Braveheart

This article is about the 1995 film. For the House, M.D. episode, see Brave Heart. For the 1925 film, see Braveheart (1925 film).

Braveheart
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Mel Gibson
Written by	Randall Wallace
Produced by	Mel Gibson Alan Ladd, Jr. Bruce Davey Stephen McEveety
Starring	Mel Gibson Sophie Marceau Patrick McGoohan Angus Macfadyen Brendan Gleeson Catherine McCormack
Narrated by	Angus Macfadyen Mel Gibson
Cinematography	John Toll
Edited by	Steven Rosenblum
Music by	James Horner
Production companies	Icon Productions The Ladd Company
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures 20th Century Fox
Release date	May 24, 1995 (1995-05-24)
Running time	177 minutes
Country	Template:Film US
Language	English
Budget	$53,000,000
Box office	$210,409,945

Braveheart is a 1995 historical drama directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace. Gibson portrays William Wallace, a 13th century Scottish warrior who gained recognition when he came to the forefront of the First War of Scottish Independence by opposing King Edward I of England (portrayed by Patrick McGoohan) who was also known by the nickname "Longshanks".

The film won five Academy Awards at the 68th Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director, and was nominated for an additional five.

Plot

In the 13th century, after several years of political unrest, Scotland is invaded and conquered by King Edward I of England (known as "Longshanks") (Patrick McGoohan). Longshanks summons the defeated Scottish nobles to a meeting, but instead of discussing terms as they were led to expect, he simply hangs them en masse.

Young William Wallace witnesses the treachery of Longshanks, survives the death of his father and brother, and is taken abroad by his uncle where he is educated. Many years later, Longshanks grants his noblemen land and privileges in Scotland, including Primae Noctis, the right of the lord to take a newly married Scottish woman into his bed on the wedding night. When he returns home, Wallace (Mel Gibson), intending to live peacefully, falls in love with his childhood sweetheart Murron MacClannough (Catherine McCormack), and they marry in secret so that she does not have to spend a night in the bed of the English lord.

When an English soldier tries to rape Murron, Wallace fights off several soldiers and the two attempt to flee. But Murron is captured and publicly executed by the village sheriff, who proclaims "an assault on the King's soldiers is the same as an assault on the King himself." In retribution, Wallace and several villagers slaughter the English garrison and execute the sheriff.

Now compelled to rebel against the English, Wallace's legend spreads and hundreds of Scots from the surrounding clans join him. Wallace leads his army to victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, as well as the sacking of the city of York. All the while, Wallace seeks the assistance of Robert the Bruce (Angus Macfadyen), son of nobleman Robert the Elder, and chief contender for the Scottish crown. Despite his growing admiration for Wallace and his cause, however, Robert is dominated by his father who wishes to secure the throne for his son by submitting to the English.

Worried by the threat of the rebellion, Longshanks sends the wife of his son Edward, the French princess Isabelle (Sophie Marceau), to try to negotiate with Wallace. In doing this, Longshanks hopes Wallace will kill her, as the French king will declare war on Wallace in revenge. Wallace refuses the bribe sent with Isabelle by Longshanks, but after meeting him in person, Isabelle becomes enamored with him.

Meanwhile, Longshanks prepares an army to invade Scotland. Warned of the coming invasion by Isabelle, Wallace implores the Scottish nobility, who are more concerned with their own welfare, that immediate action is needed to counter the threat, and to take back the country. Personally leading the English army, Longshanks confronts the Scots at the bloody Battle of Falkirk, where noblemen Lochlan and Mornay betray Wallace. The Scots lose the battle, and Wallace is nearly killed when, in a last desperate act, he charges toward the departing Longshanks on horseback to personally kill him. Wallace is intercepted by one of the king's lancers, who turns out to be Robert the Bruce. Wallace, realizing the Bruce has betrayed him, simply gives up and is nearly captured by the English. Robert, however, immediately remorseful of his betrayal takes Wallace to safety before he is captured.

