Braveheart

Rating:
Summary: A good DVD Movie
Review: If you loved the movie, the DVD is a must have in order to hear Gibson's commentary as well as to enjoy the cinematography.

If you thought the movie was only good, or otherwise, you may want to rent it first. Mel Gibson's commentary was good, but not excellent. I love Gibson's acting and his directing. Probably, too much, so I wanted, or expected more. Never-the-less, it was great to get his thoughts on the movie.

I liked Braveheart as a movie, but did not love it. It is an important presentation of the determination of controlled men for freedom at all personal costs and sacrifices. It also shows the heavy cost to power hungry men when they take away all that a man loves and holds dear to their hearts. Gibson shows that there is nothing to hold a man back when he has lost that which he loves most. But, it just didn't drive me like other movies have.

If you have NOT seen the movie, it is a bit gory, and the ending is intense for the more sensitive viewer... or should I say for anyone who is not insensitive. But, the script is well written, the cinimatography is striking and the movie doesn't let up.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best of all times!
Review: Fantastic movie.

Little bloody and gorey for some people, but, if you can handle the hack and slash of body parts and spilling of blood, this movie is for you.

Great story, great acting, fantastic characters, and extremely fast paced. It'll grab you in the first 5 minutes.

Rating:
Summary: How to describe this movie? Five words...
Review: Greatest Movie Of All Time

As for the DVD, an excellent use of this format. The original documentary sheds light on the experience of making the film and Mel Gibson's commentary is superb. On most DVDs, the commentators attempt to talk over the entire movie, this makes most DVD commentaries unwatchable, as the key insights are often marred by boring filler space. Gibson only chimes in when he has something relevant, from key details and information like "It took six weeks to film this part" and "that's a real scar, not makeup", to nice little moments of trivia "That guy is my brother."

Five stars for the movie, five stars for the features.

Rating:
Summary: Overrated ego trip, even if it's fun to watch
Review: This may not have been Mel Gibson's first directorial effort, but it's certainly the most egotistical of his movies. Gibson's portrayal of William Wallace is so modest, in fact, that he allows his character to be not only the greatest warrior ever seen (able to ride his *horse* into a building, kill a man, and still get out alive despite the presence of a phalanx of armed guards), but so charismatic that the daughter of the enemy king falls in love with him after only one meeting. He not only fights and romances, he also speaks several languages, and can dazzle lords and commoners alike with his intelligence. ("En francais, s'il vou plait!") With a stirring speech sounding suspiciously like Kenneth Branagh in HENRY V, Wallace inspires his men to feats of derring-do, invents battle strategies never even conceived during that day and age (because they were tactically impossible, such as letting the enemy run right into a wall of spears), and leads his army into head-on crashes against the foe that bear more than a passing resemblance to the battle scene from Eisenstein's ALEXANDER NEVSKY. And when Wallace finally meets his end, it's not enough to merely die a defiant, heroic death...instead, he becomes a Christ figure and has a full-blown crucifixion. (The portrayal of the king's son as a flaming drag queen brought howls of protest from gay-rights groups, as homophobia is a running theme in a number of Gibson's movies.)

The movie is certainly not boring, and the battle scenes are good (if bloody); but it's merely an attempt to combine Errol Flynn's ROBIN HOOD with the typical Mel Gibson character, such as we see in MAD MAX or LETHAL WEAPON. I'd lament the fact that this movie won the Best Picture Oscar in 1995, but then the playing field that year was very poor and the Oscars are usually given to the most "politically correct" movies anyways.

Rating:
Summary: A movie for many genres!
Review: As mentioned by some of the other raters, this movie has a great plot, wonderful acting, unforgetable images, and ageless themes. The movie is a (historicaly not quite correct) story of William Wallace who led the Scots to great victories against the British before he was betrayed by his own, tortured and executed by the English. Mel Gibson once again shows his talents by combining his natural physical talents with his top-rate acting skills. The supporting cast members are all first-rate. This movie will be known as one of the 'new' great movies (Saving Privat Ryan, The Shawshank Redemption) of all time. The battle scenes are the most exciting and realistic that I have as yet seen filmed. The beautiful scenes of village life amidst the surrounding countryside are a wonderful contrast. I have to agree that there are so many vivid images, that it is difficult to select a few as examples. My most memorable images are Wallace's revenge, the many battle scenes and the torturing of Wallace. This is definately a watch again movie.

