How could a movie so huge in scope and so fascinated by its subject be considered an anti-war film? The simple truth is that it's not--Patton is less about World War II than about the rise and fall of a man whose life was literally defined by war, and who felt lost and lonely without the grand-scale pursuit of an enemy. George C. Scott embodies his role so fully, so convincingly, that we can't help but be drawn to and fascinated by Patton as a man who is simultaneously bound for hell and glory. The film's opening monologue alone is a masterful display of acting and character analysis, and everything that follows is sheer brilliance on the part of Scott and director Franklin J. Schaffner.

Filmed on an epic scale at literally dozens of European locations, Patton does not embrace war as a noble pursuit, nor does it deny the reality of war as a breeding ground for heroes. Through the awesome achievement of Scott's performance and the film's grand ambition, Patton shows all the complexities of a man who accepted his role in life and (like Scott) played it to the hilt. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description
A critically acclaimed film that won a total of eight 1970 Academy Awards (Including Best Picture) Patton is a riveting portrait of one of the 20th century's greatest military geniuses. One of it's Oscars went to George Patton the only Allied general truly feared by the Nazis. Charismatic and Flamboyant Patton designed his own uniforms sported ivory-handled six-shooters and believed he was a warrior in past lives. He outmanuevered Rommel in Africa and after D-Day led his troops in an unstoppable campaign across Europe. But he was rebellious as well in sight and poignancy his own volatile personailty was one enemy he could never defeat.System Requirements:Running Time: 170 minutesFormat: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/CLASSICS Rating: PG UPC: 024543519782 Manufacturer No: 2251978

In terms of extra features on this DVD, the second disc features the 1997 50-minute retrospective documentary, "The Making of Patton: A Tribute to Franklin J. Schaffner." Recent interviews with the cinematographer, composer, etc., are blended with audio interviews of Schaffner and Scott from 1970, newsreel footage of Patton, along with clips and publicity stills from the film make a fitting tribute to the late director. The audio commentary on the first disc is really more of a lecture on Patton by Charles M. Province, the author of the book "The Unknown Patton" and founder/president of the General George S. Patton, Jr. Historical Society. Province more than adequately fills in what the movie leaves out about Patton's life. On the second disc Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar nominated musical score is presented in stereo, including alternate takes and a series of radio spots. You certainly have to appreciate what Fox has put together here: This is a "Special Edition" DVD priced as a regular DVD, a real treat for those of us who remember being mesmerized by George C. Scott giving that profanity laced opening speech standing in front of that giant American flag.


Wow! Big film about bigger-than-life man   July 28, 2004
 58 out of 66 found this review helpful

George S. Patton was the half-crazy, half-genius general who was the main factor in most U.S. victories in North Africa and Italy during World War II, and was a significant factor in Europe as well, albeit sometimes as a decoy. He loved to fight, he loved to win, and he loved the spotlight. He saw his role in history very clearly, and strove to make that role as big and as important and as meaningful as possible.

George C. Scott seems to have been born to play this role and, even though there are other notable actors in this film biography of Patton, Scott played Patton so brilliantly and so dramatically that he overshadowed everyone else and thoroughly dominated the film. I am not sure if there are many other films where the lead actor dominated this much; even in LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, Peter O'Toole did not overshadow Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, and Alec Guiness as much as Scott did in PATTON, although O'Toole's depiction of T.E. Lawrence is probably one of the few performances in movie history that rivals Scott's, as far as becoming thoroughly immersed in the character being portrayed.

PATTON is a sweeping epic and a glorification of the complex man George Patton was. It could not have been done bigger, nor better.

P.S.: I saw George Patton's grave at the American military cemetery in Luxembourg. His grave is the same as any other grave in this immaculate cemetery, except that his grave is at the front and faces the others. Even in death, the general faces his men.


P.P.S.: If you see the watery sequel, made years later, please keep in mind that the sequel is highly fictionalized.


The Single Best War Biography Ever Filmed!   July 11, 2000
 47 out of 52 found this review helpful

When this movie was released, it was almost immediately recognized as one of the finest, most accurate and most sensational biographies ever filmed. The unique integration in "Patton" of such fine acting, such a wonderful script, and the filming itself combined to make this a gorgeous film to watch, be entertained with, and also learn from in terms of its historical value as an absolutely superb depiction of a most controversial man and his times. All that said, this is a movie best enjoyed with the kind of visual clarity, terrific cinematography, and matchless Technicolor it offers by way of DVD technology.

George C. Scott gives the performance of a lifetime as the ego-drive, brilliant, and iconoclastic Patton, marvel of the U.S Army, a man the Germans are convinced is far and away the single best General the Allies have, and they watch him convinced he is the only logical centerpiece for American plans for the impending invasion of Europe. Of course, they didn't understand the politics of the day, or the degree to which Patton was his own worst enemy. Yet the progress of the story on the screen convinces the viewer of the accuracy of the German command's judgments of him; he is at once bold, brilliant, and innovative, willing to improvise as he goes along to seize the opportunity of a given moment, attempting to grab hold of the ever-present chaos of the situation to transform it into an asset he can employ to gain advantage and win the engagement.

