The Patriot (Special Edition)
by Roland Emmerich
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Chris Cooper, Heath Ledger, Jason Isaacs, Joely Richardson, Mel GibsonDirector: Roland Emmerich
Brand: Sony
Producer: Dean Devlin
Producer: Dionne McNeff
Producer: Gary Levinsohn
Producer: Mark Gordon
Producer: Michael Dahan
Producer: Peter Winther
Writer: Robert Rodat
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.35:1
Running Time: 165 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-10-24
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of The Patriot (Special Edition)
Movie Review: yet another history major
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a huge fan of this movie. I am reasonably knowledgeable about the American Revolution, but I certainly make no pretense of being an expert. However, I would like to respond to some of the criticisms that have been made about the film in regards to its historical accuracy. It seems to me that most of the things that are considered controversial are difficult to characterize as being either historically valid or not.
For example, when it comes to the most harrowing moment of the movie, the church burning scene, the producers themselves make no pretense that this actually happened. However, there are endless anecdotes about other acts of unspeakable cruelty. Torture and mutilation seem to have been rather commonplace in this particular theater of the war.Of course, some of these tales may be nothing more than wartime propaganda. I think that the best way to put this in perspective is to recall that the British considered the colonists to be guilty of treason. The British penalty for treason at this time was singularly unpleasant. What Tavington did to the colonists in that church may have been little worse than what they might have endured if they had been arrested for treason and shipped overseas to stand trial. Also, remember that the British used Native Americans during the revolution as allies. People who had the misfortune to fall into their hands as prisoners of war could expect treatment that would make the cruelty depicted in the Patriot look like something out of a Disney movie.If anyone feels that I'm simply making that up, they are welcome to look the following incidents up for themselves.
1.The Wyoming Valley Massacre-American prisoners were tortured to death(often tied to small trees or stakes, and then burned alive-but slowly,in a prolonged fashion, to make their pain as excruciating as possible).
2. The Cherry Valley Massacre-A whole community, including dozens of women and children, were butchered with hatchets and tomahawks
3.Hayes Station-The incident which most closely parallels the fire in the movie-A wooden structure is set ablaze, and when the Americans evacuate, they are hacked to pieces by William Cunningham and his men(but at least they didn't burn up, right?)
In fairness, most of this was done by people fighting as allies of the British, rather than the British themselves. American loyalists and Native Americans perpetrated some of the more sadistic atrocities. (I seriously doubt that it made the deaths of the victims any less dreadful).The British used the Iroquois as allies. They knew full well how these people operated. Torture was an integral part of their existence.(They used it on other Indian tribes long before the white man arrived.) They were known to torture people for prolonged periods, sometimes even going so far as to nurse them back to health so that they could torture them some more.Once they were turned loose, the war took on a far more horrific tone. Patriots were, on occassion, disemboweled, burned alive, or subjected to other hideous torments. While this was in a different theater of the war, it still happened, and it was done on the British behalf. (If I pay a guy to burn your house, wouldn't I deserve prison just as much as him?) If anything, this film held back in depicting the cruelty of the conflict.(To be fair, it held back on both sides.)
Simply put, the critics are correct in claiming that the scene is a fabrication.However, it is so heavily inspired by reality that there is little reason for anyone to claim that it is unfair. I have read that the man who was responsible for the most American suffering was actually a jailer. He simply pocketed the money that was supposed to supply their food and let many of them starve. But, of course, this storyline doesn't make nearly as exciting of a movie.
