Patton

Patton

The film Patton , a 1970 drama depicting General George Patton and his actions during World War II , was directed by Franklin Shaffner and written by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund North . It stars George C Scott as Patton , with Karl Malden , Michael Bates and Karl Michael Vogler . It received an Academy Award for Best Picture as well as winning Oscars in seven other categories , including the Best Actor award to Scott , who refused to accept it , which is a way of accepting it with more noise than usual . It has been

declared `culturally significant ' by the Library of Congress and is now preserved in the National Film Registry . The opening scene , in which Scott , dressed as the general delivers a stirring monologue while standing in front of an oversized American flag sets the tone for the film . This scene has been parodied and quoted over the years , and is assumed by many to be historically accurate . This film has blurred the often-fine line between fact and fiction and is taken as fact by numerous students of history . Patton is depicted as an egomaniac who is in fierce competition with General Montgomery of Great Britain , an equally egomaniacal officer of the Allied Forces . His brusque manner and lack of social skills gets Patton into trouble with both a hostile press and the military command . At last he pays obeisance to General Omar Bradley , formerly his subordinate , and is given command of the U .S . Third Army . Patton believes in reincarnation and has strong geo-political views that often conflicted with U .S . Army policy . Patton drives his command deep into Germany and is a successful and brilliant general . The film , however , pays equal attention to his dark side and is a virtual psychological pro of the American war lord who claimed to have fought with Caesar in a former life , as well as holding command positions in countless other armies in countless other centuries

The theme of the movie is the glory of war . Patton says that no one ever won a war by dying for his country the way to win a war is to make your opponent die for his country . He then spends his screen life trying to make that happen . Motifs deal with the conflicts in Patton 's life and his seemingly self-destructive streak . His volatile personality , while colorful and exciting to watch onscreen , is prejudicial to good in any wartime army . This movie serves to illustrate the fact that Patton as a movie character , is entertaining , while Patton as a superior officer would have been a little slice of hell . His slapping of a shell-shocked solder is depicted as testimony to his passion , but is a major blunder , if he does it for effect . It enrages American parents who have sons in the war and costs him the command he so badly craved

Patton won Academy Awards for best effects and best editing . The visuals of this movie are stunning both in the battle scenes...