George-C.-Scott Movie Reviews

Patton is a film that was made in 1970. It's a film that tells the story of one of America's most remembered and most telling characters in history. George C. Scott gives the performance of the century playing George S. Patton, looking and sounding and acting just like the real Patton, as recorded by Gen. Omar Bradley in which the film is based on.

Patton is a very different war movie. It was quite revolutionary in its time. Unlike a lot of war movies that survive off special effects, gore and heroism, Patton shines with its drama and realism as you follow the war-time biography of Patton. You learn a great deal about the politics, the system of the upper brass in our armed forces, and the frustration to coordinate and perform critical opperations. You also learn a great deal about the man, Patton, himself.

There is so much character developing, so much hard work put into the character of Patton, it clearly pays off in a huge way. This film will intrigue you as well as enlighten you. Patton's character is entertaining, he's real, he's distant yet close when it comes to relating, and he can be serious as well as funny. All of this makes Patton a master piece.

There is one little problem I had with the film. And that is I wasn't really pleased with Patton's heroic march through the winter of '44 to save the sieged soldiers. It wasn't very clear and it had little to no action in it, just telling you that they won it. This wasn't satisfactory, and yet it was Patton's highlight of his military career. A major let down, but it wasn't major enough to ruin the film. Thankfully. If it wasn't for the structure of the film, which already lacked action and engagements of battles, this might've ruined it if you are somebody who is interested in detailed history of the occurrences in WWII like me.

Overall Patton is a very powerful, dramatic film that circles around a man and his obsession with being a combat general in the heat of a war. It's a film that you will probably see more than once because it is a very special film.
You cannot get enough Patton, his character will live on because it comes across so powerfully in this film. It is a character and a story you are unlikely to forget.

"Patton" offers one of the great marriages of actor and role with George C. Scott's riveting portrayal of the notorious American tank commander. As a film biography "Patton" forgoes the rise of the celebrated general and merely hints at his ironic death because of injuries suffered in a traffic accident, focuses entirely on his military career commanding troops in North Africa, Sicily and France during World War II. The strength of the script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, as well as of Scott's performance, is that the paradoxes of Patton are completely embraced. Not even Patton's loyal cadre of staff officers can keep him from shooting off his mouth every time there are reporters around, but then neither German Field Marshall Rommel or English Field Marshall Montgomery can beat him on the battlefield. Karl Malden's performance as General Omar Bradley is just as solid as Scott's, presenting a man whose personality is the complete antithesis of Patton. Viewers find themselves identifying with the German captain who is the intelligence expert on Patton and arguably the only person in the film who really understands or respects the American general. But the more I watch "Patton," the more I am very impressed with the battle sequences of director Franklin J. Schaffner ("Planet of the Apes," "Pappillon"), which were staged live and full-scale without special effects of miniatures. Schaffner provides not just the large spectacle of a desert tank battle, but smaller and equally memorable moments, such as a soldier falling dead in the snow. "Patton" deserved its Oscars.

In terms of extra features on this DVD, the second disc features the 1997 50-minute retrospective documentary, "The Making of Patton: A Tribute to Franklin J. Schaffner." Recent interviews with the cinematographer, composer, etc., are blended with audio interviews of Schaffner and Scott from 1970, newsreel footage of Patton, along with clips and publicity stills from the film make a fitting tribute to the late director. The audio commentary on the first disc is really more of a lecture on Patton by Charles M. Province, the author of the book "The Unknown Patton" and founder/president of the General George S. Patton, Jr. Historical Society. Province more than adequately fills in what the movie leaves out about Patton's life. On the second disc Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar nominated musical score is presented in stereo, including alternate takes and a series of radio spots. You certainly have to appreciate what Fox has put together here: This is a "Special Edition" DVD priced as a regular DVD, a real treat for those of us who remember being mesmerized by George C. Scott giving that profanity laced opening speech standing in front of that giant American flag.

'Das Geheimnis Pattons ist die Vergangenheit,' says a captain in the German high command. 'Patton's secret is the past.' The secret of the man and the movie.

From the moment Patton opens, you know this will be like no other war movie. Standing before the biggest American flag I've ever seen, General George S. Patton Jr. wears a highly buffed, black helmet and a uniform suggesting the 18th or 19th century, weighed down with medals domestic and foreign, bearing not one but two ivory-handled revolvers, and holding a riding crop. As a bugler plays 'To the Colors," the camera focuses on each feature in turn. And then Scott lets loose with the picture's famous monologue (an edited version of a speech he actually gave to American troops in England on the eve of D-Day).

'Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country'.'

Atten ' tion!

Consider the time. In 1969, when Patton was made, America was mired in an unpopular war in Vietnam, the draft was just about to be ended, and America was preparing to pull her fighting men out of the first military defeat in her history. Many who supported the war effort, felt the military had been sabotaged by the media. And here was this spirit from the past, saying that 'Americans love to fight,' and 'will not tolerate a loser'!

Early in Patton, we hear the sound of distant trumpets, as in 1943, the general surveys the ancient battlefield where Carthage (modern name, Tunis, in Tunisia) was burnt to the ground by the Romans in 146 B.C.

Patton is standing near the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, where over 1,000 American G.I.s were butchered in their first encounter with the German Wehrmacht, in the form of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. 'I was there,' he tells his assistant. In 146 B.C.

Is he mad or is he teasing? The answer is, a little of both.

He quotes from a lush, romantic poem of the eternal warrior ' he is the poet. An American poet-general? Clearly, we are dealing with a man singular in the annals of 20th century American warfare. 'I hate the 20th century,' the old 'cavalry horse officer' remarks.

He refers to himself as a 'prima donna,' but as director Franklin Schaffner, scenarists Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, and star George C. Scott portray him, 'megalomaniac' is more like it. Before going in to battle, as he stands before his mirror, his Negro soldier-valet carefully placing his begoggled helmet on his head, he more closely resembles a Roman general (or Il Duce) than a modern officer. And in a notorious, true incident, upon encountering a shell-shocked soldier, he slaps the man silly, threatens to shoot him, and is almost cashiered by Ike. But he was our greatest 20th century field commander.

(The valet is played by a trim, youthful-looking, fifty-year-old Jimmy Edwards. Unfortunately, Edwards (Home of the Brave, Bright Victory, The Member of the Wedding, The Manchurian Candidate, etc.), whose career was limited by racism, died of a massive heart attack before the film's release. He went through hell, paving the way so that the likes of Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington could become screen icons, while he was forgotten.)

In Patton's brutality, in his talk of never giving up an inch of land (Hitler said the very same thing.), in his contempt for civilian authority, in his joy at killing, he comes across as a fascist or Nazi, which is how he was often depicted at the time. Amazingly, the movie is able to glorify this man, while maintaining a posture of cold sentimentality towards him. Schaffner loves Patton, but without illusions. Patton wasn't 'larger than life' ' no one is - he WAS life, or at least the martial, intellectual, and aesthetic lives, in all their fullness.

