actress who appeared in Godard's ''Alphaville'').

The list of people influenced by Fuller are legendary. StevenSpielberg (who cast him in his ''1941'' in a brief cameo), MartinScorsese, Jonathan Demme, QuentinTarantino and JimJarmusch in addition to his large following in Europe. There's a street named after him in {{Finland}}. Put it simply, they don't make 'em like Sammy Fuller anymore.

-->''"We'd all made it through we were alive. I'm gonna dedicate my book to those who shot but didn't get shot, because it's about survivors. And surviving is the only glory in war, if you know what I mean."''

* SeenItAll : Most definitely.

* AmbiguouslyGay : Or not so ambiguous, his first film ''I Shot Jesse James'' asserts this of Robert Ford.

* {{Deconstruction}} : He was especially concerned with how war and violence was shown in movies. ''The Steel Helmet'' has a JerkAss AntiHero deliberately making fun of the other squad who act like people out of war movies. A man who goes to revive dog tags is blown up by a booby-trapped body and mocks people for trying to retain human sentiment in the middle of a situation that is hostile to the same. His films even attack the BandOfBrothers sentimentality, with a squad composed of soldiers who are bound more by TeethClenchedTeamwork than anything and where people avoid getting close to newer soldiers or "replacements" as the veterans call them.

* SophisticatedAsHell : This is perhaps the truest definition of Fuller's style. His dialogue and plots were over-the-top and obvious and even {{Narm}]-ish but they were also intelligent, critical and brilliant, mixing high and low culture frequently.

* {{Deconstruction}} : He was especially concerned with how war and violence was shown in movies. ''The Steel Helmet'' has a JerkAss AntiHero deliberately making fun of the other squad who act like people out of war movies. A man who goes to revive dog tags is blown up by a booby-trapped body and mocks people for trying to retain human sentiment in the middle of a situation that is hostile to the same. His films even attack the BandOfBrothers sentimentality, with a squad composed of soldiers who are bound more by TeethClenchedTeamwork than anything and where people avoid getting close to soldiers to newer soldiers or "replacements" as the veterans call them.

* {{Deconstruction}} : He was especially concerned with how war and violence was shown in movies. ''The Steel Helmet'' has a JerkAss AntiHero deliberately making fun of the other squad who act like people out of war movies. A man who goes to revive dog tags is blown up by a booby-trapped body and mocks people for trying to retain human sentiment in the middle of a situation that is hostile to the same.

* WarIsHell : For the foot-soldier, modern warfare is a painful trudge through trenches, dense forest and dirt cover, surrounded by a squad who are out for their own neck when their incompetence is not likely going to get you killed and where most of the time, you can't see your enemy and feel any real ideological connect to why you are fighting.
* WarIsGlorious : Fuller has the last word,
-->''"Surviving is the only glory in war."''

TheFallOfTheStudioSystem led to a period in wildnerness for Fuller, where he worked in Television and as a screenwriter for hire with many projects stuck in DevelopmentHell. Paradoxically, Fuller became a LivingLegend, appearing in films by other directors and regarded as an OldMaster who young directors took pilgrimages to seek advice and inspiration from. He was the first choice for the role of Hyman Roth in FrancisFordCoppola's TheGodfather Part II, and an audition with him and AlPacino exists(the role was passed over by Elia Kazan and was later played by acting teacher Lee Strasberg). Eventually, Fuller made his comeback with the film he waited all his life to make, TheBigRedOne starring LeeMarvin and MarkHamill. ExecutiveMeddling prevented it from becoming a major hit(a ReCut after his death restores the full vision of Fuller's great film). It's the only major World War Two film shot by an actual veteran infantryman and survivor and is uncanny for its accuracy in portraying the psychology of warfare. His second film of the 80s, ''White Dog'' was shelved and {{Misblamed}} although it would be VindicatedByHistory. Fuller made TV films after that, and retired in France where he had a daughter in his later years and spent his final years working on his autobiography with the distinct title, ''A Third Face : My Tale of Writing, Fighting and Film-making'' which was published and edited by his wife Christa Fuller(herself an actress who appeared in Godard's ''Alphaville'').

[[index]] ... [[/index]]

There's TaughtByExperience and there's a life that allows you, in Fuller's words, "to cover [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor the biggest crime story of the century"]]. The very first film Fuller shot was footage of the liberation of the concentration camp Falkenau, an experience which needless to say left a mark on him. When Fuller made his films, he had little time for sentiment, phony gimmicks and a journalist's instinct to get [[HatesSmallTalk to the heart of things]]. The result is some of the most visually exciting and unforgettable films of the 50s, in genres like TheWestern, FilmNoir and especially WarMovies. He also made some GenreBusting satirical films like ShockCorridor, The Naked Kiss and White Dog, which explored the underbelly of America. As a director, Fuller's personality was incredibly charismatic and large hearted and he was never without his impressive cigar, instead of calling action, he would fire a revolver on set. He wrote, produced and directed his best films and was prized in France for being an auteur, counting many a BigNameFan like Jean-Luc Godard, FrancoisTruffaut and others.