Such men as Patton (and MacArthur and others) are uniquely suited for war; they do not ordinarily fare well or survive with much public acclaim during less extreme and bloodcurdling times. The fact that Eisenhower, for example, succeeded so well as President is probably due more to the fact that he was less a battlefield commander and leader of "desperate men in combat" like Patton than he was a superb organizer and a natural politician. The movie "Patton" is an investment in both great entertainment and a colorful, dramatic, and educational video you can share with your sons and daughters to help them understand better the chaos, contradictions, and cruelties of war. Enjoy!


As Good As Any Film Biography   January 1, 2003
 26 out of 30 found this review helpful

"Patton", is massive by any measure. Number of Academy Awards won, 8, inclusive of best picture and best actor, the man chronicled, General George Patton, the World War that is documented in the film, the cinematic scope of 150 degrees the view takes in, or the sheer size of the numbers of persons and material that was put on the screen. Winning 8 Academy Awards while The United States was torn by the ongoing Vietnam War was no small feat for this film that documents one of the larger than life participants in that human conflict, one of the great warriors of the 20th Century, or of many other centuries depending on your view of the man. His was a towering personality and every event, every decision matched his ego, with the result that he was wildly successful, a man given to horrendous missteps, and either loved, feared, or hated. The bottom line was that if you were fighting you wanted Patton fighting for you, not against you.

One of the reasons this film was not narrowly defined as a war film was that it was about this one man. It is true there are classic war sequences as when he nearly yells, "Rommel you magnificent.........I read your book". But the film really is about a personality, and one that was rapidly falling out of favor when generals were no longer needed as warriors, when they were becoming diplomats, and in some cases planning a run for high political office as the war ended. Patton's ideas about continuing the war with the Russians may seem simplistic, but his attitude, one that was contemplated by other noted and respected men at the time, provides one of the greatest counter-factual discussions for historians, specifically what if we had not treated the Russians with the deference that we did, what if Churchill's party was not removed from office, what type of peace would then have emerged, and from it, what type of post WWII world?

Like the books that have profiled the man, the film is also comparatively massive at just a bit under three hours in length. With rare exception, contemporary films now hardly ever contemplate such a running time, for it means too few turns of the audience in a given theater. The fact is, that the films just are not as worthwhile, for when they are, people will happily sit through them and be oblivious as to there length. One only has to look at the newest installment of, "The Twin Towers", to see that a 3 hour film fills as many theaters as it is allowed to play in, and is breaking and making new records as the days pass. Hollywood geniuses take note, quality is still not only appreciated, it is recognized, the dumbing down of films is done in Hollywood by those that create the mediocre movies, it's not indicative of what film fans are desirous of seeing.

George C. Scott was a remarkable actor, and while not defined by any single film or stage performance, "Patton", was certainly a role that generally followed closely with a discussion of this actor's career. It sounds like the worst cliche, but when on screen, the man becomes Patton, as I suppose most performances that are truly special, and are still in demand 33 years after they are made all are.

I recently watched, "A Bridge Too Far", another filmmaking epic that was more of an ensemble film as opposed to a star vehicle like, "Patton". It was made in 1977, seven years after, "Patton", and by comparison the film looked terrible. The DVD I watched was re-mastered via THX, and the picture and sound that resulted were excellent, and makes the same treatment for films like, "A Bridge Too Far", imperative. Any film that people still are willing to pay for and watch that is in its fourth decade of existence benefits enormously from improving the picture and the sound via THX and other technologies. "Patton", takes advantage of this technology, and other studios should take note, and make the investment in other films that have firmly established themselves as classics.


Why the Sabotage?   January 6, 2007
 21 out of 23 found this review helpful

I have always loved the movie "Patton". It is a true classic and a treasure in cinema. I give 3 stars to this special edition because of the following reasons. I cannot understand why 20th Century Fox chose to add the Documentary "Ghost Corp" which seems to want to imply that Patton abandoned the XX Corp and particularly the 94th Infantry deliberately with no reason. Horrible incidences happen in war, this one happened because Patton was on his way north to fight a little annoyance called THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE!, also he was going to rescue the 101st Airborne surrounded by German Forces at Bastogne from being ANNIHILATED!. In the documentary "The making of Patton" there is a clip from Oliver Stone stating that the movie "Patton" was responsible for Nixon invading and bombing Cambodia, which, according to Oliver Stone, forced the Khmer Rouge to kill millions of Cambodians. He states that only two movies he knows of ever influenced history; "Patton" and of course his movie "JFK". Naturally his (Oliver Stone)'s movie was in a good way. "Patton" just caused destruction and death. My view of this is that 20th Century Fox wanted to be politically correct and shield itself from anyone anywhere at anytime thinking that they would glorify war. I have never ever heard of a single person thinking seriously that the movie "Patton" glorified war. Whoever thought that at Fox is an idiot and obviously does not think much of the audiences' intelligence that watched "Patton". Oliver Stone is simply pitiful. He wishes that he could make a movie that would live in people's hearts like "Patton" does. He will never touch that greatness, his films will never obtain that level of affection in people's hearts. People don't love "Patton" because it is a war picture. We love it because it is great, it resonates in our hearts and it gave us an image of a complex man and the great men around him who sacrificed, bled, and accomplished heroic deeds. It is positive and gives us hope, unlike the depressing, hopeless, and disposable garbage that Oliver Stone puts out.