Braveheart (DVD)

...fact that I have seen Braveheart about a hundred times doesn’t ever make it boring and the other night my flatmate, me and my boyfriend ordered a nice Chinese and sat down to watch the DVD. A friend had borrowed us the special edition DVD and it never disappoints. One of the main facts on why I love this film and had chosen to watch it again was the role from Mel Gibson. I am a big fan of his movies and think he is a brilliant actor. His character ...
...always liked his acting and Braveheart was the second film he has directed which ended up a huge success. Since directing this film Mel has done a few others which include the hit ‘Passion of the Christ’ 2004 and ‘Apocalpto’ in 2006 which was also brilliant. He seems to understand what you need in an entertaining film and Braveheart includes everything that you need and also many features to capture a wide audience.


Writer- ... more

~ The courage to face fear ~

One of my favourite films of all times. The fact that I have seen Braveheart about a hundred times doesn’t ever make it boring and the other night my flatmate, me and my boyfriend ordered a nice Chinese and sat down to watch the DVD. A friend had borrowed us the special edition DVD and it never disappoints. One of the main facts on why I love this film and had chosen to watch it again was the role from Mel Gibson. I am a big fan of his movies and think he is a brilliant actor. His character inn this is just amazing and he does look dead sexy as William Wallace. The film does have a good cast which I shall share with you later. I remember the first time I watched this film. I think we rented the video when it was released, even though it was not ages ago this was the time of VHS rental. What first attracted me to the video was the cover. A large picture of Mel Gibson which would attract anybody I think and an eerie blue battle picture. I really like films that are based on true stories or events so this was a good eye catcher for me. What I also liked about the film when I picked it up is that Mel Gibson actually directed the film as well as starring the lead role. This was pretty interesting and I was eager to see what his directing skills were like and if they were as good as his acting.

The film was a good choice for that evening where you just wanted to sit and relax. As it was not the first time I had seen it I didn’t have to think too much about it. If it was the first time you would have to concentrate abit but the story is not complicated so it is quite an easy flowing film. It is also quite a long film so be prepared! It includes many different features and I will never get bored of watching it.

INFO

Director- Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson started his career as an actor in the 1970’s and has gone on to writing and directing his own films. I had always liked his acting and Braveheart was the second film he has directed which ended up a huge success. Since directing this film Mel has done a few others which include the hit ‘Passion of the Christ’ 2004 and ‘Apocalpto’ in 2006 which was also brilliant. He seems to understand what you need in an entertaining film and Braveheart includes everything that you need and also many features to capture a wide audience.

Writer- Randall Wallace
Narrated by- Angus Macfadyen
Produced by- Mel Gibson, Alan Ladd Jr, Bruce Davey, Stephen McEveety. Distributed- Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox.
Release Date- May 24 1995
Runtime- 175 Mins
Certificate- 15

PLOT

William Wallace lived with his family as a small boy in the highlands of Scotland until the uprising cruel English invades Scotland and kills his father and brother. He leaves his homeland behind for many years to travel the world but returns as a man who wants to come home and have a quiet life in the hills. The part historical part mythological story shows how times get bad for Scotland as 14th century Scotland is ruled by King Edward. The lifes of the Scottish people are under the English rule and they have to put up with murder, rape and doing everything for them. William tries to settle in and even finds an attraction with a beautiful girl he used to know as a boy. As tragedy strikes the village William is forced to take action and fight for his people’s freedom. He becomes a legend amongst the country as the man who gives Scotland back their freedom.

CAST

Mel Gibson – William Wallace

William is a strong minded character who has suffered terrible loss and destruction by the English. He seems to be a caring man who wants a traditional, loving life, to have a family and life peacefully in his home village.
He has courage, determination and he never gives up in what he believes in. The character is extremely likable and you connect with him straight away. You feel very involved in his life as we follow his story.

The History of William Wallace- as based on true events William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who lived in the period of 1272 – 1305. He was known to lead his rights and fight for Scottish Independence. The story of the film does show actual facts as Sir William did defeat the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge and fought until his defeat. He was captured by King Edward I of England and executed for Treason. There is not a lot known about William Wallace’s family and upbringing but there have been letters found and extracts written giving away his father’s name Alan and his brothers John and Alan. Even though details such as his early life and the exact location of the home town have not been confirmed most of the film is based on these real life historical actions of a hero.

Mel Gibson is one of my favourite actors who I think is very talented. He has played many amazing roles. Starting as a small time actor in the late seventies, Mel started in TV series and then eventually became well known as he starred in a few successful films. His early films included ‘Mad Max 2’ and ‘The River’. I first noticed Mel Gibson in the action movie Leathal Weapon which was released in 1987. Although this was a year before I was born I remembering watching the film when I was about 12. Since this Mel has starred in some excellent features, for those who are not familiar with his acting, he appears in some hits such as- The ‘Leathal Weapon’ films, ‘The Patriot’ 2000, ‘What women want’ 2000’ and ‘We were Soldiers’ in 2002. He has done all different kinds of films including action, comedy and war epic.

