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Patton is a biographical film which tells the story of General George Patton's commands during World War II. It stars George C. Scott, Karl Malden, and Michael Bates. It won many Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. The opening monologue, delivered by Scott with an enormous American flag behind him, remains an iconic image in film. In 2003 the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Plot The film documents the story of General George S. Patton (George C. Scott) during World War II, beginning with his taking charge of demoralized American forces in North Africa after the disastrous Battle of the Kasserine Pass. He participates in the invasion of Sicily and races against the equally egotistical British General Montgomery to capture the port of Messina. After he beats Montgomery into the city, he is relieved of command for slapping a shell-shocked soldier in an Army hospital and threatening him with one of his signature ivory-handled .45-caliber pistols. Later, he begs his former subordinate, General Omar Bradley (Karl Malden), for a command before the war ends. He is given the U.S. Third Army, and distinguishes himself by leading it in relieving the vital town of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, following on with the famously rapid movement of his tank corps into the Nazi homeland, and implies its role in the rapid defeat of Germany. The movie depicts some of Patton's more controversial actions, e.g. his remarks following the fall of Germany, comparing the Nazis to losers in American political elections. Although he is shown to be a military genius, the film does not try to conceal the darker, more elitist and brutal side of Patton. Family objects to Production There were several attempts to make the movie, starting in 1953. The Patton family was approached by the producers for help in making the film. They wanted access to Patton's diaries and input from the family members. By coincidence, the day they asked the family was the day after the funeral of Beatrice Ayer Patton, the general's widow. After that, the family was dead-set against the movie and refused to give any help to the filmmakers. Owing to a lack of help from the family, Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North wrote the film from two biographies: Patton: Ordeal and Triumph by Ladislas Farago and A Soldier's Story by Omar Bradley. It was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner. In 2005, his wife's "Button Box" manuscript was finally released by his family, with the posthumous release of Ruth Ellen Patton Totten's (his daughter's) book, The Button Box: A Daughter's Loving Memoir of Mrs. George S. Patton.* The Film Patton opened with a famous military to members of the Third Army, simply set against a huge American flag. The film throughout is a tour de force in the use of 70mm epic scale presentation. The imagery and the stereo sound brought a visual magnificence, that sometimes approached the cinematic quality of the earlier 70mm Lawrence of Arabia (film). The film was accepted by its audiences as another great depiction of a major, modern-military figure—in the spirit of David Lean's complex portrait of "Lawrence". Awards Scott's performance as Patton won him an Academy Award for Best Actor (which he famously refused, stating that the Oscars were "a meat parade"), and has been called "one of the great performances of all time". The film won six additional Academy Awards, for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Picture, Best Sound and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced. It was nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Effects, Special Visual Effects and Best Music, Original Score. In 2006, the Writers Guild of America selected the adapted screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund North as the 94th best screenplay of all time. The screenplay was based upon the biographies A Soldier's Story by General Omar Bradley, and Patton: Ordeal and Triumph by Ladislas Farago. Popular online film critic James Berardinelli has called Patton his favorite film of all time. * Cast Sequels A made-for-television sequel, The Last Days of Patton, was produced in 1986. Scott reprised his title role. The movie was based on Patton's final weeks after being mortally injured in a car accident, with flashbacks of Patton's earlier life. Trivia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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