Over the next seven years, Wallace goes into hiding, waging a protracted guerilla war on the English. In retribution for their betrayal of him at Falkirk, Wallace brutally murders Mornay and Lochlan. Robert the Bruce, intending to join Wallace and commit troops to the war, sets up a meeting with him in Edinburgh where Robert's father has conspired with other nobles to capture and hand over Wallace to the English. Learning of his treachery, the Bruce disowns his father. Following a tryst with Wallace, Isabelle exacts revenge on the now terminally ill Longshanks by telling him she is pregnant with another man's child, intent on ending Longshank's line and ruling in his son's place.

In London, Wallace is brought before an English magistrate, tried for high treason, and condemned to public torture and beheading. Despite being half hanged, racked and disemboweled alive, Wallace refuses to submit to the king and beg for mercy. Awed by Wallace's courage, the watching Londoners begin to yell for mercy and the magistrate offers him one final chance. Instead, the defiant Wallace uses the last amount of strength in his body to shout, "Freedom!" Just before the axe falls, Wallace sees a vision of Murron in the crowd smiling at him.

In 1314, (nine years after Wallace's death), Robert the Bruce, now Scotland's king and still guilt-ridden over his involvement in Wallace's betrayal, leads a Scottish army before a ceremonial line of English troops on the fields of Bannockburn where he is to formally accept English rule. As he begins to ride toward the English, the Bruce stops and turns back to his troops. Invoking Wallace's memory, he implores them to fight with him as they did with Wallace. He then leads his army into battle against the English, with him and his men chanting Wallace's name as they charge. This surprises the English soldiers, who were not expecting to fight.

The film ends with a voiceover from Gibson, which intones that Scotland won their freedom in this battle.

Cast

• Mel Gibson as William Wallace
• Patrick McGoohan as King Edward I of England
• Angus Macfadyen as Robert the Bruce
• Brendan Gleeson as Hamish Campbell
• Sophie Marceau as Princess Isabella of France
• Peter Hanly as Prince Edward, Prince of Wales
• Ian Bannen as the elder Robert the Bruce
• James Cosmo as Campbell the Elder
• Catherine McCormack as Murron MacClannough
• David O'Hara as Stephen
• Brian Cox as Argyle Wallace
• James Robinson as young William Wallace

Conception

The script for Braveheart was based partly on Blind Harry's 15th century epic poem, The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace. In defending his script against criticism, Randall Wallace has said, "Is Blind Harry true? I don't know. I know that it spoke to my heart and that's what matters to me, that it spoke to my heart." However some important aspects of the plot, e.g. his affair with Princess Isabella, are based neither on history nor Blind Harry.

Production

Gibson's company Icon Productions had difficulty raising enough money even if he were to star in the film. Warner Bros. was willing to fund the project on the condition that Gibson sign for another Lethal Weapon sequel, which he refused. Paramount Pictures only agreed to American and Canadian distribution of Braveheart after 20th Century Fox partnered for international rights.

While the crew spent six weeks shooting on location in Scotland, the major battle scenes were shot in Ireland using members of the Irish Army Reserve as extras. To lower costs, Gibson had the same extras portray both armies. The opposing armies are made up of reservists, up to 1,600 in some scenes, who had been given permission to grow beards and swapped their drab uniforms for medieval garb.

According to Gibson, he was inspired by the big screen epics he had loved as a child, such as Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus and William Wyler's The Big Country.

The film was shot in the anamorphic format with Panavision C- and E-Series lenses.

Gibson toned down the film's battle scenes to avoid an NC-17 rating from the MPAA. The final version was rated R for "brutal medieval warfare."

In addition to English being the film's primary language, French, Latin, and Scottish Gaelic are also spoken.

Release and reception

Box office

On its opening weekend, Braveheart grossed US$9,938,276 in the United States and $75.6 million in its box office run in the United States and Canada. Worldwide, the movie grossed $210,409,945 and was the 18th highest grossing film of 1995.

Reviews

Braveheart met with generally positive reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 79% with an average score of 7/10. The film's depiction of the Battle of Stirling Bridge is often considered one of the best movie battles in cinema history. In a 2005 poll by British film magazine Empire, Braveheart was #1 on their list of "The Top 10 Worst Best Pictures."

