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Patton (1970)
Rate:
7
Viewed:
1/04, 11/13, 8/21
11/13:
Any biographic sketch of an important yet flawed character is always interesting.
And that's the case for General George S. Patton, the enigmatic gung-ho commander of the United States Seventh Army in the
Mediterranean and European theaters of World War II. It's George C. Scott, winning and then refusing the Oscar for his
performance, who shines the most and proves why he was a remarkable actor of his generation.
Right from the start, the unusually different, if somewhat watered down, introductory speech by the famed general establishes
what kind of film Patton will be. The basic goal is to show how myopic and vainglorious he is in the
real world and how politically incorrect he can be at times. Nonetheless, it's fascinating and fatalistic at once as the
events unfold. Of course, this has ramifications for his standing in the upper echelon when it comes to being granted the
command and directive to lead all of the Allied forces into the heart of Nazi Germany.
All in all, Patton is a military classic that'll need another viewing if it still stands the test of time.
8/21:
The opening scene of Patton is among the most famous in cinema history, setting the tone for what's to come.
Unfortunately, it's a boring biopic that's long to sit through. George C. Scott is magnificent, becoming the first actor
ever to refuse the Best Actor Oscar. Take him away, and there's nothing going for the film. The Oscar-winning screenplay isn't
impressive, either, because it's not well-stuctured, failing to explain a lot. Instead, it prefers to rely on many mundane WWII
battles with archaic equipment to fill in the time.
Although the infamous slapping incident is the hallmark of Patton's career, a lot of stuff is missing such as his
participation in the very first pentathlon during the 1912 Olympics, his anti-Semitic views, the failed Task Force Baum to
save his son-in-law or the disastrous Hammelburg raid, and his death during a freak auto accident just six months after
V-E Day which became the basis of the sequel The Last Days of Patton. They
tried to make Patton seem like he was the greatest general, but in truth, many people didn't like or respect him and he wasn't
that important in the grand scheme of things.
All in all, George C. Scott's Oscar-winning performance is the only reason to watch Patton.