Rating:
Summary: Braveheart
Review: I think that Braveheart is a great movie. It reallygave you an idea of what it was like in Scotland in the 13th century. I enjoyed watching Braveheart and I really recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant and Passionate Epic
Review: While "Braveheart" isn't historically accurate, it features many of the elements of previous Oscar winners for Best Picture. These include, the beautiful mountain scenery of "The Sound of Music", the struggle for independance from England and/or the violent death of the title character featured in "Gandhi" and "A Man for All Seasons", the rivalry between an older member of the Establishment and a younger rougue in his thirties, as well as the eventual undoing of the work of the elder character featured in "Amadeus", and there is even a poignant look about the character at the moment of death in which his blue-eyed gaze falls upon the face of his wife that was also featured in "Amadeus", where a cute, lop-sided grin from a beautiful mouth leaves an audience with reassurance that the character is not defeated. Gibson unsuccessfully auditioned for the part of Mozart in the latter film a decade earlier, but that he has come full circle since then, winning two Oscars with "Braveheart", speaks volumes about the possibility that he just might be over that rejection. Gibson is at his energetic and vengeful best as Scottish warrior William Wallace, who has seen the English destroy everything and everyone he's held dear since childhood. In a fine, charismatic performance, he woos, wins, and loses his childhood sweetheart, played by Catherine McCormack who gives the character a sweet Scottish soul, rouses an army against the English, defeats them at Sterling, is defeated by them at Falkirk, and along the way recives a knighthood, and support from an unexpected source, Longshank's daughter-in-law, played by tall and willowy Sophie Marceau, who looks like she stepped out of a Rossetti painting. In reality, Isabella of France never met Wallace, much less had a child with him, and has nothing more in common with Wallace besides the date of her death--August 23,1358--exactly 53 years to the day of Wallace's execution. But in the film, she does a great job comforting a grieving widower, whose lonliness and lack of love in his life can, like hers, be attributed to Longshanks. Patrick MacGoohan's Longshanks is sinister to the core as he uses every evil device to bring Scotland to its knees. The film strikes a chord with me for the same reason "Gandhi" did. My parents, who are from Barbados, grew up under British rule, and have some familiarity with English injustices. Robert the Bruce, as played by Angus McFadyen, is a troubled nobleman with a lot of unfulfilled potential,forced to make compromises to keep order in the country he would one day rule. The late Ian Bannen as his leperous father is the mastermind behind Bruce's every decision. I could feel the cold damp climate of the British Isles from just watching this movie. But the ashen bluish light veiling Gibson's face and complimenting his trademark eyes at certain points was a masterstroke of cinematography. Mel proves he is still in fine form and as ready for action as ever, and he is aided by a childhood friend with brawn to match his brains, and a psychotic but effective fellow from Ireland. I could never say enough about the intensity of his performance or of the film in general. It's a typical Gibson film in terms of venegefulness, sensuality, and the justfication for killing his adversaries. It's a bit too graphic for young children, but could be recommended to anyone who was at least 15 or older.In the end, there are feelings of such reverance as well as elation from watching this film, for which James Horner wrote a score that fills one with a sense of both triumph and solemnity....And the tapering sound of a lone bagpipe in the distance, faintly reminiscent of those that might have been played by any of Scotland's warrior poets of that distant era.

Rating:
Summary: An epic that went into the pages of history
Review: After the Mad Max and the Lethal Weapon series, and a very funny co-starring of Maverick with Jodie Foster, Mel Gibson brought this brilliant movie to life as director and actor.

The movie revolves around the epic character of William Wallace, a man who led the Scottish in their struggle against the English. Filled with love and battles, there are very few movie endings that remain so strong in my memory.

To top things, Gibson brought on board thousand wars veteran James Horner to put together a unique soundtrack to go with the story.

You can't get it wrong. This is one of history's most beautiful and heroic tales.

Rating:
Summary: HARD TO BELIEVE A MASTERPIECE COULD BE ACTED AND DIRECTED BY
Review: SAME PERSON.....

This is without a doubt one of the best films of all time. I am not really a gigantic moive fan, but I have seen a lot of movies and I know a good movie when I see one, and I know a great movie when I seen one, and then of course I know a brilliant movie when I see one. Braveheart is beyond brilliant, its amazing how Gibson can be the main actor and direct the entire film, if the film was smaller and not as long and well put together I would understand how one person could do it all. This and Randsom are the best movies I have Mel Gibson act in. Mel in my opinion is the best male actor I have seen in any movie.

Rating:
Summary: MEL GIBSON IS THE BEST!!!
Review: "Braveheart" is by far the greatest movie ever made. From the acting, direction, editing/production, everything- it's just the best. Mel Gibson, as always, is awesome in this movie- not only as the lead actor, but also as the director and the producer. Mel deserves to be called the greatest actor of all time because all of his movies are great, he always gives Oscar-worthy performances, and he is also a great filmmaker. Sorry, but Tom Hanks is . . . lucky that Mel is never in the Oscar "Best Actor" category with him because if Mel was in it with Hanks or anyone else, they could hang it up. Tom Hanks [stinks] anyway. Well, buy this movie if you're a die-hard Mel Gibson fan (like me) or if you just wanna see an awesome movie.