I Love Patton! (1 Viewer)

[Andrew_Sch]

The movie, not the actual guy, I don't swing that way Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Anyway, as I've already said, I believe that George C. Scott's portrayal of Patton might be the greatest performance of all time. Then there's moments like these:
-The opening scene. The huge American flag. The amazing speech. Quite possibly the greatest introduction to a movie ever, unquestionably one of the top 5.
-The scene where Patton and Bradley go to the Carthaginian battlefield and Patton reminisces about the the things he saw there thousands of years ago. "I was here." Then there's the poem, after Patton reveals to Brad that the poet was, "me."
-After Patton is informed that Rommel wasn't there for the defeat of the Africa corps, "Well I'm my favorite general and I don't like losing face."
-"I believe we were discussing air superiority." If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch the movie again.
-The slapping incident. Don't know if it really happened this way, but having him give the dying guy the Purple Heart right before coming to the coward was a smart move.
-The very end, "All glory is fleeting."
-Jerry Goldsmith's score.
-Oh yeah, did I mention the fact that Scott absolutely OWNS this character?!
p.s. Anybody care to explain why he turned down this Oscar?

 

[Ben Osborne]

Patton is also one of my favorite movies. The great thing about it, for me, is that it makes me like a guy that I probably would have hated in real life. The first time I heard the opening speech I thought Patton was an Link Removed. But as I watched the movie I was won over by the General's originality and his eccentricites. Definitely George C. Scott's best performance, and my favorite war movie of all time. Also worth mentioning is the beautiful, shot-on-location scenery. It's almost like getting a tour of Europe from Link Removed.
From what I heard, Scott didn't show up for the Oscars because he didn't like the idea of actors competing against one another like horses.

 

[Rod Melotte]

Patton - one of my top 5 fav movies!!

Ben - you are correct - that was the reason.

 

[Mike Broadman]

So is Scott still considered the Oscar winner, or did it go to someone else because he turned it down?

I applaud him. The idea of award ceremonies and political lobbying for little statues always bothered me.

I absolutely adore this film. Between this and Dr Strangelove, Scott is one of my favorite actors. An amazing screen presence.

I really like the end where he's trying to convince his superiors to invade the Soviet Union. Even though the guy wants to go kill more people, you kind of feel sorry that his purpose in life was taken away from him.

 

[David Oliver]

"Rommel, you magnificent bastard! I read your book!"

 

[Bill J]

I love Patton, but it is far from being the best war film ever.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I love Patton, but it is far from being the best war film ever.

After reading this thread, I didn't see anybody stating "Patton" was the best war film ever, but since you brought it up, it is surely one of the best. Of course, that's my opinion, as it is yours that it's not.
Crawdaddy

 

[RobertR]

"I will not subsidize cowardice"

I had the pleasure of seeing a restored print at the Academy theater in November, followed by a question and answer session with Karl Malden (General Bradley). Wonderful experience.

 

[Bill J]

Robert, I realize that nobody actually stated that, but I assumed that Andrew was thinking that after I read his post and I saw his sig. Patton may not be THE best, but it surely is ONE of the best.

 

[Joe_C]

I've been meaning to see this flick for a long time now, especially since I LOVED Scott in Strangelove. I guess I'll just purchase the DVD sight unseen

 

[Ben Osborne]

I stated that Patton is my favorite war movie, and I stand by that statement. I realize that it's more of a character portrait than a war movie. It doesn't have the most realistic depiction of battle or the most in-depth treament of strategy. Heck, it doesn't ever have very profound things to say about war. However, what it does do, it does brilliantly--that is, it follows the career and gets inside the mind of someone who understands war and knows what it takes to win wars like few others throughout history have. This journey across Europe at the height of the bloodiest war in history, in the company of one of the best (if not the best) generals of the war, is simply a great pleasure.

 

[Andrew_Sch]

I don't really know if I would consider Patton to be a war movie. I'd say it's a war movie/biopic, but if push came to shove and I had to choose one genre, it would be biopic.

 

[Ashley Seymour]

This journey across Europe at the height of the bloodiest war in history, in the company of one of the best

(if not the best) generals of the war, is simply a great

pleasure

One of the best, but unfortunately (or fortunately) he probably was in too few campaigns to rank as the best. He might have been the match of Rommel in a single battle, but taking into account their total contribution, Rommel would come out ahead. Patton commanded an army, but never had the change to contol armies and whole fronts like some of great German and Russian generals.

I also agree that if you are looking for a great shoot-em-up war movie, you won't find it here.

Opening scene. The best of any movie I have seen. If you ever get the chance to see it at a theater with a really big screen, whoooah!!!

 

[ChristopherDM]

Patton is my favorite war movie. First saw it in 8th grade US History I was like wow a school movie that isnt boring!

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

I always like to post this link in any thread on Patton, so you can see what the original text of "the speech" says. Hint: the movie version was cleaned up a lot...
www.geocities.com/pattonhq/speech.html