Cheap Patton (DVD) (George C. Scott, Karl Malden) (Franklin J. Schaffner) Price

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Customer Reviews of Patton

Incredible!
After watching Patton I have come to the conclusion that there has never been a war movie quite like it. It is not just a war movie, but also an extraordinary character study. 20th Century Fox came up with a "mixed bag" of terrific movie talents(Frank Schaffner, Frank McCarthy, Francis Ford Coppola, to name a few) for this film, and each contributed their skills, but none of them contributed more than George C. Scott. His electrifying, believable performance in the title role was, in my opinion, the greatest I have ever seen in any film. Karl Malden was cast as General Omar Bradley, and he doesn't disappoint either. Although his performance wasn't nearly as good as Scott's, he does quite good as Patton's character foil; quiet and more cautious. The DVD presents Patton with style; Jerry Goldsmith's musical score is still first-rate, and the scenery(with the help of the Dimension-150 camera)is something to behold. If you get the two-disk edition, however, it has a documentary with interviews on people involved in the movie. Do yourself a favor and fast-forward through the interview with Oliver Stone. He's got better things to say than what he says in the documentary. All in all, Patton is a one-of-a-kind war epic that was certainly worthy of the eight Academy Awards it won. Incredible!

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Patton is top brass!
Patton is a film that was made in 1970. It's a film that tells the story of one of America's most remembered and most telling characters in history. George C. Scott gives the performance of the century playing George S. Patton, looking and sounding and acting just like the real Patton, as recorded by Gen. Omar Bradley in which the film is based on.

Patton is a very different war movie. It was quite revolutionary in its time. Unlike a lot of war movies that survive off special effects, gore and heroism, Patton shines with its drama and realism as you follow the war-time biography of Patton. You learn a great deal about the politics, the system of the upper brass in our armed forces, and the frustration to coordinate and perform critical opperations. You also learn a great deal about the man, Patton, himself.

There is so much character developing, so much hard work put into the character of Patton, it clearly pays off in a huge way. This film will intrigue you as well as enlighten you. Patton's character is entertaining, he's real, he's distant yet close when it comes to relating, and he can be serious as well as funny. All of this makes Patton a master piece.

There is one little problem I had with the film. And that is I wasn't really pleased with Patton's heroic march through the winter of '44 to save the sieged soldiers. It wasn't very clear and it had little to no action in it, just telling you that they won it. This wasn't satisfactory, and yet it was Patton's highlight of his military career. A major let down, but it wasn't major enough to ruin the film. Thankfully. If it wasn't for the structure of the film, which already lacked action and engagements of battles, this might've ruined it if you are somebody who is interested in detailed history of the occurrences in WWII like me.

Overall Patton is a very powerful, dramatic film that circles around a man and his obsession with being a combat general in the heat of a war. It's a film that you will probably see more than once because it is a very special film.
You cannot get enough Patton, his character will live on because it comes across so powerfully in this film. It is a character and a story you are unlikely to forget.

Grade: A

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Decent Film/No Frills DVD
It's to the much-deserved credit of the underrated George C. Scott--simply brilliant here--and director Franklin Schaffner that the celebrated general of "Patton's" title comes across more the tragic hero and less the right-wing nutjob, especially considering that the film debuted in 1970. "Patton" is worth a look for that bit of storytelling finesse alone, but the film offers much more, effectively examining both the highs and lows of the headstrong general's World War II days. Though it lacks the poetic grandeur of epics like "Lawrence of Arabia" or "How the West Was Won," "Patton" nonetheless operates on a big scale, and Scott's larger-than-life portrayal is never obscured by the production's legions of soldiers or frequent changes of scenery. The script, co-written by Francis Ford Coppola, stays focused on the professional aspects of Patton's life--his devotion to duty, command, and career--and wisely avoids bogging down with diversions into romance or family life. Some might find such an approach imbalanced, but most viewers will likely enjoy the "purity" of what is, for lack of a better term, a satisfying "guy's story." Look for Karl Malden in a great supporting role as Omar Bradley, and enjoy Jerry Goldsmith's bombastic score, rivaled only by John Williams' Indiana Jones overtures. Still, "Patton" is not without faults. Military buffs may bemoan some technical inaccuracies, such as using tanks that don't fit the historical period; at times, the characterizations devolve into caricature, especially that of British General Montgomery; and some of Patton's borderline psychotic behavior--his various rages and obsessions with dreams and reincarnation--seem too easily dismissed as colorful idiosyncracies. The DVD itself is rather bare for a film that received many Oscars, perhaps the biggest flaw of all.