The Scottish actor and comedian Billy Connolly famously dismissed Braveheart as "a piece of pure Australian shite."

Around the world

The film generated huge interest in Scotland and in Scottish history, not only around the world, but also in Scotland itself. Fans come from all over the world to see the places in Scotland where William Wallace fought for Scottish freedom, and also to the places in Scotland and Ireland to see the locations used in the film. At a Braveheart Convention in 1997, held in Stirling the day after the Scottish Devolution vote and attended by 200 delegates from around the world, Braveheart author Randall Wallace, Seoras Wallace of the Wallace Clan, Scottish historian David Ross and Bláithín FitzGerald from Ireland gave lectures on various aspects of the film. Several of the actors also attended including James Robinson (Young William), Andrew Weir (Young Hamish), Julie Austin (the young bride) and Mhairi Calvey (Young Murron).

Awards and honors

The movie was nominated for ten Oscars and won five.

Won

Award	Nominee
Best Picture	Mel Gibson Alan Ladd, Jr. Bruce Davey Stephen McEveety
Best Director	Mel Gibson
Best Cinematography	John Toll
Best Sound Editing	Lon Bender Per Hallberg
Best Makeup	Peter Frampton Paul Pattison Lois Burwell

Nominated

Award	Nominee
Best Original Screenplay	Randall Wallace
Best Original Score	James Horner
Best Sound	Andy Nelson Scott Millan Anna Behlmer Brian Simmons
Best Film Editing	Steven Rosenblum
Best Costume Design	Charles Knode

American Film Institute recognition:

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:
  • William Wallace - Nominated Hero
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
  • "They may take away our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!" - Nominated

Cultural effects

The film is credited by Lin Anderson, author of Braveheart: From Hollywood To Holyrood as having played a significant role in affecting the Scottish political landscape in the mid to late 1990s.

Revival of Scottish Nationalism

With the release of the film in 1995 and the opening of the Scottish parliament in 1999, it has brought a wave of Scottish nationalism; it has been reported that members of the Scottish National Party have been seen promoting their party outside where it was originally shown/filmed. They have even been confirmed reports of various people burning the union flag in reaction to the film.

Wallace Monument

File:BraveStatue 1200x1600.jpg

Tom Church's 'Freedom' statue.

In 1997, a 12-ton sandstone statue depicting Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Braveheart was placed in the car park of the Wallace Monument near Stirling, Scotland. The statue, which was the work of Tom Church, a monumental mason from Brechin, included the word "Braveheart" on Wallace's shield. The installation became the cause of much controversy, one local resident stated that it was wrong to "desecrate the main memorial to Wallace with a lump of crap." In 1998 the face on the statue was vandalised by someone wielding a hammer. After repairs were made, the statue was encased in a cage every night to prevent further vandalism. This only incited more calls for the statue to be removed as it then appeared that the Gibson/Wallace figure was imprisoned. The statue was described as "among the most loathed pieces of public art in Scotland." In 2008, the statue was returned to its sculptor to make room for a new visitor centre being built at the foot of the Wallace Monument.

Historical accuracy

Randall Wallace, the writer of the screenplay, has acknowledged Blind Harry's 15th century epic poem The Acts and Deeds of Sir William Wallace, Knight of Elderslie as a major source of inspiration for the film.

Scottish historian Elizabeth Ewan describes Braveheart as a film which "almost totally sacrifices historical accuracy for epic adventure". The title of the film is also historically inaccurate as the "brave heart" refers in Scottish history to that of Robert the Bruce, and an attribution by William Edmondstoune Aytoun, in his poem Heart of Bruce, to Sir James the Good: "Pass thee first, thou dauntless heart, As thou wert wont of yore!", prior to Douglas's demise at the Battle of Teba in Andalusia.

The first major battle sequence (where Mel Gibson gives his "Freedom" speech) is meant to represent the battle of Stirling Bridge. The film's depiction of the Battle of Stirling Bridge shows the Scots facing off against the English on a flat plain on equal terms, when in reality, it took place at a bridge where the outnumbered Scots were able to concentrate their forces on the overextended English who were in the process of crossing the bridge. The battle plan itself was the brainchild of William Wallace and another resistance leader Andrew Moray. Moray, who died from wounds sustained in the battle is completely absent from the film.