George Patton Jr. had a sense of destiny; his purpose in life was to achieve greatness leading 'desperate men in combat.' And as he observes, only once in a thousand years, do the heavens so align themselves that a soldier has such an opportunity to change history.

Fortunately, in the movie as in life, Patton had humble, ordinary Joe - at least as Bradley tells it - Gen. Omar Bradley (the last five-star, General of the Army, in the history of the U.S. Army) as a counterweight. Bradley is played by Karl Malden with a restraint and self-effacing humor that perfectly contrast Patton/Scott's bravado.

Jerry Goldsmith's score has just the right blend of the elegiac (distant trumpets) and the pompous yet playful (fanfare of horns and flutes), corresponding to the tempers of Patton's personality.

While almost three hours long, Patton does not flag, and could easily have been longer.

The DVD has a lovely documentary on the making of Patton, as well as Jerry Goldsmith's rousing score.

Just as Patton could not savor his success, so too George C. Scott, the rare actor who could carry a film on his shoulders, was unable to build on his success as Patton. But for one moment, he tasted of that perfection that comes when the stars align, and a great role is delivered into the hands of just the right actor at just the right moment in his career. It was George C. Scott's destiny to play Patton.

Originally published in The Critical Critic, September 20, 2003.

Patton is a film that was made in 1970. It's a film that tells the story of one of America's most remembered and most telling characters in history. George C. Scott gives the performance of the century playing George S. Patton, looking and sounding and acting just like the real Patton, as recorded by Gen. Omar Bradley in which the film is based on.

Patton is a very different war movie. It was quite revolutionary in its time. Unlike a lot of war movies that survive off special effects, gore and heroism, Patton shines with its drama and realism as you follow the war-time biography of Patton. You learn a great deal about the politics, the system of the upper brass in our armed forces, and the frustration to coordinate and perform critical opperations. You also learn a great deal about the man, Patton, himself.

There is so much character developing, so much hard work put into the character of Patton, it clearly pays off in a huge way. This film will intrigue you as well as enlighten you. Patton's character is entertaining, he's real, he's distant yet close when it comes to relating, and he can be serious as well as funny. All of this makes Patton a master piece.

There is one little problem I had with the film. And that is I wasn't really pleased with Patton's heroic march through the winter of '44 to save the sieged soldiers. It wasn't very clear and it had little to no action in it, just telling you that they won it. This wasn't satisfactory, and yet it was Patton's highlight of his military career. A major let down, but it wasn't major enough to ruin the film. Thankfully. If it wasn't for the structure of the film, which already lacked action and engagements of battles, this might've ruined it if you are somebody who is interested in detailed history of the occurrences in WWII like me.

Overall Patton is a very powerful, dramatic film that circles around a man and his obsession with being a combat general in the heat of a war. It's a film that you will probably see more than once because it is a very special film.
You cannot get enough Patton, his character will live on because it comes across so powerfully in this film. It is a character and a story you are unlikely to forget.

"Patton" offers one of the great marriages of actor and role with George C. Scott's riveting portrayal of the notorious American tank commander. As a film biography "Patton" forgoes the rise of the celebrated general and merely hints at his ironic death because of injuries suffered in a traffic accident, focuses entirely on his military career commanding troops in North Africa, Sicily and France during World War II. The strength of the script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, as well as of Scott's performance, is that the paradoxes of Patton are completely embraced. Not even Patton's loyal cadre of staff officers can keep him from shooting off his mouth every time there are reporters around, but then neither German Field Marshall Rommel or English Field Marshall Montgomery can beat him on the battlefield. Karl Malden's performance as General Omar Bradley is just as solid as Scott's, presenting a man whose personality is the complete antithesis of Patton. Viewers find themselves identifying with the German captain who is the intelligence expert on Patton and arguably the only person in the film who really understands or respects the American general. But the more I watch "Patton," the more I am very impressed with the battle sequences of director Franklin J. Schaffner ("Planet of the Apes," "Pappillon"), which were staged live and full-scale without special effects of miniatures. Schaffner provides not just the large spectacle of a desert tank battle, but smaller and equally memorable moments, such as a soldier falling dead in the snow. "Patton" deserved its Oscars.

In terms of extra features on this DVD, the second disc features the 1997 50-minute retrospective documentary, "The Making of Patton: A Tribute to Franklin J. Schaffner." Recent interviews with the cinematographer, composer, etc., are blended with audio interviews of Schaffner and Scott from 1970, newsreel footage of Patton, along with clips and publicity stills from the film make a fitting tribute to the late director. The audio commentary on the first disc is really more of a lecture on Patton by Charles M. Province, the author of the book "The Unknown Patton" and founder/president of the General George S. Patton, Jr. Historical Society. Province more than adequately fills in what the movie leaves out about Patton's life. On the second disc Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar nominated musical score is presented in stereo, including alternate takes and a series of radio spots. You certainly have to appreciate what Fox has put together here: This is a "Special Edition" DVD priced as a regular DVD, a real treat for those of us who remember being mesmerized by George C. Scott giving that profanity laced opening speech standing in front of that giant American flag.

'Das Geheimnis Pattons ist die Vergangenheit,' says a captain in the German high command. 'Patton's secret is the past.' The secret of the man and the movie.

From the moment Patton opens, you know this will be like no other war movie. Standing before the biggest American flag I've ever seen, General George S. Patton Jr. wears a highly buffed, black helmet and a uniform suggesting the 18th or 19th century, weighed down with medals domestic and foreign, bearing not one but two ivory-handled revolvers, and holding a riding crop. As a bugler plays 'To the Colors," the camera focuses on each feature in turn. And then Scott lets loose with the picture's famous monologue (an edited version of a speech he actually gave to American troops in England on the eve of D-Day).

'Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country'.'

Atten ' tion!

Consider the time. In 1969, when Patton was made, America was mired in an unpopular war in Vietnam, the draft was just about to be ended, and America was preparing to pull her fighting men out of the first military defeat in her history. Many who supported the war effort, felt the military had been sabotaged by the media. And here was this spirit from the past, saying that 'Americans love to fight,' and 'will not tolerate a loser'!

Early in Patton, we hear the sound of distant trumpets, as in 1943, the general surveys the ancient battlefield where Carthage (modern name, Tunis, in Tunisia) was burnt to the ground by the Romans in 146 B.C.

Patton is standing near the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, where over 1,000 American G.I.s were butchered in their first encounter with the German Wehrmacht, in the form of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. 'I was there,' he tells his assistant. In 146 B.C.

Is he mad or is he teasing? The answer is, a little of both.

He quotes from a lush, romantic poem of the eternal warrior ' he is the poet. An American poet-general? Clearly, we are dealing with a man singular in the annals of 20th century American warfare. 'I hate the 20th century,' the old 'cavalry horse officer' remarks.

