Patton (1970)

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:

General | Germany | American | Destiny | Military

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:

Patton: A Salute to a Rebel
Patton: Lust for Glory (UK) (complete title)

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) | DTS 70 mm (70mm re-release)

Certification:

Australia:M | Brazil:16 | New Zealand:PG | 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:

Producer Frank McCarthy was a retired brigadier general who served on the staff of Gen. George C. Marshall during World War II; he worked for 20 years to make a film about Patton.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Some of the U.S. vehicles in the North Africa and Sicily scenes are shown with the insignia of a white star within a circle. The circle was not added until just before the invasion of mainland Italy in September 1943.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Patton: Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

To the Color

A fine tribute to a great patriot and fearless warrior

I am a fan of both General Patton and the movie that captured a portion of his duty in WWII. It exposes Patton's incredible strengths and vulnerabilities. George C. Scott gives one of his best performances. It leaves the viewer with the impression that Patton unnecessarily risked GI lives to "make a bigger splash" with his peers and the media. Statistics show that his aggressive "hold 'em by the nose and kick 'em in the ass" strategy actually resulted in lower casualties. Watched in conjunction with "The Big Red One" and "Saving Private Ryan" gives one an initial sense of the horror and sacrifice in the European Theatre. As a mini-biography, as an introduction to WWII, as a lesson in leadership under tremendous adversity or just for pure inspiration, Patton is one of the great films of my lifetime.