Main Characters-

Longshanks, King Edward I – Patrick McGoohan
Princess Isabelle- Sophie Marceau
Campbell- James Cosmo
MacClannough – Sean McGinley
Murron- Catherine McCormack
Robert the Bruce- Angus Macfadyen

THEMES and PLOT

The narrative of the film is interesting, exciting and simple. It does not get complicated and it is very easy to follow. It includes everything you need to keep an audience watching and involves all genres of comedy, romance, action and destruction, some parts are very emotional. There are many themes in the film and morals which I found very intriguing.
• Courage. His is the main feature of the film and also in the tagline. There is a strong link to courage being a positive role for William and his men. They show this all the way through. Having the courage to do something no matter how tough it is makes you what you are.
• Freedom. As the Scots are ruled under the English it shows that this is wrong and that everyone should have the freedom to live a quiet happy life. The films suggest that freedom is the most important thing in life and that it must be fought for.
• Traditional family values- The period of time this sets in really shows you how people lived in Scotland at this time. A strong feature I saw in the village was this traditional way of life. Marriage, children and quiet life farming. Marriage comes before children and sex does not appear until you are married.
• Homosexuality- Keeping a modern touch to the film it suggests a small suggestion of homosexual behaviour. Prince Edward is shown to have gay intentions with his right hand man and the King does not take this lightly as his son is married to a French princess. It was good to show that even in those times you may have had gay lovers and that no body accepted it then.

GENRES

The film included every genre to attract the biggest range of audience. These included-
• Romance- there was plenty of this in the film and the biggest value of why William wants freedom from England. Romance is very passionate in the film and we see that the men treat their women with the highest respect. William shows his affections and connection with Murron strongly. The women are respected and the children are well looked after. Family is important to this village and the way of life for the Scots.
• Comedy- There is some brilliant comedy used through out the film which always makes me laugh. The main reason I liked the comedy is because as there is a lot of emotions and hard hitting events it evens it out. The character of Irishman Stephen played a lot of this comedy which I laugh at every time I watch him. Some of his quotes are just brilliant and his character is mental.
• Action. There is plenty of action and battles to keep those who love that genre interested. The battles are fast exciting and add real class to the movie. It shows the old ways of battle with horses, spears and swords. The Scots show a brilliant sense of humour in battle and Wallace uses many ways to entice the English and pick a fight.

Quotes

Stephen- after killing a would-be assassin on William turns and says- ‘I didn’t like him anyway. He wasn’t right in the head’.

Stephen- to Wallace in battle- ‘God tells me he can get me out of this mess, but he’s pretty sure you’re fucked’.

Murron- ‘Do that standing on your head and I’ll be impressed’
Wallace- ‘Well. My kilt will fly up, but I’ll try’.

Fighter- ‘and where do you think your going?’
Wallace- ‘I’m going to pick a fight’.

Wallace- ‘Before we let you leave, your commander must cross that field, present himself before this army, put his head between his legs, and kiss his own arse’.

SETS and LOCATIONS

There are some lovely and outstanding scenes in the film mainly being the Scottish highlands. When I researched the film and where they film the beautiful scenes I found it pretty funny that even though some scenes where done in Scotland there were many scenes that were filmed in Ireland. This includes the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
There were many different scenes to keep it interesting and the flicker between life in the Scottish highlands and the King in England. They both contrast in many ways and I liked the different locations and Wallace on his travels down to fight in England. The woodlands and mountains are just superb.

OVERALL

I would defiantly recommend this film to everyone. It is a brilliant movie which makes you laugh, cry and eager over the dramatic action. The story is great, the characters are brilliant and very interesting and the set is beautiful. I loved the battle scenes and the gore that was used in some parts. I think the certificate is right for the film as there are some gory deaths, sexual references and swearing. I hope you enjoy the film as much as I did. I love this film!!!

EXTRAS

The film won five Academy awards including Best Picture and Best Director. It was also nominated for five more showing it was a great success. On release weekend the film grossed $210 Million and was the highest grossing film of 1995. It had a very positive reception and a great interest from Scotland.
The only negative comments on the film were the accusations of homophobia as many people did not like the fact Gibson portrayed Prince Edward as a homosexual. It has been debated about Edward II’s sexuality and many did think he was gay or at least bi even though he fathered five children.

The film received a rotten tomato rating of- 76%

Website- http://www.braveheart.co.uk/

DVD

I brought a copy of the film from Play.com. On the website you can get either a single disc version for only £4.99 or the two disc special which we had for £3.98 which is odd it being cheaper. The two disc special includes an interactive menu, commentaries and behind the scenes.

Thank you for reading- Blackmagicstar4 x x

 

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