He refers to himself as a 'prima donna,' but as director Franklin Schaffner, scenarists Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, and star George C. Scott portray him, 'megalomaniac' is more like it. Before going in to battle, as he stands before his mirror, his Negro soldier-valet carefully placing his begoggled helmet on his head, he more closely resembles a Roman general (or Il Duce) than a modern officer. And in a notorious, true incident, upon encountering a shell-shocked soldier, he slaps the man silly, threatens to shoot him, and is almost cashiered by Ike. But he was our greatest 20th century field commander.

(The valet is played by a trim, youthful-looking, fifty-year-old Jimmy Edwards. Unfortunately, Edwards (Home of the Brave, Bright Victory, The Member of the Wedding, The Manchurian Candidate, etc.), whose career was limited by racism, died of a massive heart attack before the film's release. He went through hell, paving the way so that the likes of Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington could become screen icons, while he was forgotten.)

In Patton's brutality, in his talk of never giving up an inch of land (Hitler said the very same thing.), in his contempt for civilian authority, in his joy at killing, he comes across as a fascist or Nazi, which is how he was often depicted at the time. Amazingly, the movie is able to glorify this man, while maintaining a posture of cold sentimentality towards him. Schaffner loves Patton, but without illusions. Patton wasn't 'larger than life' ' no one is - he WAS life, or at least the martial, intellectual, and aesthetic lives, in all their fullness.

George Patton Jr. had a sense of destiny; his purpose in life was to achieve greatness leading 'desperate men in combat.' And as he observes, only once in a thousand years, do the heavens so align themselves that a soldier has such an opportunity to change history.

Fortunately, in the movie as in life, Patton had humble, ordinary Joe - at least as Bradley tells it - Gen. Omar Bradley (the last five-star, General of the Army, in the history of the U.S. Army) as a counterweight. Bradley is played by Karl Malden with a restraint and self-effacing humor that perfectly contrast Patton/Scott's bravado.

Jerry Goldsmith's score has just the right blend of the elegiac (distant trumpets) and the pompous yet playful (fanfare of horns and flutes), corresponding to the tempers of Patton's personality.

While almost three hours long, Patton does not flag, and could easily have been longer.

The DVD has a lovely documentary on the making of Patton, as well as Jerry Goldsmith's rousing score.

Just as Patton could not savor his success, so too George C. Scott, the rare actor who could carry a film on his shoulders, was unable to build on his success as Patton. But for one moment, he tasted of that perfection that comes when the stars align, and a great role is delivered into the hands of just the right actor at just the right moment in his career. It was George C. Scott's destiny to play Patton.

Originally published in The Critical Critic, September 20, 2003.

Patton is a film that was made in 1970. It's a film that tells the story of one of America's most remembered and most telling characters in history. George C. Scott gives the performance of the century playing George S. Patton, looking and sounding and acting just like the real Patton, as recorded by Gen. Omar Bradley in which the film is based on.

Patton is a very different war movie. It was quite revolutionary in its time. Unlike a lot of war movies that survive off special effects, gore and heroism, Patton shines with its drama and realism as you follow the war-time biography of Patton. You learn a great deal about the politics, the system of the upper brass in our armed forces, and the frustration to coordinate and perform critical opperations. You also learn a great deal about the man, Patton, himself.

There is so much character developing, so much hard work put into the character of Patton, it clearly pays off in a huge way. This film will intrigue you as well as enlighten you. Patton's character is entertaining, he's real, he's distant yet close when it comes to relating, and he can be serious as well as funny. All of this makes Patton a master piece.

There is one little problem I had with the film. And that is I wasn't really pleased with Patton's heroic march through the winter of '44 to save the sieged soldiers. It wasn't very clear and it had little to no action in it, just telling you that they won it. This wasn't satisfactory, and yet it was Patton's highlight of his military career. A major let down, but it wasn't major enough to ruin the film. Thankfully. If it wasn't for the structure of the film, which already lacked action and engagements of battles, this might've ruined it if you are somebody who is interested in detailed history of the occurrences in WWII like me.

Overall Patton is a very powerful, dramatic film that circles around a man and his obsession with being a combat general in the heat of a war. It's a film that you will probably see more than once because it is a very special film.
You cannot get enough Patton, his character will live on because it comes across so powerfully in this film. It is a character and a story you are unlikely to forget.

"Patton" offers one of the great marriages of actor and role with George C. Scott's riveting portrayal of the notorious American tank commander. As a film biography "Patton" forgoes the rise of the celebrated general and merely hints at his ironic death because of injuries suffered in a traffic accident, focuses entirely on his military career commanding troops in North Africa, Sicily and France during World War II. The strength of the script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, as well as of Scott's performance, is that the paradoxes of Patton are completely embraced. Not even Patton's loyal cadre of staff officers can keep him from shooting off his mouth every time there are reporters around, but then neither German Field Marshall Rommel or English Field Marshall Montgomery can beat him on the battlefield. Karl Malden's performance as General Omar Bradley is just as solid as Scott's, presenting a man whose personality is the complete antithesis of Patton. Viewers find themselves identifying with the German captain who is the intelligence expert on Patton and arguably the only person in the film who really understands or respects the American general. But the more I watch "Patton," the more I am very impressed with the battle sequences of director Franklin J. Schaffner ("Planet of the Apes," "Pappillon"), which were staged live and full-scale without special effects of miniatures. Schaffner provides not just the large spectacle of a desert tank battle, but smaller and equally memorable moments, such as a soldier falling dead in the snow. "Patton" deserved its Oscars.

In terms of extra features on this DVD, the second disc features the 1997 50-minute retrospective documentary, "The Making of Patton: A Tribute to Franklin J. Schaffner." Recent interviews with the cinematographer, composer, etc., are blended with audio interviews of Schaffner and Scott from 1970, newsreel footage of Patton, along with clips and publicity stills from the film make a fitting tribute to the late director. The audio commentary on the first disc is really more of a lecture on Patton by Charles M. Province, the author of the book "The Unknown Patton" and founder/president of the General George S. Patton, Jr. Historical Society. Province more than adequately fills in what the movie leaves out about Patton's life. On the second disc Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar nominated musical score is presented in stereo, including alternate takes and a series of radio spots. You certainly have to appreciate what Fox has put together here: This is a "Special Edition" DVD priced as a regular DVD, a real treat for those of us who remember being mesmerized by George C. Scott giving that profanity laced opening speech standing in front of that giant American flag.

'Das Geheimnis Pattons ist die Vergangenheit,' says a captain in the German high command. 'Patton's secret is the past.' The secret of the man and the movie.

From the moment Patton opens, you know this will be like no other war movie. Standing before the biggest American flag I've ever seen, General George S. Patton Jr. wears a highly buffed, black helmet and a uniform suggesting the 18th or 19th century, weighed down with medals domestic and foreign, bearing not one but two ivory-handled revolvers, and holding a riding crop. As a bugler plays 'To the Colors," the camera focuses on each feature in turn. And then Scott lets loose with the picture's famous monologue (an edited version of a speech he actually gave to American troops in England on the eve of D-Day).

'Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country'.'

Atten ' tion!