The scenes depicting Princess Isabella and her hand maiden speaking French while at the English court for privacy are inaccurate. From the time of the Norman invasion the language spoken by the English royal court and the vast majority of the nobility, at least at court, would have been French. The Norman dialect was the dominant tongue until the time of King Henry II who introduced a more mainstream French conversational dialect due to his Angevin upbringing. Edward Longshanks was only 3 generations removed as he was Henry II's great-grandson. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann writing in The Guardian noted several historical inaccuracies: William Wallace never met Princess Isabella, as she married King Edward II three years after Wallace's death (and was no older than ten when Wallace died), thus she never slept with him. Also, as her marriage to Edward took place after he had ascended the throne, she never held the title Princess of Wales.

The infamous primae noctis ("law of the first night") decree, seen in action early in the film, was never used by King Edward. Little or no historical evidence has been unearthed from the Middle Ages to support the idea that such a right ever actually existed.

The English charged the Scots at Bannockburn not the Scots the English.

Historian Sharon Krossa notes that the film contains numerous historical errors, beginning with the wearing of belted plaid by Wallace and his men. She points out that in the period in question, "... no Scots ... wore belted plaids (let alone kilts of any kind)." Moreover, when Highlanders finally did begin wearing the belted plaid, it was not "in the rather bizarre style depicted in the film." She compares the inaccuracy to "... a film about Colonial America showing the colonial men wearing 20th century business suits, but with the jackets worn back-to-front instead of the right way around." She remarks "The events aren't accurate, the dates aren't accurate, the characters aren't accurate, the names aren't accurate, the clothes aren't accurate—in short, just about nothing is accurate."

In 2009, the film was second on a list of "most historically inaccurate movies" in The Times. In the 2007 humorous non-fictional historiography An Utterly Impartial History of Britain, author John O'Farrell notes that Braveheart could not have been more historically inaccurate, even if a "Plasticine dog" had been inserted in the film and the title changed to William Wallace and Gromit. The final scenes of the film also suggest that William Wallace and Edward I of England died at exactly the same moment, which is false. Wallace was executed in 1305 and Edward I died in 1307.

Screenwriter Randall Wallace is very vocal about defending his script from historians who have dismissed the film as a Hollywood perversion of actual events. In the DVD audio commentary of Braveheart, director Mel Gibson acknowledges many of the historical inaccuracies but defends his choices as director, noting that the way events were portrayed in the film were much more "cinematically compelling" than the historical fact or conventional mythos.

Portrayal of Robert the Bruce

File:Brave mel.jpg

Mel Gibson as William Wallace wearing woad.

The portrayal of Robert I of Scotland (Robert the Bruce) in the film is considered by historians to be wildly inaccurate. In particular his taking the field on the English side in the battle of Falkirk is completely fictitious; Bruce was not present at Falkirk. Although he repeatedly changed alliances between the rebels and the English, mostly for political reasons, Bruce never betrayed Wallace directly, and Wallace was a staunch supporter of Bruce's claim to the throne.

Portrayal of Prince Edward

The depiction of the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward II) as an effeminate homosexual in the film drew accusations of homophobia against Gibson. The real Edward II did father five children by two different women, but was also thought to have had sexual affairs with men, not least with Piers Gaveston, apparently favouring Gaveston over even his wife in several regards, and later Hugh Despenser. Gibson replied that "The fact that King Edward throws this character out a window has nothing to do with him being gay ... He's terrible to his son, to everybody." Gibson defended his depiction of Prince Edward as weak and ineffectual, saying,

I'm just trying to respond to history. You can cite other examples – Alexander the Great, for example, who conquered the entire world, was also a homosexual. But this story isn't about Alexander the Great. It's about Edward II.

