Braveheart (1995)

Director:

Mel Gibson

Writer (WGA):

Randall Wallace (written by)

Release Date:

24 May 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Biography | Drama | War

Tagline:

The courage to face fear

Plot:

William Wallace, a commoner, unites the 13th Century Scots in their battle to overthrow English rule.

Plot Keywords:

Male Nudity | Subtitled | Dead Children | No Opening Credits | War Violence

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 20 nominations

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	William Wallace
James Robinson	...	Young William Wallace
Sean Lawlor	...	Malcolm Wallace
Sandy Nelson	...	John Wallace
James Cosmo	...	Campbell
Sean McGinley	...	MacClannough
Alan Tall	...	Elder Stewart
Andrew Weir	...	Young Hamish Campbell
Gerda Stevenson	...	Mother MacClannough
Ralph Riach	...	Priest #1
Mhairi Calvey	...	Young Murron MacClannough
Brian Cox	...	Argyle Wallace
Patrick McGoohan	...	Longshanks, King Edward I
Peter Hanly	...	Edward, Prince of Wales
Sophie Marceau	...	Princess Isabelle

Also Known As:

Corazón valiente (Argentina) (Mexico) (Peru) (Venezuela) [es]
уПЮАПНЕ яЕПДЖЕ (Russia) [ru]
Braveheart (Germany) [de]
Braveheart (Spain) [es]
Braveheart (Greece) [el]
Braveheart (France) [fr]
Braveheart - Waleczne serce (Poland) (working title) [pl]
Braveheart - cuore impavido (Italy) [it]
Braveheart - taipumaton (Finland) [fi]
Cesur yürek (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Coeur vaillant (Canada: French title) [fr]
Coração Valente (Brazil) [pt]
Desafio do Guerreiro, O (Portugal) [pt]
Hrabro srce (Serbia) [sr]
Inima neînfricata (Romania) [ro]
Lev Amitz (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Pogumno srce (Slovenia) [sl]
Rettenthetetlen (Hungary) [hu]
Statecné srdce (Czech Republic) [cs]

MPAA:

Rated R for brutal medieval warfare.

Runtime:

177 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Latin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:18SG | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Philippines:R-18 | New Zealand:R16 | Brazil:16 | France:U (with warning) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KT | Canada:18A (DVD rating) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:16 | Ireland:15 (cut) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:15 (original rating) | South Korea:18 (DVD rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (cut) | USA:R (certificate #33700) | Greece:K-13 | Canada:R (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Aonach Eagach, Highlands, Scotland, UK

Company:

Icon Productions

Trivia:

There is an in-joke in the film that William Wallace's private time with Isabella led to the conception of Edward III. This could not have been the case, since Edward III was born almost ten years after Wallace died.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the battle of Stirling, the men fighting behind Wallace's shoulders are clearly not fighting, but are looking at each other for the next move.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: I shall tell you of William Wallace. Historians from England will say I am a liar, but history is written by those who have hanged heroes. The king of Scotland had died without a son, and the king of England, a cruel pagan known as Edward the Longshanks...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Nine Lives (2002)

Brutal, But Epic Masterpiece

This is an emotional, involving and ultimately draining film. By the time you are done, you are spent.

What makes this movie so intense is the passion of the main character: Scottish rebel leader William Wallace, played by Mel Gibson, who put his heart and soul into this performance. Add to that a powerful story, great cinematography, excellent action scenes and even some humor....and you have a classic film.

Patrick McGoohan shines as the evil English king and Sophie Marceau, Agnus McFadyen and Catherine McCormack all contribute. I'm sorry the latter had such a short role as her beauty captivated me very much. All the characters in Wallace's "army" are fun to watch, too.

For those a bit queasy with bloody violence, this is not a movie for you. There are lots of gory action scenes that includes limbs being hacked off. This is not a film for the feint of heart. The only objection I have to the violence is the ending. Seeing a man tortured is not my idea of entertainment. I now fast-forward through that part but otherwise thoroughly enjoy the rest of the three-hour film, an "epic" adventure, if there ever was one.

The most memorable scene in the film, for me, was not any of the action scenes but just the absolutely stunned look on Gibson's face when he discovers his trusted ally was anything but that. To discover that the key people in the country that you are fighting for are not backing you must have been indescribably crushing to, although since this is the movies I don't know how accurate this was to the real story. Whatever the accuracy, it's a great film and belongs in anyone's collection of epic-adventure masterpieces.