Another thing that seems to draw a lot of criticism is the portrayal of Tavington, the evil British commander. He is heavily based upon Banastre Tarleton, but there are elements of other people in his character, as well. Some have claimed that he was too cruel to be a believeable figure. I am not at all sure about that. I think the producers simply wanted to make him a symbol of what was most heinous about the war. This has led some to call him a mere caricature. However, his only genuinely unbelieveable trait is his lack of human empathy. While his hard-heartedness is certainly unusual, we all know that such people do exist. This seems to be the defining characteristic of what modern psychology calls a sociopath-the lack of empathy for the suffering of other people. Handsome? Cunning? Utterly ruthless and cruel? It sounds like Tavington, but it also sounds like Ted Bundy, who was all too real. Overall, the movie gives him credit in the area where the real-life Tarleton would have probably most wanted it-as a soldier. Tavington is depicted as fully the equal of the hero in regards to strength and courage. If you'll recall, in the climactic fight with Benjamin Martin, he basically had the fight won, but forfeited his life by taking a minute to gloat.
Again, he is an unreal character, but he is not nearly as farfetched as some folks seem to imagine. I believe that such attacks on the movie reveal more about the critics than they do about the movie itself. Any doubts? Ask yourself one question: Have any of these people ever complained about the depiction of the movie's hero? After all, the Mel Gibson character admitted to having participated in a massacre when he was a young man that, by his own accounts, was probably just as painful for the victims as what Tavington did later on at the church.Yet I have yet to hear one word of complaint about that fact. Such people will attack the movie for 'deifying' the hero owing to his being the employer of free men rather than slaves. I suppose that the fact that he admitted to butchering people(while they were still alive) was not enough to save the film from being accused of whitewashing history.
It's not perfect, and the critics do make some valid points. All in all, though, I do feel that the Patriot is a better exploration of the motivations behind fighting than most war movies. Mel Gibson's character is not a man who jumps because some bureaucrat behind a desk tells him to. He fights only when provoked, which is far more in keeping with traditional American ideals than most of our recent military machinations.
In the end, I love the movie and the extras are pretty good. Most of the criticism is rooted in validity, but is excessive in tone. The film isn't perfect, and I would prefer that it had been about twenty minutes shorter. But for people who love adventure stories that feature strong, charismatic characters, I would recommend this one highly.
Summary of The Patriot (Special Edition)
In 1776 South Carolina, widower and legendary war hero Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) finds himself thrust into the midst of the American Revolutionary War as he helplessly watches his family torn apart by the savage forces of the British Redcoats. Unable to remain silent, he recruits a band of reluctant volunteers, including his idealistic patriot son, Gabriel (Heath Ledger), to take up arms against the British. Fighting to protect his family's freedom and his country's independence, Martin discovers the pain of betrayal, the redemption of revenge and the passion of love.Aimed directly at a mainstream audience, The Patriot qualifies as respectable entertainment, but anyone expecting a definitive drama about the American Revolution should look elsewhere. Rising above the blatant crowd pleasing of Stargate, Independence Day, and Godzilla, director Roland Emmerich crafts a marvelous re-creation of South Carolina in the late 1770s (aided immeasurably by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel), and Robert Rodat's screenplay offers the same balance of epic scale and emotional urgency that elevated his earlier script for Saving Private Ryan. Unfortunately, Emmerich embraces clichés and hackneyed melodrama that a more gifted director would have avoided. Instead of attempting a truly great film about the most pivotal years of American history, Emmerich settles for a standard revenge plot with the Revolutionary War as an incidental backdrop.
On those terms, the film is engrossing and sufficiently intelligent, especially when militia leader Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) cagily negotiates with British General Cornwallis (Tom Wilkinson) in one of the most rewarding scenes. For the most part, the story concerns Martin's anguished quest for revenge against ruthless redcoat Colonel Tavington (played with snide relish by Jason Isaacs), and the rise to manhood of Martin's eldest son, Gabriel (Heath Ledger), whose battlefield honor exceeds even that of his brutally volatile father. At its best, The Patriot conveys the horror of war among innocent civilians, and the epic battle scenes, while by no means masterful, are graphically intense and impressive. And although Ledger's love interest (Lisa Brenner) is too bland to register much emotion, the focus on family (which frequently relegates the war to background history) provides a suitable vehicle for Gibson, who matches his achievement in Braveheart with an effectively brooding performance. --Jeff Shannon
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