Consider the time. In 1969, when Patton was made, America was mired in an unpopular war in Vietnam, the draft was just about to be ended, and America was preparing to pull her fighting men out of the first military defeat in her history. Many who supported the war effort, felt the military had been sabotaged by the media. And here was this spirit from the past, saying that 'Americans love to fight,' and 'will not tolerate a loser'!

Early in Patton, we hear the sound of distant trumpets, as in 1943, the general surveys the ancient battlefield where Carthage (modern name, Tunis, in Tunisia) was burnt to the ground by the Romans in 146 B.C.

Patton is standing near the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, where over 1,000 American G.I.s were butchered in their first encounter with the German Wehrmacht, in the form of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. 'I was there,' he tells his assistant. In 146 B.C.

Is he mad or is he teasing? The answer is, a little of both.

He quotes from a lush, romantic poem of the eternal warrior ' he is the poet. An American poet-general? Clearly, we are dealing with a man singular in the annals of 20th century American warfare. 'I hate the 20th century,' the old 'cavalry horse officer' remarks.

He refers to himself as a 'prima donna,' but as director Franklin Schaffner, scenarists Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, and star George C. Scott portray him, 'megalomaniac' is more like it. Before going in to battle, as he stands before his mirror, his Negro soldier-valet carefully placing his begoggled helmet on his head, he more closely resembles a Roman general (or Il Duce) than a modern officer. And in a notorious, true incident, upon encountering a shell-shocked soldier, he slaps the man silly, threatens to shoot him, and is almost cashiered by Ike. But he was our greatest 20th century field commander.

(The valet is played by a trim, youthful-looking, fifty-year-old Jimmy Edwards. Unfortunately, Edwards (Home of the Brave, Bright Victory, The Member of the Wedding, The Manchurian Candidate, etc.), whose career was limited by racism, died of a massive heart attack before the film's release. He went through hell, paving the way so that the likes of Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington could become screen icons, while he was forgotten.)

In Patton's brutality, in his talk of never giving up an inch of land (Hitler said the very same thing.), in his contempt for civilian authority, in his joy at killing, he comes across as a fascist or Nazi, which is how he was often depicted at the time. Amazingly, the movie is able to glorify this man, while maintaining a posture of cold sentimentality towards him. Schaffner loves Patton, but without illusions. Patton wasn't 'larger than life' ' no one is - he WAS life, or at least the martial, intellectual, and aesthetic lives, in all their fullness.

George Patton Jr. had a sense of destiny; his purpose in life was to achieve greatness leading 'desperate men in combat.' And as he observes, only once in a thousand years, do the heavens so align themselves that a soldier has such an opportunity to change history.

Fortunately, in the movie as in life, Patton had humble, ordinary Joe - at least as Bradley tells it - Gen. Omar Bradley (the last five-star, General of the Army, in the history of the U.S. Army) as a counterweight. Bradley is played by Karl Malden with a restraint and self-effacing humor that perfectly contrast Patton/Scott's bravado.

Jerry Goldsmith's score has just the right blend of the elegiac (distant trumpets) and the pompous yet playful (fanfare of horns and flutes), corresponding to the tempers of Patton's personality.

While almost three hours long, Patton does not flag, and could easily have been longer.

The DVD has a lovely documentary on the making of Patton, as well as Jerry Goldsmith's rousing score.

Just as Patton could not savor his success, so too George C. Scott, the rare actor who could carry a film on his shoulders, was unable to build on his success as Patton. But for one moment, he tasted of that perfection that comes when the stars align, and a great role is delivered into the hands of just the right actor at just the right moment in his career. It was George C. Scott's destiny to play Patton.

Originally published in The Critical Critic, September 20, 2003.

Patton is a film that was made in 1970. It's a film that tells the story of one of America's most remembered and most telling characters in history. George C. Scott gives the performance of the century playing George S. Patton, looking and sounding and acting just like the real Patton, as recorded by Gen. Omar Bradley in which the film is based on.

Patton is a very different war movie. It was quite revolutionary in its time. Unlike a lot of war movies that survive off special effects, gore and heroism, Patton shines with its drama and realism as you follow the war-time biography of Patton. You learn a great deal about the politics, the system of the upper brass in our armed forces, and the frustration to coordinate and perform critical opperations. You also learn a great deal about the man, Patton, himself.

There is so much character developing, so much hard work put into the character of Patton, it clearly pays off in a huge way. This film will intrigue you as well as enlighten you. Patton's character is entertaining, he's real, he's distant yet close when it comes to relating, and he can be serious as well as funny. All of this makes Patton a master piece.

There is one little problem I had with the film. And that is I wasn't really pleased with Patton's heroic march through the winter of '44 to save the sieged soldiers. It wasn't very clear and it had little to no action in it, just telling you that they won it. This wasn't satisfactory, and yet it was Patton's highlight of his military career. A major let down, but it wasn't major enough to ruin the film. Thankfully. If it wasn't for the structure of the film, which already lacked action and engagements of battles, this might've ruined it if you are somebody who is interested in detailed history of the occurrences in WWII like me.

Overall Patton is a very powerful, dramatic film that circles around a man and his obsession with being a combat general in the heat of a war. It's a film that you will probably see more than once because it is a very special film.
You cannot get enough Patton, his character will live on because it comes across so powerfully in this film. It is a character and a story you are unlikely to forget.

"Patton" offers one of the great marriages of actor and role with George C. Scott's riveting portrayal of the notorious American tank commander. As a film biography "Patton" forgoes the rise of the celebrated general and merely hints at his ironic death because of injuries suffered in a traffic accident, focuses entirely on his military career commanding troops in North Africa, Sicily and France during World War II. The strength of the script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, as well as of Scott's performance, is that the paradoxes of Patton are completely embraced. Not even Patton's loyal cadre of staff officers can keep him from shooting off his mouth every time there are reporters around, but then neither German Field Marshall Rommel or English Field Marshall Montgomery can beat him on the battlefield. Karl Malden's performance as General Omar Bradley is just as solid as Scott's, presenting a man whose personality is the complete antithesis of Patton. Viewers find themselves identifying with the German captain who is the intelligence expert on Patton and arguably the only person in the film who really understands or respects the American general. But the more I watch "Patton," the more I am very impressed with the battle sequences of director Franklin J. Schaffner ("Planet of the Apes," "Pappillon"), which were staged live and full-scale without special effects of miniatures. Schaffner provides not just the large spectacle of a desert tank battle, but smaller and equally memorable moments, such as a soldier falling dead in the snow. "Patton" deserved its Oscars.

