Concept:  Classic movie about the life of a famous and very controversial WWII general.
Review Date: 2017

• These days, we tend to think of military generals more as strategists and less as personalities, so a movie about somebody strategizing doesn’t seem very interesting. But in the life or death struggle of Western civilization that was World War II, generals were more than strategists or personalities—they were almost superheroes, with names like Eisenhower, MacArthur and Marshall becoming household words as familiar to people as the name of Franklin Roosevelt. And there was Patton, the most mythic, iconic and controversial general of them all.
• So to stand alongside Patton in a movie is to go through some of the most epic battles of the 20th century with one of the most extraordinary generals of modern times, a leader so great that he inspired the highest sacrifice but also so tough that his insensitivities got him into serious trouble.
• This movie is worthy of such a great historical figure and of the grand battle against evil represented by World War II.
• And the phenomenal actor, George C. Scott, is worthy of playing that figure. Heck, George C. Scott is Patton. It’s a role that Scott was born to play—not only did he have the looks and stature, but he also personally shared the “I-don’t-care-what-anyone-thinks” attitude of the general. It’s one of the greatest performances ever recorded on film.
• The battle sequences and secondary characters are fine, but it’s Patton who will be seared forever into your brain. How many movies can get away with its main character speaking a monologue to the camera for six minutes, at the very beginning of the movie no less? It’s one of the best scenes Hollywood has ever produced. An amazing movie about an amazing guy.
• The screenplay was written by Francis Ford Coppola, director of “The Godfather” movies.
• It’s incredible to think that this movie was produced at the height of the Vietnam War, when there wasn’t just indifference but outright hostility towards all things military. So if it was considered a great film at that time, how much more so today.
• George C. Scott won an Oscar as Best Actor for his portrayal of Patton. However, he refused to accept the Oscar, expressing contempt for the competitive aspect of the Academy Awards.