Braveheart **** (1995, Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan) – Classic Movie Review 1138

Director Mel Gibson’s boisterous, robust, gory 1995 Scottish historical action adventure triumph won five Oscars, including best picture, director, cinematography, makeup and sound effects editing, and proved one of his biggest successes.

As star performer, Gibson has a dodgy accent as the dogged, warlike 13th-century Scottish warrior rebel William Wallace, who leads a Scots challenge to the vile King Edward I of England, Longshanks (Patrick McGoohan, excellent), in the First War of Scottish Independence.

The tough, realistic, exciting battle scenes are Braveheart’s main virtue, especially the ferocious depiction of the Battle of Stirling Bridge. It is also acted very lustily and looks a treat thanks to John Toll’s cinematography, Charles Knode’s costumes and Thomas E. Sanders’s Production Design.

But Randall Wallace’s shamelessly English-bashing screenplay does strike only one note, have just a single, simple theme in fighting for what you believe in, and go on a bit, though. And it’s a shame that you can’t trust it for the truth, as it’s one of the most historically inaccurate of Hollywood film versions of British history.

James Horner’s score is one of his best works and became one of the most commercially successful film soundtracks of all time. There were five other Oscar nominations: for Best costume design, film editing, music, sound and original screenplay. The film grossed $210million.

The crew spent six weeks shooting on location in Scotland but the major battle scenes were shot in Ireland using members of the Irish Army Reserve as extras. To lower costs, the same extras portrayed both armies. The reservists, up to 1,600 in some scenes, were given permission to grow beards and swapped their drab uniforms for medieval garb.

Scots comedian Billy Connolly acclaimed Braveheart as ‘a great piece of work’. Wallace acknowledged Blind Harry’s 15th century epic poem The Acts and Deeds of Sir William Wallace, Knight of Elderslie as a major inspiration for the film.

It was attacked for its Anglophobia and xenophobia, but undeterred Gibson went on to do more historical English-bashing in his 2000 film The Patriot.

James Horner went on to win two Oscars for Titanic’s original score and song, and died tragically in a plane crash on 22 June 2015, aged 61.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1138

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com

In 1997, a 12-ton sandstone statue depicting Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Braveheart was placed in the car park of the Wallace Monument near Stirling, Scotland. It’s the work of Tom Church, a monumental mason from Brechin.  It was vandalised and described as ‘among the most loathed pieces of public art in Scotland’. In 2008, it was returned to Tom Church to make room for a new visitor centre being built at the foot of the Wallace Monument.