Patton [Blu-ray]

Over the past 20 or so years it has been instructive to listen to the rants of various political conservatives who have retroactively adopted Patton (the man) as their hero.
I recall one political commentator who solemnly pronounced that George Patton admired Frederick the Great and quoted him often. Then the political commentator quoted Frederick the Great as saying "Audacity, more audacity, always audacity."
Indeed, in this very movie there is a scene where George C. Scott says some such thing to an American general whom Patton is trying to motivate to advance across Sicily in the face of an expected Nazi counterattack.
If you go back to the Ladislas Farago book from which the "Patton" screenplay was written, the same byplay is there.
The only trouble is, it couldn't have happened that way.
Frederick the Great didn't say it.
And Patton didn't particularly revere the Prussian.
A quick check of Bartlett's "Familiar Quotations" places the quote (originally, "Il nous faut de 'laudace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace") in the mouth of George Jacques Danton, who on 2 Sept. 1792 was the minister of defense, addressing the French legislative assembly. The situation was that the Austrians were at the gate, threatening to overturn the French Revolution.
Frederick the Great had been dead six years.
Patton was raised as a bilingual American living part of the time in France and was an acknowledged expert on European military history. It is ludicrous to imagine that he would have made such an error.
A quick review of the book, "The Patton Papers," will reveal that Frederick is mentioned exactly three times -- twice in a list of eighteenth century military leaders, and once in a paragraph that says Frederick's reputation relies mostly upon his invention of the "oblique manuever," which Patton said was due to be invented anyway.
We mention this not because we don't like the movie (we really like it) but because one must be careful to check one's facts before one makes broad sweeping statements.

Also because we believe that those who cannot remember their history are doomed to misquote it.

War certainly does not take a holiday vacation. It is well to remember that one of the key battles of World War 2 (The Bulge) came during pre Christmas, 1944. It could easily have been George Patton's finest hour. This strange, enigmatic leader set two goals for himself-total victory and total self aggrandizement.Brilliantly portrayed by George C. Scott (who refused the Oscar), Patton seemed from the outset to do things his way, as he had in overcoming dyslexia. He came from a moneyed California family and was most certainly not accustomed to being told what to do. His learning in tank warfare helped revolutionize the corps itself. When war came, Patton was certainly ready for it. But is warfare really ever ready for the George Pattons of the world? Indeed, the Nazis respected him more than many Americans. This reviewer certainly cannot see Patton succeeding under President Truman, nor any other Europeaan chieftain except Eisenhower.In any event, "Patton" is certainly filmaking at its best, even if the subject matter may not be.

Patton
George C. Scott & Karl Malden

Patton was a unique individual--he was not controlled by politically correct thought or language. He was a brilliant general feared by the Nazis. After WW II, he wanted to go to war with Russia while America's armies were still in Europe after WWII. He called them mongrels and predicted that they would be the next threat. No one listened to him. He got into trouble for speaking his mind, and after he died, the Cold War set in leading to Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, etc. Watch this movie and learn that not all things can be solved with politically correct thought, speech and loving thy neighbor when your neighbor does not deserve to be loved. This movie won eight Academy Awards. I also recommend the sequel, The Last Days of Patton with George C. Scott. Read my review of that movie. George C. Scott did a masterful job of bringing this bigger than life individual to the screen.

George C. Scott as Gen. George Patton creates one of the most memorable characterizations in screen history. A driven, complicated warrior is so formidable that every time I read books where Patton is mentioned I see Georce C. Scott's face as Patton. An indelible role of a larger then life hero. This is no glossed over version on his life but all the warts and faults of the man are shown and you still walk away eternally grateful that our nation had such a great General when we needed him the most. This movie in no way glorifies war it is almost anti-war movie showing the confusion and horror of war. How any list of the greatest films in film history can exclude this masterpiece from it's list is beyond me. I consider it one of the 25 greatest films ever, maybe Top Ten material. I'd watch this a hundred times before Citizen Kane. The opening scene where Patton is addressing troops in front of gigantic American flag is the stuff of cinema legend.

I've been watching Patton about every other year since I was a child and have to say that the movie never gets old. As far as performances go, George C. Scott exceeds all expectations in this role. You get the feeling while watching him that the actor indeed thought he was his character during his time on the set. His Patton is the epitome of passion, desire, will, and honor. Of course, true to life, he was a complicated figure and the film displays this aspect of the man as well. He was vainglorious and rash--attributes often expected, and forgivable in a general. Scott's impressive but so is the script. One of the nice things about this DVD is that Francis Ford Coppola gives a short intro in which he shares that he was the screenplay writer and also fleshes out a few circumstances around the making of The Godfather. His perspective adds to one's appreciation of the film. Patton also has some great action scenes such as the initial battle in the desert against, who he thought was, Rommel. The German General Staff scenes are speculative but unquestionably entertaining. I find Patton to be a fun and noble flick.