Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1439 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-05-17
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English, French, Latin
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 180 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
A stupendous historical saga, Braveheart won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for star Mel Gibson. He plays William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish commoner who unites the various clans against a cruel English King, Edward the Longshanks (Patrick McGoohan). The scenes of hand-to-hand combat are brutally violent, but they never glorify the bloodshed. There is such enormous scope to this story that it works on a smaller, more personal scale as well, essaying love and loss, patriotism and passion. Extremely moving, it reveals Gibson as a multitalented performer and remarkable director with an eye for detail and an understanding of human emotion. (His first directorial effort was 1993's Man Without a Face.) The film is nearly three hours long and includes several plot tangents, yet is never dull. This movie resonates long after you have seen it, both for its visual beauty and for its powerful story. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Amazon.co.uk Review
Mel Gibson's birth-of-a-nation epic Braveheart does for England what Spartacus did for Rome: every Englishman in this film is weak or nasty or a fool, or all three. Gibson plays William Wallace, the highland warrior whose fierce fighting spirit prompted Robert the Bruce's memorable victory over the English at Bannockburn. The film opens with boy Wallace losing his father and brother to the murdering English. Gibson's over-age Wallace then indulges in an unintentionally risible spot of teenage romance with the chaste Murron (Catherine McCormack), who is promptly despatched by yet another wicked Englishman. Gibson swings into action in some truly impressive (and horribly gory) fight scenes, culminating in the battles of Stirling and Falkirk.

When not separating English body parts, Gibson finds time for a clandestine romance with Isabelle, the Princess of Wales (Sophie Marceau), whom he manages to impregnate, thereby ensuring that the current British monarchy are all descended from him and not from William the Conqueror as they might heretofore have supposed. He trounces the weak and venial English at every turn, causing England's nasty Edward I (Patrick McGoohan) to cough and splutter a lot. Only treachery by the Scotch nobility (lowlanders to a man) stops Wallace's triumphant crusade. His final apotheosis, complete with pre-Passion of the Christ crucifixion imagery, posits Wallace as the redeemer of his country's lost independence.

The set-piece battles are a feast for the senses: a combination of the scale of Spartacus with the mud of Branagh's Henry V. But the continual use of slow motion in tandem with the gorgeous scenic backdrops and James Horner's cloying "folksy" music score of indeterminate national origin, enhances the feeling that this is a slick promo for the Scottish tourist board (ironic, perhaps, that much of it was shot in Ireland). Gibson and his Caledonian costars give the impression that a good time was had by all. --Mark Walker

Synopsis
Mel Gibson directs and stars in this Academy Award-winning epic based on the life of legendary thirteenth century Scottish hero William Wallace. Returning to his homeland following the death of an heirless king, Wallace (Mel Gibson) finds the political landscape precarious. Edward the Longshanks, King of England (Patrick McGoohan), has captured Scotland's throne and threatens the freedom of all Scottish people, as tyrannical policies instituted by the English plague the Scots. Initially, Wallace is content to stand by the wayside, yearning for the simple life of building a home and raising a family. However, when the woman he loves (Catherine McCormack) suffers a cruel fate at the hands of English soldiers, Wallace takes a stand against the new rule. With his fierce patriotism and determination, he gathers an amateur but passionately rebellious army. Although this makeshift force may be outnumbered by the English troops, their desperation and love for their land surpass any military manoeuvres, as evidenced in the film's breathtaking battle sequences.

Customer Reviews

Great Fun
Those that have yet to watch this would do well to take advantage of such a bargain. Whilst it is not an accurate account of time gone by it is enjoyable to watch. Braveheart is a film that won't bore you and will keep you on your toes. I enjoy it every time I watch it and can't help but want the Scots to win (despite being English!) I've got one or two issues with Mel Gibsons 'scottish' accent but its not that bad. Despite a long running time of 171 minutes I find this flies by. Don't be put off by the not so accurate historical facts. This does not hurt what is in all fairness an excellent film.

Jolly Scottish?/Irish?/Hollywood? romp
Certainly this is a beautiful film, the backdrop and scenes are spectacular (even if most of it was shot in Ireland rather than Scotland). It is very enjoyable and Gibson does a pretty good Scottish accent (the quality of this accent is enhanced if it is watched soon after Robin Hood in which Kevin Costner makes no attempt whatsoever in making a fundamental English legend sound anything other than from California). The only thing that is comical is the way in which every English person in the film is villified. And the way in which Irish and Scottish are portrayed as "best Celtic buddies" at the battle of Stirling which was far from the truth. In reality, William Wallace was as brutal as his enemy the "hammer of Scotland" (longshanks), albeit he was driven to this by many years of hardship and terror. However the quality of the film as a whole and its production prevail and make it fabulous viewing and Gibson lends vulnerability to the character and this yields the viewers sympathy, and by the end of the film, no matter how patriotic an Englishman you might be, you are behind Scotland and bloody pleased that they trounced us at the battle of Bannockburn. Watch this film, i highly recommend it!

Not a favourite film for historians. FRUSTRATING!
I'm Scots born and bred and proud of it but this film made me roll my eyes. From the perpective of entertainment is does OK but from the view of someone who wants the true picture, it is the biggest pile of rubbish I've seen.

Randall Wallace based the scrip of Braveheart on a poem by a medieval poet called 'Blind Harry' Now, all that needs to be said about Harry was that he was anti-English and very biased. Not only this but his account of Wallace's life tells us that the Scots actually WON Falkirk. Everyone knows this is rubbish, but Harry argued other wise. It's kind of the same level of denail as the Iraqi Information Minister. This speaks volumes about the accuracy of the film. Who would believe a history of Iraq based on his account? Exactly.

First off, the film is very anti-English. The first lines are that Edward 'seized the crown of Scotland for himself' thereby setting up the anti-English stance from the start. Incidentally, he never 'stole' the crown but was invited by the Scots nobles to help sort out the problems surrounding no heir to the throne.

The battle scenes are very inaccurately depicted. Without going into detail, they miss out the important factors which aided the Scots in winning the battle of Stirling (Stirling Bridge etc) I found this very disappointing and found it showed litte regard for showing the true picture. Also for the record, Bruce was not even present at Falkirk and so did not fight for the English. He did change sides often however.

I admit when I was younger and a little less aware of the true story, I enjoyed this film. Now, after studying the history surrounding Wallace, I find the film a huge let down. It's embarassing to think this is the view foreign people have of Scottish history. It's also even more embarassing to visit the Wallace monument and find tourists taking pictures of the Gibson replica statue, when the real statue of the man is not even noticed.

This film is an expoloitation by Hollywood of an important time in both Scottish and English history. It changes the facts for entertainment purpose and in so doing, uneducates those who wish to know what really happened.