Patton (1970, PG)

Directed by: Franklin J. Schaffner

Grade: A—

In my initial rating of Patton, I awarded the film a perfect A grade.  Satisfied, I slept on that decision, and when I woke up the next morning, I didn’t feel comfortable about that decision.  I lowered my score of Patton to an A— rating because of a few issues I have with the film, all of which shouldn't prove that big of a hinderence to those who don't worry on about the historical aspect of things (unlike me, apparently). 

I am a history buff, so I felt disappointed that a few things in the movie were left out.  To start this off, Patton is a three hour long epic movie, and yet, bits and pieces of it feel rushed, particularly towards the end, as the film excludes Patton smashing through the Siegfried Line and crossing the Rhine River, his liberating of POW Camps, and, tragically but importantly, his death.  The film is already three hours long, why not extend it to three and a half hours and include all of these necessary events? 

Otherwise, Patton is an excellent film; an onscreen biography that has probably only been surpassed by that sweeping epic Lawrence of Arabia.  The opening famous scene with Patton giving a speech in front of the American flag is memorable.  The sequence depicting the Battle of El Guettar is masterfully recreated: hundreds of German infantry and dozens of tanks driving into a trap of Patton's artillery.  What’s more, this film goes deep into the man of the title role, an eccentric and yet brilliant military tactician, and tackles ideas that other mainstream films would most likely avoid (we are provided with a smashing performance from Scott after all)  Patton is a very, very well made World War II film completed in epic formation, and only rarelly loses it's grip on the fascinating history it’s portraying.