In terms of extra features on this DVD, the second disc features the 1997 50-minute retrospective documentary, "The Making of Patton: A Tribute to Franklin J. Schaffner." Recent interviews with the cinematographer, composer, etc., are blended with audio interviews of Schaffner and Scott from 1970, newsreel footage of Patton, along with clips and publicity stills from the film make a fitting tribute to the late director. The audio commentary on the first disc is really more of a lecture on Patton by Charles M. Province, the author of the book "The Unknown Patton" and founder/president of the General George S. Patton, Jr. Historical Society. Province more than adequately fills in what the movie leaves out about Patton's life. On the second disc Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar nominated musical score is presented in stereo, including alternate takes and a series of radio spots. You certainly have to appreciate what Fox has put together here: This is a "Special Edition" DVD priced as a regular DVD, a real treat for those of us who remember being mesmerized by George C. Scott giving that profanity laced opening speech standing in front of that giant American flag.

'Das Geheimnis Pattons ist die Vergangenheit,' says a captain in the German high command. 'Patton's secret is the past.' The secret of the man and the movie.

From the moment Patton opens, you know this will be like no other war movie. Standing before the biggest American flag I've ever seen, General George S. Patton Jr. wears a highly buffed, black helmet and a uniform suggesting the 18th or 19th century, weighed down with medals domestic and foreign, bearing not one but two ivory-handled revolvers, and holding a riding crop. As a bugler plays 'To the Colors," the camera focuses on each feature in turn. And then Scott lets loose with the picture's famous monologue (an edited version of a speech he actually gave to American troops in England on the eve of D-Day).

'Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country'.'

Atten ' tion!

Consider the time. In 1969, when Patton was made, America was mired in an unpopular war in Vietnam, the draft was just about to be ended, and America was preparing to pull her fighting men out of the first military defeat in her history. Many who supported the war effort, felt the military had been sabotaged by the media. And here was this spirit from the past, saying that 'Americans love to fight,' and 'will not tolerate a loser'!

Early in Patton, we hear the sound of distant trumpets, as in 1943, the general surveys the ancient battlefield where Carthage (modern name, Tunis, in Tunisia) was burnt to the ground by the Romans in 146 B.C.

Patton is standing near the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, where over 1,000 American G.I.s were butchered in their first encounter with the German Wehrmacht, in the form of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. 'I was there,' he tells his assistant. In 146 B.C.

Is he mad or is he teasing? The answer is, a little of both.

He quotes from a lush, romantic poem of the eternal warrior ' he is the poet. An American poet-general? Clearly, we are dealing with a man singular in the annals of 20th century American warfare. 'I hate the 20th century,' the old 'cavalry horse officer' remarks.

He refers to himself as a 'prima donna,' but as director Franklin Schaffner, scenarists Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, and star George C. Scott portray him, 'megalomaniac' is more like it. Before going in to battle, as he stands before his mirror, his Negro soldier-valet carefully placing his begoggled helmet on his head, he more closely resembles a Roman general (or Il Duce) than a modern officer. And in a notorious, true incident, upon encountering a shell-shocked soldier, he slaps the man silly, threatens to shoot him, and is almost cashiered by Ike. But he was our greatest 20th century field commander.

(The valet is played by a trim, youthful-looking, fifty-year-old Jimmy Edwards. Unfortunately, Edwards (Home of the Brave, Bright Victory, The Member of the Wedding, The Manchurian Candidate, etc.), whose career was limited by racism, died of a massive heart attack before the film's release. He went through hell, paving the way so that the likes of Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington could become screen icons, while he was forgotten.)

In Patton's brutality, in his talk of never giving up an inch of land (Hitler said the very same thing.), in his contempt for civilian authority, in his joy at killing, he comes across as a fascist or Nazi, which is how he was often depicted at the time. Amazingly, the movie is able to glorify this man, while maintaining a posture of cold sentimentality towards him. Schaffner loves Patton, but without illusions. Patton wasn't 'larger than life' ' no one is - he WAS life, or at least the martial, intellectual, and aesthetic lives, in all their fullness.

George Patton Jr. had a sense of destiny; his purpose in life was to achieve greatness leading 'desperate men in combat.' And as he observes, only once in a thousand years, do the heavens so align themselves that a soldier has such an opportunity to change history.

Fortunately, in the movie as in life, Patton had humble, ordinary Joe - at least as Bradley tells it - Gen. Omar Bradley (the last five-star, General of the Army, in the history of the U.S. Army) as a counterweight. Bradley is played by Karl Malden with a restraint and self-effacing humor that perfectly contrast Patton/Scott's bravado.

Jerry Goldsmith's score has just the right blend of the elegiac (distant trumpets) and the pompous yet playful (fanfare of horns and flutes), corresponding to the tempers of Patton's personality.

While almost three hours long, Patton does not flag, and could easily have been longer.

The DVD has a lovely documentary on the making of Patton, as well as Jerry Goldsmith's rousing score.

Just as Patton could not savor his success, so too George C. Scott, the rare actor who could carry a film on his shoulders, was unable to build on his success as Patton. But for one moment, he tasted of that perfection that comes when the stars align, and a great role is delivered into the hands of just the right actor at just the right moment in his career. It was George C. Scott's destiny to play Patton.

Originally published in The Critical Critic, September 20, 2003.

Patton is a film that was made in 1970. It's a film that tells the story of one of America's most remembered and most telling characters in history. George C. Scott gives the performance of the century playing George S. Patton, looking and sounding and acting just like the real Patton, as recorded by Gen. Omar Bradley in which the film is based on.

Patton is a very different war movie. It was quite revolutionary in its time. Unlike a lot of war movies that survive off special effects, gore and heroism, Patton shines with its drama and realism as you follow the war-time biography of Patton. You learn a great deal about the politics, the system of the upper brass in our armed forces, and the frustration to coordinate and perform critical opperations. You also learn a great deal about the man, Patton, himself.

There is so much character developing, so much hard work put into the character of Patton, it clearly pays off in a huge way. This film will intrigue you as well as enlighten you. Patton's character is entertaining, he's real, he's distant yet close when it comes to relating, and he can be serious as well as funny. All of this makes Patton a master piece.

There is one little problem I had with the film. And that is I wasn't really pleased with Patton's heroic march through the winter of '44 to save the sieged soldiers. It wasn't very clear and it had little to no action in it, just telling you that they won it. This wasn't satisfactory, and yet it was Patton's highlight of his military career. A major let down, but it wasn't major enough to ruin the film. Thankfully. If it wasn't for the structure of the film, which already lacked action and engagements of battles, this might've ruined it if you are somebody who is interested in detailed history of the occurrences in WWII like me.

Overall Patton is a very powerful, dramatic film that circles around a man and his obsession with being a combat general in the heat of a war. It's a film that you will probably see more than once because it is a very special film.
You cannot get enough Patton, his character will live on because it comes across so powerfully in this film. It is a character and a story you are unlikely to forget.

