Wuchak RELEASED IN 1970 and directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, "Patton" stars George C. Scott as the charismatic general during his WWII campaigns in North Africa and Sicily, as well as France & Germany following the Normandy invasion. After the invasion of Sicily, Patton was reprimanded for slapping a cowardly soldier suffering battle fatigue (in real life it was two soldiers on separate occasions in the course of eight days in August, 1943). The fiery general was removed from command for eleven months while his junior in age and rank, Omar Bradley (Karl Malden), was selected to command the First United States Army for the invasion of Normandy.Meanwhile, Patton was assigned to London as a decoy to deceive the Germans in a sham operation called Fortitude. The ruse was successful because the German High Command respected Patton more than any other Allied commander and deemed him crucial to any plan to invade mainland Europe. Immediately following the successful invasion, he was put in command of the Third Army in the final Allied thrust against Germany where the headstrong general, once again, proved his mettle as his forces favored speed and aggressive offensive action.Patton was an interesting character who maintained a flashy larger-than-life image in order to encourage his troops; and he didn't hesitate to get his hands dirty with them. While other officers tried to blend-in with the troops on the battlefield, Patton brazenly displayed his rank insignia. He was a romantic who valued bravery and tenacity above all. All this is effectively conveyed in this ambitious war flick. It's interesting to observe the North African and European theaters of the war from the standpoint of the Allied generals, mostly Patton and Bradley, rather than the typical perspective of the infantry.THE FILM WAS WRITTEN by Francis Ford Coppola with additional material from Edmund H. North (based on the factual accounts of Ladislas Farago & Omar N. Bradley). It runs 172 minutes and was shot in Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Crete and England, with the opening speech filmed at Bob Hope Patriotic Hall in Los Angeles.GRADE: A-

seeleyal This film is nothing short of a masterpiece. Not your classic war film, it is entirely focused around the rise, fall, and redemption of a well-respected general. We are able to watch the war from both sides as well, through the respective languages (which I believe was a very nice touch). The cinematography is that of a classic war film, put together with some very artistic long takes. Also, it is very naturalistic in the sense that you see the scenes the way that you may see it in real life. Without dramatic shadows, colors, and lighting. The sound is fantastic as well because you are often not distracted by background music. In fact, in most dialogue-heavy scenes the only noise whatsoever is the dialogue, forcing the viewer to take notice of the advancements in plot. Lastly, I admire this film very much because of these elements. For me it is very difficult to watch a war film that is driven so much through the dialogue and "behind-the-scenes" action. However, I found it difficult to turn my eyes from the screen and became wrapped up in Patton's story. This film is a must see for everyone!

jacobs-greenwood "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."Director Franklin Schaffner won the Best Director Oscar on his only nomination for this Best Picture Oscar winner, which brought home four more Oscars including Adapted Screenplay Writing (shared by Francis Ford Coppola). George C. Scott was the first Best Actor to refuse his award for his autobiographical portrayal of the famous General, AFI's #29 hero. Added to the National Film Registry in 2003. #89 on AFI's 100 Greatest Movies list.The film opens with the famous scene of the titled General (Scott) standing before a building sized American flag and giving a speech. It then takes "us" back through the officer's World War II career: his early successes in Africa where he defeats the famous German tank commander ("Rommel, you magnificent bastard. I read your book"), his supposed rivalry with a British Field Marshall ("Monty") as they race for glory retaking Europe back from the Nazis, and even jealousy for fellow American General Omar Bradley (Karl Malden), on who's book "A Soldier's Story" the film is based.It tells of the mutual "love" between the tough officer and his men, as well as the incident which caused him to become a political pawn of the press. Perhaps the only missed beat in the entire film is its weak ending.

Miguel Neto Patton is a great movie War, portrays well the war and its damage, the cast is very good, George C. Scott this great, the cast is very well also, the direction of Franklin J. Schaffner is very good, more the film has problems, I found the slow pace, the film takes a long time, with some is needless dialogues, the battle scenes are very good, the soundtrack is excellent, especially the theme music, the costume is very good, has scenes well strong, as in the opening scene, Patton is a great movie, has great scenes, even me finding the rhythm of slow film, tiring at times, have good performances, a great speech at the beginning of the film and a great soundtrack. Note 8.3