Peaceful farmer Benjamin Martin is driven to lead the Colonial Militia during the American Revolution when a sadistic British officer murders his son.Peaceful farmer Benjamin Martin is driven to lead the Colonial Militia during the American Revolution when a sadistic British officer murders his son.Peaceful farmer Benjamin Martin is driven to lead the Colonial Militia during the American Revolution when a sadistic British officer murders his son.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 9 wins & 23 nominations total
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen teaching Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger how to shoot a muzzle-loading rifle, technical advisor Mark Baker gave them the advice to "aim small, miss small", meaning that if you aim at a man and miss, you miss the man, while if you aim at a button (for instance) and miss, you still hit the man. Gibson liked this bit advice so much, he incorporated it into the movie, just prior to the ambush scene.
- GoofsWhen Charlotte and the kids are hiding from the red coats in the root cellar, they creep past a basket full of bread wrapped in cellophane. Cellophane wasn't invented until 1906.
- Quotes
Colonel William Tavington: Kill me before the war is over, will you? It appears that you are not the better man.
Benjamin Martin: You're right. My sons were better men.
- Alternate versionsIn the extended edition, Benjamin Martin's youngest children get their first taste of the horrors of war prior to the death of Thomas. This comes just before the evening when Gabriel stumbles home after being wounded in a nearby battle. Something (the viewer is unaware) catches the attention of the Martin children and they stride over to a nearby creek/river to investigate. What they discover are the bodies of several soldiers floating downstream. Martin then comes over and ushers the children back into the house.
- SoundtracksBoney
Traditional
Performed by Marquetta L. Goodwine and the Gullah Cunneckshun
Featured review
Not as Bad as I Remember, but still has Issues
The Patriot is a film that I've always had mixed feelings about. After seeing it again recently, I think I have a more coherent idea of how I feel about this film.
To sum this film up neatly, it is a retelling of the story we know in Braveheart, with some alterations and being slightly worse.
From a historical standpoint, The Patriot is about as historically accurate as Braveheart - that meaning that it really isn't. By now, many have already meticulously picked apart its inaccuracies so I won't really dwell on it too much. But as a piece of popular cinema, I don't think this film's intention is to be historically accurate anyway.
The Patriot is an impressive looking film, I believe. The action sequences are exciting to watch and the scale of the battles are appropriate enough where there aren't noticeable CGI people also partaking in the fight.
Speaking of the CG effects, they are looking a bit dated now. Some of the computer generated blue screen backgrounds don't look very convincing, especially when they go to Charles Town at the beginning of the film. But since the shots don't dwell too much on them, it's not too bi a deal, I believe.
The acting performances aren't bad at all. Mel Gibson found his niche after Braveheart and went with it and his performance here translates incredibly well. The actors that portray the various British officers in this film do put on a bit of a James Bond villain performance and it does get a little distracting, but there is some complexity in the writing at times that makes up for that in those moments.
It's also to be noted that the soundtrack for this film is amazing. Of course, this is the work of John Williams and it goes extraordinarily well when paired with this film. It is the shining aspect of this film and I cannot compliment it enough. It has to be one of the more underrated works John Williams has done.
Where this film ultimately loses me is when it comes to the issue of slavery. I understand this is among the myriad of other historical inaccuracies with this film, but it's this particular aspect of American history that really hurts it the most. The most obvious example of this is when the workers on Martin's farm say that they work his land but are not slaves. It is also framed in this film that the British army offering freedom to any slave who serves with them is a bad thing, but later when the American army announces something similar, suddenly it's righteous. This, of course, wasn't the case and it's very misleading. There's a scene in the film where Gabriel makes a promise that once the British are defeated, the old world will be pushed out and a new world can be built; one where all people are free. This is so obviously untrue but the film ignores it. As a result, it feels like the one slave character shown in the whole film is duped into serving with the continentals just to be enslaved again once the eventual government decides, through inaction, that slavery is necessary. I get images of the American Civil War in my mind every time I see that scene, and it's that scene that really hurts this film the most- but ironically enough, maybe the most accurate part of it...
The Patriot is interesting. I feel it's a bit long. Granted, I'm just coming from seeing the extended cut but I do think this film could have gone without some things. Not horrible if you're looking for a fictional story that takes place in a real time in history. Just don't use it as an educational tool unless you're going to talk about the uniforms and clothing of that period.
To sum this film up neatly, it is a retelling of the story we know in Braveheart, with some alterations and being slightly worse.
From a historical standpoint, The Patriot is about as historically accurate as Braveheart - that meaning that it really isn't. By now, many have already meticulously picked apart its inaccuracies so I won't really dwell on it too much. But as a piece of popular cinema, I don't think this film's intention is to be historically accurate anyway.
The Patriot is an impressive looking film, I believe. The action sequences are exciting to watch and the scale of the battles are appropriate enough where there aren't noticeable CGI people also partaking in the fight.
Speaking of the CG effects, they are looking a bit dated now. Some of the computer generated blue screen backgrounds don't look very convincing, especially when they go to Charles Town at the beginning of the film. But since the shots don't dwell too much on them, it's not too bi a deal, I believe.
The acting performances aren't bad at all. Mel Gibson found his niche after Braveheart and went with it and his performance here translates incredibly well. The actors that portray the various British officers in this film do put on a bit of a James Bond villain performance and it does get a little distracting, but there is some complexity in the writing at times that makes up for that in those moments.
It's also to be noted that the soundtrack for this film is amazing. Of course, this is the work of John Williams and it goes extraordinarily well when paired with this film. It is the shining aspect of this film and I cannot compliment it enough. It has to be one of the more underrated works John Williams has done.
Where this film ultimately loses me is when it comes to the issue of slavery. I understand this is among the myriad of other historical inaccuracies with this film, but it's this particular aspect of American history that really hurts it the most. The most obvious example of this is when the workers on Martin's farm say that they work his land but are not slaves. It is also framed in this film that the British army offering freedom to any slave who serves with them is a bad thing, but later when the American army announces something similar, suddenly it's righteous. This, of course, wasn't the case and it's very misleading. There's a scene in the film where Gabriel makes a promise that once the British are defeated, the old world will be pushed out and a new world can be built; one where all people are free. This is so obviously untrue but the film ignores it. As a result, it feels like the one slave character shown in the whole film is duped into serving with the continentals just to be enslaved again once the eventual government decides, through inaction, that slavery is necessary. I get images of the American Civil War in my mind every time I see that scene, and it's that scene that really hurts this film the most- but ironically enough, maybe the most accurate part of it...
The Patriot is interesting. I feel it's a bit long. Granted, I'm just coming from seeing the extended cut but I do think this film could have gone without some things. Not horrible if you're looking for a fictional story that takes place in a real time in history. Just don't use it as an educational tool unless you're going to talk about the uniforms and clothing of that period.
helpful•169
- Raptorclaw155
- Jul 4, 2020
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Nhà Ái Quốc
- Filming locations
- Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA(Revolutionary War Re-enactment battles)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $110,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $113,330,342
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $22,413,710
- Jul 2, 2000
- Gross worldwide
- $215,294,342
- Runtime2 hours 45 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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