"Patton" offers one of the great marriages of actor and role with George C. Scott's riveting portrayal of the notorious American tank commander. As a film biography "Patton" forgoes the rise of the celebrated general and merely hints at his ironic death because of injuries suffered in a traffic accident, focuses entirely on his military career commanding troops in North Africa, Sicily and France during World War II. The strength of the script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, as well as of Scott's performance, is that the paradoxes of Patton are completely embraced. Not even Patton's loyal cadre of staff officers can keep him from shooting off his mouth every time there are reporters around, but then neither German Field Marshall Rommel or English Field Marshall Montgomery can beat him on the battlefield. Karl Malden's performance as General Omar Bradley is just as solid as Scott's, presenting a man whose personality is the complete antithesis of Patton. Viewers find themselves identifying with the German captain who is the intelligence expert on Patton and arguably the only person in the film who really understands or respects the American general. But the more I watch "Patton," the more I am very impressed with the battle sequences of director Franklin J. Schaffner ("Planet of the Apes," "Pappillon"), which were staged live and full-scale without special effects of miniatures. Schaffner provides not just the large spectacle of a desert tank battle, but smaller and equally memorable moments, such as a soldier falling dead in the snow. "Patton" deserved its Oscars.

In terms of extra features on this DVD, the second disc features the 1997 50-minute retrospective documentary, "The Making of Patton: A Tribute to Franklin J. Schaffner." Recent interviews with the cinematographer, composer, etc., are blended with audio interviews of Schaffner and Scott from 1970, newsreel footage of Patton, along with clips and publicity stills from the film make a fitting tribute to the late director. The audio commentary on the first disc is really more of a lecture on Patton by Charles M. Province, the author of the book "The Unknown Patton" and founder/president of the General George S. Patton, Jr. Historical Society. Province more than adequately fills in what the movie leaves out about Patton's life. On the second disc Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar nominated musical score is presented in stereo, including alternate takes and a series of radio spots. You certainly have to appreciate what Fox has put together here: This is a "Special Edition" DVD priced as a regular DVD, a real treat for those of us who remember being mesmerized by George C. Scott giving that profanity laced opening speech standing in front of that giant American flag.

'Das Geheimnis Pattons ist die Vergangenheit,' says a captain in the German high command. 'Patton's secret is the past.' The secret of the man and the movie.

From the moment Patton opens, you know this will be like no other war movie. Standing before the biggest American flag I've ever seen, General George S. Patton Jr. wears a highly buffed, black helmet and a uniform suggesting the 18th or 19th century, weighed down with medals domestic and foreign, bearing not one but two ivory-handled revolvers, and holding a riding crop. As a bugler plays 'To the Colors," the camera focuses on each feature in turn. And then Scott lets loose with the picture's famous monologue (an edited version of a speech he actually gave to American troops in England on the eve of D-Day).

'Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country'.'

Atten ' tion!

Consider the time. In 1969, when Patton was made, America was mired in an unpopular war in Vietnam, the draft was just about to be ended, and America was preparing to pull her fighting men out of the first military defeat in her history. Many who supported the war effort, felt the military had been sabotaged by the media. And here was this spirit from the past, saying that 'Americans love to fight,' and 'will not tolerate a loser'!

Early in Patton, we hear the sound of distant trumpets, as in 1943, the general surveys the ancient battlefield where Carthage (modern name, Tunis, in Tunisia) was burnt to the ground by the Romans in 146 B.C.

Patton is standing near the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, where over 1,000 American G.I.s were butchered in their first encounter with the German Wehrmacht, in the form of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. 'I was there,' he tells his assistant. In 146 B.C.

Is he mad or is he teasing? The answer is, a little of both.

He quotes from a lush, romantic poem of the eternal warrior ' he is the poet. An American poet-general? Clearly, we are dealing with a man singular in the annals of 20th century American warfare. 'I hate the 20th century,' the old 'cavalry horse officer' remarks.

He refers to himself as a 'prima donna,' but as director Franklin Schaffner, scenarists Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, and star George C. Scott portray him, 'megalomaniac' is more like it. Before going in to battle, as he stands before his mirror, his Negro soldier-valet carefully placing his begoggled helmet on his head, he more closely resembles a Roman general (or Il Duce) than a modern officer. And in a notorious, true incident, upon encountering a shell-shocked soldier, he slaps the man silly, threatens to shoot him, and is almost cashiered by Ike. But he was our greatest 20th century field commander.

(The valet is played by a trim, youthful-looking, fifty-year-old Jimmy Edwards. Unfortunately, Edwards (Home of the Brave, Bright Victory, The Member of the Wedding, The Manchurian Candidate, etc.), whose career was limited by racism, died of a massive heart attack before the film's release. He went through hell, paving the way so that the likes of Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington could become screen icons, while he was forgotten.)

In Patton's brutality, in his talk of never giving up an inch of land (Hitler said the very same thing.), in his contempt for civilian authority, in his joy at killing, he comes across as a fascist or Nazi, which is how he was often depicted at the time. Amazingly, the movie is able to glorify this man, while maintaining a posture of cold sentimentality towards him. Schaffner loves Patton, but without illusions. Patton wasn't 'larger than life' ' no one is - he WAS life, or at least the martial, intellectual, and aesthetic lives, in all their fullness.

George Patton Jr. had a sense of destiny; his purpose in life was to achieve greatness leading 'desperate men in combat.' And as he observes, only once in a thousand years, do the heavens so align themselves that a soldier has such an opportunity to change history.

Fortunately, in the movie as in life, Patton had humble, ordinary Joe - at least as Bradley tells it - Gen. Omar Bradley (the last five-star, General of the Army, in the history of the U.S. Army) as a counterweight. Bradley is played by Karl Malden with a restraint and self-effacing humor that perfectly contrast Patton/Scott's bravado.

Jerry Goldsmith's score has just the right blend of the elegiac (distant trumpets) and the pompous yet playful (fanfare of horns and flutes), corresponding to the tempers of Patton's personality.

While almost three hours long, Patton does not flag, and could easily have been longer.

The DVD has a lovely documentary on the making of Patton, as well as Jerry Goldsmith's rousing score.

Just as Patton could not savor his success, so too George C. Scott, the rare actor who could carry a film on his shoulders, was unable to build on his success as Patton. But for one moment, he tasted of that perfection that comes when the stars align, and a great role is delivered into the hands of just the right actor at just the right moment in his career. It was George C. Scott's destiny to play Patton.

Originally published in The Critical Critic, September 20, 2003.

Patton is a film that was made in 1970. It's a film that tells the story of one of America's most remembered and most telling characters in history. George C. Scott gives the performance of the century playing George S. Patton, looking and sounding and acting just like the real Patton, as recorded by Gen. Omar Bradley in which the film is based on.

Patton is a very different war movie. It was quite revolutionary in its time. Unlike a lot of war movies that survive off special effects, gore and heroism, Patton shines with its drama and realism as you follow the war-time biography of Patton. You learn a great deal about the politics, the system of the upper brass in our armed forces, and the frustration to coordinate and perform critical opperations. You also learn a great deal about the man, Patton, himself.

There is so much character developing, so much hard work put into the character of Patton, it clearly pays off in a huge way. This film will intrigue you as well as enlighten you. Patton's character is entertaining, he's real, he's distant yet close when it comes to relating, and he can be serious as well as funny. All of this makes Patton a master piece.