Gibson asserted that the reason that Longshanks kills his son’s lover is because the king is a “psychopath”. (This is another inaccuracy as Piers Gaveston lived on into the reign of Edward II.) Gibson expressed bewilderment that some filmgoers would laugh at this murder:

We cut a scene out, unfortunately . . . where you really got to know that character (Edward II) and to understand his plight and his pain. . . . But it just stopped the film in the first act so much that you thought, 'When's this story going to start?'

Anglophobia

Braveheart has been accused of Anglophobia. The film was referred to in The Economist as "xenophobic" and John Sutherland writing in The Guardian stated that, "Braveheart gave full rein to a toxic Anglophobia". Colin MacArthur, author of Brigadoon, Braveheart and the Scots: Distortions of Scotland in Hollywood Cinema calls it "a fuckin' atrocious film" and writes that a worrying aspect of the film is its appeal to "neo-fascist groups and the attendant psyche." According to The Times, MacArthur said "the political effects are truly pernicious. It’s a xenophobic film." The Independent has noted, "The Braveheart phenomenon, a Hollywood-inspired rise in Scottish nationalism, has been linked to a rise in anti-English prejudice".

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for Braveheart was composed and conducted by James Horner, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. The soundtrack, comprising 77 minutes of background music taken from significant scenes in the film, was noticeably successful, and album co-producer Simon Rhodes produced a follow-up soundtrack in 1997 titled More Music from Braveheart. International and French versions of the soundtrack have also been released.

Braveheart (1995)

1. Main Title (2:51)
2. A Gift of a Thistle (1:37)
3. Wallace Courts Murron (4:25)
4. The Secret Wedding (6:33)
5. Attack on Murron (3:00)
6. Revenge (6:23)
7. Murron’s Burial (2:13)
8. Making Plans/ Gathering the Clans (1:52)
9. “Sons of Scotland” (6:19)
10. The Battle of Stirling (5:57)
11. For the Love of a Princess (4:07)
12. Falkirk (4:04)
13. Betrayal & Desolation (7:48)
14. Mornay’s Dream (1:15)
15. The Legend Spreads (1:09)
16. The Princess Pleads for Wallace’s Life (3:38)
17. “Freedom”/The Execution/ Bannockburn (7:24)
18. End Credits (7:16)

More Music from Braveheart (1997)

1. Prologue: 'I Shall Tell You Of William Wallace' [Narration: Robert The Bruce]
2. Outlawed Tunes On Outlawed Pipes
3. The Royal Wedding [Narration: Robert The Bruce]
4. 'The Trouble With Scotland' [King Edward The Longshanks]
5. Scottish Wedding Music
6. Prima Noctes
7. The Proposal [William Wallace And Murron]
8. 'Scotland Is Free!' [William Wallace]
9. Point Of War/Johnny Cope/Up In The Morning Early
10. Coversing With The Almighty [Stephen, William Wallace, Hamish, Campbell]
11. The Road To The Isles/Glendaruel Highlanders/The Old Rustic Bridge By The Mill
12. 'Sons Of Scotland!' [William Wallace]
13. Vision Of Murron
14. 'Unite The Clans!' [William Wallace]
15. The Legend Spreads [Scottish Highlanders]
16. 'Why Do You Help Me?' [William Wallace And Princess Isabelle]
17. For The Love Of A Princess
18. 'Not Every Man Really Lives' [William Wallace And Princess Isabelle]
19. 'The Prisoner Wishes To Say A Word' [The Executioner And William Wallace]
20. 'After The Beheading' [Robert The Bruce]
21. 'You Have Bled With Wallace!' [Robert The Bruce]
22. Warrior Poets [William Wallace]
23. Scotland The Brave/The Badge Of Scotland/The Meeting Of The Waters
24. Leaving Glen Urquhart/The Highland Plaid/Jock Wilson's Ball
25. Kirkhill/The Argyllshire Gathering/The Braemar Highland Gathering

Total Timing (68:53)

See also

• Sir William Wallace
• First War of Scottish Independence
• List of historical drama films

External links

• Braveheart at IMDb
• Braveheart at AllMovie
• Braveheart at Rotten Tomatoes
• Braveheart at Box Office Mojo
• Braveheart at Metacritic
• Roger Ebert's review of Braveheart