The Patriot (2000)

Peaceful farmer Benjamin Martin is driven to lead the Colonial Militia during the American Revolution when a sadistic British officer murders his son.

Director:

Roland Emmerich

Writer:

Robert Rodat

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Gibson	...	Benjamin Martin
Heath Ledger	...	Gabriel Martin
Joely Richardson	...	Charlotte Selton
Jason Isaacs	...	Col. William Tavington
Chris Cooper	...	Col. Harry Burwell
Tchéky Karyo	...	Jean Villeneuve
Rene Auberjonois	...	Reverend Oliver
Lisa Brenner	...	Anne Howard
Tom Wilkinson	...	Gen. Lord Charles Cornwallis
Donal Logue	...	Dan Scott
Leon Rippy	...	John Billings
Adam Baldwin	...	Capt. Wilkins
Jay Arlen Jones	...	Occam
Joey D. Vieira	...	Peter Howard
Gregory Smith	...	Thomas Martin

Storyline

It is 1776 in colonial South Carolina. Benjamin Martin, a French-Indian war hero who is haunted by his past, now wants nothing more than to live peacefully on his small plantation, and wants no part of a war with the most powerful nation in the world, Great Britain. Meanwhile, his two eldest sons, Gabriel and Thomas, can't wait to enlist in the newly formed "Continental Army." When South Carolina decides to join the rebellion against England, Gabriel immediately signs up to fight...without his father's permission. But when Colonel William Tavington, British dragoon, infamous for his brutal tactics, comes and burns the Martin Plantation to the ground, tragedy strikes. Benjamin quickly finds himself torn between protecting his family, and seeking revenge along with being a part of the birth of a new, young, and ambitious nation.

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Plot Keywords:

american revolution | hero | standoff | father son relationship | george washington character | 

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Taglines:

Before they were soldiers, they were family. Before they were legends, they were heros. Before there was a nation, there was a fight for freedom.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong war violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 June 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

El patriota

Filming Locations:

Stratford Hall Plantation, Westmoreland County, Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$110,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,413,710, 2 July 2000, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$113,330,342

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$215,294,342

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation,Centropolis Entertainment,Mutual Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

165 min 175 min (extended) 142 min (workprint)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Aunt Charlotte's house is the same one used in Forrest Gump (1994), with slightly different interior paneling. The stone hedge visible in Forrest Gump is camouflaged with bushes in this film.

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Goofs

The scene where the British cavalrymen burn the church, did not happen in real life. This was completely made up and there is no historical basis to support it. But similar war crimes have been committed by the Nazis in World War II.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[repeated line]
Benjamin Martin: I have long feared that my sins would return to visit me, and the cost is more than I can bear.

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Alternate Versions

In the extended edition, the "ambush" scene following the death of Thomas. In the original edited version of the film we soon observe the infamous Tavington interviewing a dying witness of the event in a battlefield tent hospital. It is in this scene that the witness compares who we know as Benjamin Martin to a ghost. The problem is, as far as we knew, there were no survivors. We had to accept at face value that perhaps one must have escaped. In this version of the film we now know the facts! You see, after Martin does his bloody hack job on a would-be escapee, the camera pans in on one particular Redcoat as he lays wounded in a nearby swamp. We then get a peek at what he sees through his one dying eye: an eerie glimpse of Martin flitting through the dim light of the heavily-wooded forest. Then the camera focuses again on the bloodied face of this dying witness. It is not long thereafter that we discover that this poor chap actually survives (he's the one in the hospital tent).

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Connections

Referenced in Chris Stuckmann Movie Reviews: 500th Video - Blu-Ray Collection!! (2013)

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Soundtracks

The British Grenadiers
Traditional

User Reviews

Here's Mel to give the Brits an inaccurate historical thrashing, again...

The Patriot is based around one Benjamin Martin, an ex-soldier, who now happily living as a family man finds himself thrust into conflict at the break of the American Revolution.

He loves the Brits does Mel Gibson, Gallipoli, Braveheart and here with The Patriot, see the pattern anyone? As with the aforementioned Gallipoli and Braveheart, certain liberties have also been taken with events in The Patriot so as to glossy up for the eager Hollywood contingent. It's not my want to scribble about the facts of Benjamin Martin {Re:Francis Marion}, or William Wallace for that matter, information as such is but a mere click away on the world wide web.

So casting aside the artistic licence factors, is The Patriot any good? Well nearly it is--nearly. Gibson is fine, he shoulders the burden of the film with great gusto and no shortage of emotional depth. It's very easy to accept him as a staunch family man who transforms into a blood thirsty warrior. The problems, acting wise, lay away from Gibbo's central performance. Surrounded by caricature villains {tho Jason Isaacs' Tavington is deliciously vile} and underwritten characters {Chris Cooper wasted and Joely Richardson is but a mere prop}, Gibson has no choice but to hog the screen. So much so it ultimately turns into a one man star vehicle, which for a costume war epic isn't a great thing really.

Roland Emmerich (Independence Day and Godzilla) directs and handles the battle sequences very well, there's lashings of blood as men line up to shoot and dismember one and other. While cannonball's whizz, bang and tear off body parts, it's grim, yet oddly rousing stuff. Not even the overtly flag waving and sloganeering on show can off set the impact of the well constructed battles. There is of course lots of tragedy to be found in the film, and these are some what surprisingly, tenderly handled by Emmerich, but mostly it's via an on song Gibson, who remains one of the few modern day male actors capable of believable grief. All of this given a John Williams score that suitably flits between rousing and ethereal, and things are further boosted by the sumptuous photography from Caleb Deschanel.

There should have been more thought given to the racial {slaves} aspects in the conflict, and this coupled with the bad errors of under developed characters hurts The Patriot. Not so as to stop it being entertaining, but more to stop it being a one man show. But as it is, thanks in the main to Gibson, and in spite of its faults, it's an above average drama. 6/10