There is one little problem I had with the film. And that is I wasn't really pleased with Patton's heroic march through the winter of '44 to save the sieged soldiers. It wasn't very clear and it had little to no action in it, just telling you that they won it. This wasn't satisfactory, and yet it was Patton's highlight of his military career. A major let down, but it wasn't major enough to ruin the film. Thankfully. If it wasn't for the structure of the film, which already lacked action and engagements of battles, this might've ruined it if you are somebody who is interested in detailed history of the occurrences in WWII like me.

Overall Patton is a very powerful, dramatic film that circles around a man and his obsession with being a combat general in the heat of a war. It's a film that you will probably see more than once because it is a very special film.
You cannot get enough Patton, his character will live on because it comes across so powerfully in this film. It is a character and a story you are unlikely to forget.

"Patton" offers one of the great marriages of actor and role with George C. Scott's riveting portrayal of the notorious American tank commander. As a film biography "Patton" forgoes the rise of the celebrated general and merely hints at his ironic death because of injuries suffered in a traffic accident, focuses entirely on his military career commanding troops in North Africa, Sicily and France during World War II. The strength of the script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, as well as of Scott's performance, is that the paradoxes of Patton are completely embraced. Not even Patton's loyal cadre of staff officers can keep him from shooting off his mouth every time there are reporters around, but then neither German Field Marshall Rommel or English Field Marshall Montgomery can beat him on the battlefield. Karl Malden's performance as General Omar Bradley is just as solid as Scott's, presenting a man whose personality is the complete antithesis of Patton. Viewers find themselves identifying with the German captain who is the intelligence expert on Patton and arguably the only person in the film who really understands or respects the American general. But the more I watch "Patton," the more I am very impressed with the battle sequences of director Franklin J. Schaffner ("Planet of the Apes," "Pappillon"), which were staged live and full-scale without special effects of miniatures. Schaffner provides not just the large spectacle of a desert tank battle, but smaller and equally memorable moments, such as a soldier falling dead in the snow. "Patton" deserved its Oscars.

In terms of extra features on this DVD, the second disc features the 1997 50-minute retrospective documentary, "The Making of Patton: A Tribute to Franklin J. Schaffner." Recent interviews with the cinematographer, composer, etc., are blended with audio interviews of Schaffner and Scott from 1970, newsreel footage of Patton, along with clips and publicity stills from the film make a fitting tribute to the late director. The audio commentary on the first disc is really more of a lecture on Patton by Charles M. Province, the author of the book "The Unknown Patton" and founder/president of the General George S. Patton, Jr. Historical Society. Province more than adequately fills in what the movie leaves out about Patton's life. On the second disc Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar nominated musical score is presented in stereo, including alternate takes and a series of radio spots. You certainly have to appreciate what Fox has put together here: This is a "Special Edition" DVD priced as a regular DVD, a real treat for those of us who remember being mesmerized by George C. Scott giving that profanity laced opening speech standing in front of that giant American flag.

'Das Geheimnis Pattons ist die Vergangenheit,' says a captain in the German high command. 'Patton's secret is the past.' The secret of the man and the movie.

From the moment Patton opens, you know this will be like no other war movie. Standing before the biggest American flag I've ever seen, General George S. Patton Jr. wears a highly buffed, black helmet and a uniform suggesting the 18th or 19th century, weighed down with medals domestic and foreign, bearing not one but two ivory-handled revolvers, and holding a riding crop. As a bugler plays 'To the Colors," the camera focuses on each feature in turn. And then Scott lets loose with the picture's famous monologue (an edited version of a speech he actually gave to American troops in England on the eve of D-Day).

'Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country'.'

Atten ' tion!

Consider the time. In 1969, when Patton was made, America was mired in an unpopular war in Vietnam, the draft was just about to be ended, and America was preparing to pull her fighting men out of the first military defeat in her history. Many who supported the war effort, felt the military had been sabotaged by the media. And here was this spirit from the past, saying that 'Americans love to fight,' and 'will not tolerate a loser'!

Early in Patton, we hear the sound of distant trumpets, as in 1943, the general surveys the ancient battlefield where Carthage (modern name, Tunis, in Tunisia) was burnt to the ground by the Romans in 146 B.C.

Patton is standing near the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, where over 1,000 American G.I.s were butchered in their first encounter with the German Wehrmacht, in the form of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. 'I was there,' he tells his assistant. In 146 B.C.

Is he mad or is he teasing? The answer is, a little of both.

He quotes from a lush, romantic poem of the eternal warrior ' he is the poet. An American poet-general? Clearly, we are dealing with a man singular in the annals of 20th century American warfare. 'I hate the 20th century,' the old 'cavalry horse officer' remarks.

He refers to himself as a 'prima donna,' but as director Franklin Schaffner, scenarists Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, and star George C. Scott portray him, 'megalomaniac' is more like it. Before going in to battle, as he stands before his mirror, his Negro soldier-valet carefully placing his begoggled helmet on his head, he more closely resembles a Roman general (or Il Duce) than a modern officer. And in a notorious, true incident, upon encountering a shell-shocked soldier, he slaps the man silly, threatens to shoot him, and is almost cashiered by Ike. But he was our greatest 20th century field commander.

(The valet is played by a trim, youthful-looking, fifty-year-old Jimmy Edwards. Unfortunately, Edwards (Home of the Brave, Bright Victory, The Member of the Wedding, The Manchurian Candidate, etc.), whose career was limited by racism, died of a massive heart attack before the film's release. He went through hell, paving the way so that the likes of Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington could become screen icons, while he was forgotten.)

In Patton's brutality, in his talk of never giving up an inch of land (Hitler said the very same thing.), in his contempt for civilian authority, in his joy at killing, he comes across as a fascist or Nazi, which is how he was often depicted at the time. Amazingly, the movie is able to glorify this man, while maintaining a posture of cold sentimentality towards him. Schaffner loves Patton, but without illusions. Patton wasn't 'larger than life' ' no one is - he WAS life, or at least the martial, intellectual, and aesthetic lives, in all their fullness.

George Patton Jr. had a sense of destiny; his purpose in life was to achieve greatness leading 'desperate men in combat.' And as he observes, only once in a thousand years, do the heavens so align themselves that a soldier has such an opportunity to change history.

Fortunately, in the movie as in life, Patton had humble, ordinary Joe - at least as Bradley tells it - Gen. Omar Bradley (the last five-star, General of the Army, in the history of the U.S. Army) as a counterweight. Bradley is played by Karl Malden with a restraint and self-effacing humor that perfectly contrast Patton/Scott's bravado.

Jerry Goldsmith's score has just the right blend of the elegiac (distant trumpets) and the pompous yet playful (fanfare of horns and flutes), corresponding to the tempers of Patton's personality.

While almost three hours long, Patton does not flag, and could easily have been longer.

The DVD has a lovely documentary on the making of Patton, as well as Jerry Goldsmith's rousing score.