There's TaughtByExperience and there's a life that allows you, in Fuller's words, "to cover [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor the biggest crime story of the century"]]. The very first film Fuller shot was footage of the liberation of the concentration camp Falkenau, an experience which needless to say left a mark on him. When Fuller made his films, he had little time for sentiment, phony gimmicks and a journalist's instinct to get [[HatesSmallTalk to the heart of things]]. The result is some of the most visually exciting and unforgettable films of the 50s, in genres like TheWestern, FilmNoir and especially WarMovies. He also made some GenreBusting satirical films like ShockCorridor, The Naked Kiss and WhiteDog, which explored the underbelly of America. As a director, Fuller's personality was incredibly charismatic and large hearted and he was never without his impressive cigar, instead of calling action, he would fire a revolver on set. He wrote, produced and directed his best films and was prized in France for being an auteur, counting many a BigNameFan like Jean-Luc Godard, FrancoisTruffaut and others.

There's RealityIsUnrealistic and then there's Samuel Fuller. Born in August 12, 1912, in Worcester, Massachusetts to a Russian Jewish family called Rabinowitz(which had anglicized to Fuller), he was [[MeaningfulName named after]] Dr. Samuel Fuller, who served on The Mayflower. This pedigree and lineage defined Fuller, a WorkingClassHero who was an outsider but who was paradoxically, more American than American and represented the same profile to his European fans as satirists like MarkTwain and H. L. Mencken. After his father's death, Fuller's mother arrived in New York where Fuller's autodidactic zest eventually led him to skip school and work as a [[ExtraExtraReadAllAboutIt newspaper boy]]. This started an association with the Hearst press, and Fuller eventually became a copyboy, and then left the newspaper and became a crime journalist. His first big story was the death of Broadway star, Jeanne Eagles. In the years of TheGreatDepression, Fuller traveled the land, covering strikes, race riots, brothels, bar dives and the Klan in the South. He even ran into Al Capone. Then he became a pulp fiction writer, then he went to Hollywood as a screenwriter and then the Second World War broke out and Fuller enlisted as a US First Infantryman serving several tours of duty in North Africa, Sicily and he was part of the first waves on Omaha Beach on D-Day. [[SeenItAll All this]], before directing his first film in 1948 at the age of 36.

There's TaughtByExperience and there's a life that allows you, in Fuller's words, "to cover [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor the biggest crime story of the century"]]. The very first film Fuller shot was footage of the liberation of the concentration camp Falkenau, an experience which needless to say left a mark on him. When Fuller made his films, he had little time for sentiment, phony gimmicks and a journalist's instinct to get [[HatesSmallTalk to the heart of things]]. The result is some of the most visually exciting and unforgettable films of the 50s, in genres like TheWestern, FilmNoir and especially WarMovies. He also made some GenreBusting satirical films like ShockCorridor, The Naked Kiss and WhiteDog, which explored the underbelly of America. As a director, Fuller's personality was incredibly charismatic and large hearted and he was never without his impressive cigar, instead of calling action, he would fire a revolver on set. He wrote, produced and directed his best films and was prized in France for being an auteur, counting many a BigNameFan like JeanLucGodard, FrancoisTruffaut and others.

There's RealityIsUnrealistic and then there's Samuel Fuller. Born in August 12, 1912, in Worcester, Massachusetts to a Russian Jewish family called Rabinowitz(which had anglicized to Fuller), he was [[MeaningfulName named after]] Dr. Samuel Fuller, who served on The Mayflower. This pedigree and lineage defined Fuller, a WorkingClassHero who was an outsider but who was paradoxically, more American than American and represented the same profile to his European fans as satirists like MarkTwain and H. L. Mencken. After his father's death, Fuller's mother arrived in New York where Fuller's autodidactic zest eventually led him to skip school and work as a [[ExtraExtraReadAllAboutIt newspaper boy]]. This started an association with the Hearst press, and Fuller eventually became a copyboy, and then left the newspaper and became a crime journalist. His first big story was the death of Broadway star, Jeanne Eagles. In the years of TheGreatDepression, Fuller traveled the land, covering strikes, race riots, brothels, bar dives and the Klan in the South. He even ran into Al Capone. Then he became a pulp fiction writer, then he went to Hollywood as a screenwriter and then the Second World War broke out and Fuller enlisted as a US First Infantryman serving several tours of duty in North Africa, Sicily and he was part of the first waves on Omaha Beach on DDay. [[SeenItAll All this]], before directing his first film in 1948 at the age of 36.

-->''"It’s been said that if you don’t like TheRollingStones, then you just don’t like RockAndRoll. By the same token, I think that if you don’t like the films of Sam Fuller, then you [[SeriousBusiness just don’t like cinema]]. Or at least you don’t understand it."'' - Martin Scorsese

--> ''"Film is a battleground. Love, hate, violence, action, death...In a word, emotion."'' - Sam Fuller in JeanLuc Godard's ''Pierrot le Fou'' (1965)

-->''"It’s been said that if you don’t like TheRollingStones, then you just don’t like RockAndRoll. By the same token, I think that if you don’t like the films of Sam Fuller, then you [[SeriousCinema just don’t like cinema]]. Or at least you don’t understand it."'' - Martin Scorsese