Patton (1970)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Franklin J. Schaffner

Writers:

Ladislas Farago (book)
Omar N. Bradley (book)

Release Date:

2 April 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | War

Plot:

The World War II phase of the controversial American general's career is depicted.

Plot Keywords:

1943 | Armor | 1944 | 1945 | Crazy General

Awards:

Won 7 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

George C. Scott	...	Gen. George S. Patton Jr.
Karl Malden	...	Gen. Omar N. Bradley
Stephen Young	...	Capt. Chester B. Hansen
Michael Strong	...	Brig. Gen. Hobart Carver
Carey Loftin	...	Gen. Bradley's driver (as Cary Loftin)
Albert Dumortier	...	Moroccan Minister
Frank Latimore	...	Lt. Col. Henry Davenport
Morgan Paull	...	Capt. Richard N. Jenson
Karl Michael Vogler	...	Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
Bill Hickman	...	Gen. Patton's driver
Pat Zurica	...	1st Lt. Alexander Stiller (as Patrick J. Zurica)
James Edwards	...	Sgt. William George Meeks
Lawrence Dobkin	...	Col. Gaston Bell
David Bauer	...	Lt. Gen. Harry Buford
John Barrie	...	Air Vice-Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham

Also Known As:

Blood and Guts (UK)
Patton: A Salute to a Rebel
Patton: Lust for Glory (UK)
Patton (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
A Tábornok (Hungary) [hu]
General Patton (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Panssarikenraali Patton (Finland) [fi]
Patton (Canada: French title) [fr]
Patton - Pansargeneralen (Sweden) [sv]
Patton - Rebelde ou Herói? (Brazil) [pt]
Patton - Rebell in Uniform (West Germany) [de]
Patton generale d'acciaio (Italy) [it]

Runtime:

170 min | Sweden:172 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | French | Russian | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:M | Brazil:16 | Argentina:13 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG (re-rating) (1970) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The scene where General Truscott tells Patton "Your an old athlete yourself General, you know matches are sometimes postponed". Patton actually had represented the U.S.A. at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm by competing in the Modern Pentathlon. Patton finished a credible fifth in the competition. Remarkably it was the shooting element that let him down. In true Patton style he used his military .38 revolver instead of the lighter .22 favored by most of the athletes. Patton was also an expert fencer. He re-wrote the armies manuals on swordsmanship removing the 'parry.' His idea was for all attack. Defence just wasted energy. Such was his mastery of swordsmanship that he designed the last saber ever to be worn into battle as a weapon, the M1913 Cavalry Saber, commonly known as the "Patton Saber".

Goofs:

Anachronisms: 1948 Packard car in front of headquarters.

Quotes:

[Vice-Marshal Arthur Coningham and General Patton are discussing the lack of supporting air cover the British have been providing for American troops]
Air Vice-Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham: I promise you one thing, General. You will see no more German planes.
[Moments later two German planes fly by overhead and begin to attack the compound, part of the ceiling in the room the two are in collapses as they scramble to hide underneath a table]
Patton: You were discussing, uh, air supremacy, Sir Arthur?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lobster Man from Mars (1989)

Soundtrack:

To the Color

Favorite war film . . .

. . . and it's not even about the war. There's no wall to wall action. In fact, World War II is merely the setting – a backdrop so to speak – and the battles are all downplayed in favor of giving the audience a glimpse into the brilliance (or insanity) of the historically significant character, Patton. From the script on up, everything plays out wonderfully to bring the famous general to life on screen, and after watching George C. Scott deliver his Oscar-worthy performance, I find it hard to believe there were a number of actors on the list above his name.

George C. Scott's performance of Patton is one I consider the greatest given of any war film. Patton is a champion for freedom while sometimes equally as much of a tyrant as the ones he's trying to put down, he's a monster and a hero, and neither he nor the filmmakers give a damn about political correctness. I found the character to be an overly harsh prick, myself, but in some strange way, very likeable and sympathetic, and when watching the movie again I don't look at the screen and say, `Hey, there's George C. Scott.' Instead it's, `Hey, there's Patton.' Not very many film characters have a personality strong enough to overtake the actor playing them. I appreciate that depth and that degree of realism, this attention to detail on the parts of Scott and Schaffner.

Schaffner surprised me by somehow managing to capture my interest on a subject matter I'd ordinarily write off as too silly (Planet of the Apes); two years later, he applied that same technical know how, craft, and intelligent storytelling towards a film whose subject appeals to me from the get go, and once again I'm impressed. There are some great war films out today; however, Schaffner's take pursued the most unique perspective in all realms, and captured my imagination with such ease . . . I can't help but come back to it over other war films.

And I have to comment on the score, which is not only one of my favorite Goldsmith scores but also one of my favorite war-film scores. Jerry Goldsmith matched point for point the brilliance of Franklin Schaffner's vision, the depth of George C. Scott's performance, and somehow managed to captured the essence of both musically. A good music score is one that tells the story of the film in its own unique voice. Goldsmith's score has such a prominent voice in the experience of Patton, that to remove it would be the equivalent of removing Schaffner's direction or George C. Scott.

Lastly, how accurate is the film? Not a clue, and even if it is completely false, I don't care. I've never been about writing history papers based on cinema experiences. All I know for certain is that Patton is a very entertaining and well balanced movie that holds up very well thirty years later, and it's a film that can be admired for its craft.