Just as Patton could not savor his success, so too George C. Scott, the rare actor who could carry a film on his shoulders, was unable to build on his success as Patton. But for one moment, he tasted of that perfection that comes when the stars align, and a great role is delivered into the hands of just the right actor at just the right moment in his career. It was George C. Scott's destiny to play Patton.

Originally published in The Critical Critic, September 20, 2003.

My husband caught this on cable late one night and laughed his ... off telling about it the next day. He could barely discribe the "Kill whitey meeting" scene. It sounded so funny that I went out and rented it and I was on the floor the whole time. The only people who wouldn't like this are people who take things too seriously or people who can't get past the main character is white. I did and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I recommend it wholeheartedly. I will be a one woman ad campaign and tell all my peeps about this one. How come no one knows about this movie?

I first saw this movie when I was in bed getting ready to fall asleep when i turned to this movie a little past 15 minutes after the start. But from then, I never stopped laughing. It was funny as hell. Then I had to see it again so I went out and rented it, but it wasn't as funny as the first time, maybe cause I wasn't tired, but no matter what, this is one of the funniest movies of all time. ONly problem is I can't find it anywhere except online. But this one will be in my DVD collection.

If you dig family guy, the simpsons, duckman and the scary movie series you'll love this movie. Part Friday, part Boys in the Hood, Part Sanford and Son, part PCU. This a great flick very underrated. I laughted from begining to end.

My husband caught this on cable late one night and laughed his ... off telling about it the next day. He could barely discribe the "Kill whitey meeting" scene. It sounded so funny that I went out and rented it and I was on the floor the whole time. The only people who wouldn't like this are people who take things too seriously or people who can't get past the main character is white. I did and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I recommend it wholeheartedly. I will be a one woman ad campaign and tell all my peeps about this one. How come no one knows about this movie?

I first saw this movie when I was in bed getting ready to fall asleep when i turned to this movie a little past 15 minutes after the start. But from then, I never stopped laughing. It was funny as hell. Then I had to see it again so I went out and rented it, but it wasn't as funny as the first time, maybe cause I wasn't tired, but no matter what, this is one of the funniest movies of all time. ONly problem is I can't find it anywhere except online. But this one will be in my DVD collection.

If you dig family guy, the simpsons, duckman and the scary movie series you'll love this movie. Part Friday, part Boys in the Hood, Part Sanford and Son, part PCU. This a great flick very underrated. I laughted from begining to end.

"The Rescuers Down Under" is Disney's first sequel [released theatrically] to an animated feature, and it is very decent. The animation looks and feels spectacular, with considerable computer-animation thrown in. In fact, the animation in this movie looks better than in the first one. The movie also introduces some new characters, while keeping Miss Bianca and Bernard from the first movie. My favorite sequence in this movie is when the eagle flies with Cody in the clouds. That scene is stunning, enhanced by the uplifting music by Bruce Broughton, who did the score to "Silverado". I think the original "Rescuers" film is better in terms of character development. The second film has better animation as I mentioned, and the villain McLeach is voiced with zest by the late, great George C. Scott. I like both "Rescuers" movies a lot, but I find the first one better because of the story and memorable characters.

This movie has a wonderful message about friendship and how precious every life is, be it human or animal. The film has everything going for it; great animation, wonderful background music, and a story that combines humor and high drama. The story is about how an Australian boy named Cody comes to the aid of a beautiful eagle, that was illegally trapped by a poacher named McLeach (George C. Scott), only to find himself later kidnapped by McLeach. Woodland creatures send for help via an elaborate telegraph to a couple of UN delegate mice, named Miss Bianca (Eva Gabor) and Bernard (Bob Newhart) in NYC. Bianca and Bernard enlist the services of a hilarious albatross named Wilbur (John Candy) and set off across the atlantic to...well, rescue Cody. The story even has a little romance between Miss Bianca and Bernard thrown in for good measure. The highlight of the film for me actually comes early. After Cody releases the eagle from the trap, he nearly falls to his death only to be swooped up and taken for the ride of his life by the grateful eagle. Believe me, everytime I view this sequence I get teary eyed. A beautiful film, one of Disney's best!

This is a forgotten Disney film, of its modern era...in the sense that it's not as "remembered" as others, like Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, et cetera...but it's a wonderful adventure, brimming with action, romance...and everything else. The animation is beautiful (flying with the great golden eagle, the Australian Outback), and it moves at a brisk pace (but never feels empty). The two mice, Bernard and Miss Bianca, are back from the original Rescuers, but I think this one is better. If you love Disney (or animation), this is a charming film.

Preminger's 'Anatomy of a Murder' has stood the test of time. The black and white cinematography remains superb; Ellington's score a reminder of how film music has lost atmosphere and style, and the direction completely engaging and focusing. James Stewart, stalwart as ever, convinces as the humane and vulnerable attorney, and Lee Remick shines as the teasing, taunting rape-victim-or-not -- a fabulous portrait of complexity and range. George C Scott has the Mount-Rushmore grandeur of a figurehead of legal absolutness, and Eve Arden comments sagely in her secretarial capacity. At 160 minutes, you might think it's a long haul. In fact it's a centred journey into stylistic, haunting movie-making. Very engaging. END

Otto Preminger's Anatomy Of A Murder was considered very controversial at the time of its release in 1959. The story revolves around a small town lawyer (Jimmy Stewart) defending a young soldier (Ben Gazzara) who is accused of murder. The defense lies n the fact that Mr. Stewart is trying to prove justifiable homicide as he was reacting to the raping of his wife (Lee Remick). The subject of rape had never been so openly discussed on film before. The use of the word panties was considered quite risqué at the time. While today this sort of stuff appears on public television and seems quite tame, if you put yourself back into that more conservative time, you can see the movie is quite steamy. Aside from the controversy, it is an excellent court room drama with Mr. Stewart at his everyman best. A young George C. Scott is brash and cocky as the big city lawyer who locks horns with Mr. Stewart, Mr. Gazzara is cool and menacing in his role, Ms. Remick plays the classic femme fatale and Eve Arden plays Mr. Stewart's secretary with wisecracking charm. Anatomy Of A Murder is compelling and the ending will not disappoint.

Otto Preminger is probably one of the least understood and under appreciated directors from the 1940's -1960's, but truth be known he was responsible for some of the most interesting, popular and well made movies from this era: Anatomy of a Murder, Carmen Jones, The Man with the Golden Arm, Laura, Advise and Consent. He was one of the few directors that could handle serious subject matter with style and grace without becoming preachy and maudlin.
"Anatomy of a Murder" is one of his best: perfect, spot-on casting, eloquent screenplay, truthful performances, and gorgeous black and white photography. Jimmy Stewart, who seemed to be able to realistically portray anyone from any era and social status, plays a small town lawyer hired to defend a soldier, Ben Gazarra for murdering a man accused of raping his wife, Lee Remick. Gazzara and Remick are first rate but it is a non-actor, real judge Joseph N. Welch who almost steals the movie away from all three principals, which only proves that Preminger was a smart cookie...a smart cookie, indeed.