Customer Reviews

Braveheart (Special Collector's Edition)

5 star:		(585)
4 star:		(68)
3 star:		(42)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

You're not reading this because you want a review of Braveheart, the movie, you're reading this because you've already fallen in love with this spectacular film and you want to know how it looks and sounds on Blu Ray. The answer: amazing! This is one of the best blu rays I've had the pleasure of watching. The picture is crystal clear and the colours pop. The sound is glorious. Braveheart showcases everything that makes Blu Ray great.

A massive, sweaty, frequently silly epic that nevertheless delivers enough brute pleasure to pass a rainy afternoon. Mel Gibson, who also directs, plays Scottish national hero Sir William Wallace, who leads a 13th-century rebellion against landowning English nobles; vividly realized battle scences are the highlight. Grizzed Patrick Mcgoohan (of TV's "The Prisoner" and "Secret Agent") Kicks out the thespic jams as Edward I; Sophie Marceau plays his French daughter-in-law, who, as soon as she even learns of Wallace's existence, falls in love weez'eem. That's no surprise, since she's married to the young Prince Edward (Peter Hanly), a gay caricature whom Gibson makes the butt of some cheap homophobic gags.

I have received the movie in a short time and it was in very good condition. I recommend the seller.

This has been missing from my collection for many years and it's good to have in my home now. The story is still entertaining, but the music is even more wonderfull than I remember.

I saw this movie years ago when it first came out. Most movies aren't as good on second viewing. I just saw it again on DVD and it is BETTER than I remember it.

The acting is superb, especially by the young William Wallace at the opening of the film. Infact all the actors are excellent in this film.

What really takes my breath away in this film is the stunning (pre-computer generated)scenery, music, costumes, the sets and the magnificent battle scenes which really makes Bravehart a complete cinematic experience.

The DVD comes with an entertaining documentary on the making of the film with an excellent full length commentary by director/actor Mel Gibson. A must in any DVD collection. Highly recommended.

I have made many top 10 movie lists, and they have changed over the years. There is one movie, however, that has never been moved and that movie is Braveheart in the number 1 spot. Many shy from the movie because of it being 3 hours long without even giving it a chance.I think everyone should watch it. You never think the movie is as long as it is when you actually watch it. The battle sequences were the best I have ever seen up until the release of Return of the King, but the battles are still the best in their own light. Every characater is played well, Mel Gibson playing especially well as the lead character William Wallace and his directing is flawless as well. I loved every minute of it and it will most likely always be my favorite movie of all time.

The best guy's movie ever? It's hard to say. Some things are so subjective it's tough to make any determination. I personally just bought it on DVD and watched it for a third time last night. Loyalty, honor, virtue, desire, love, and the experience of platonic friendship as being an end in itself; these values are the embodiment of what makes us men. I'm very glad it was made. It may well not be the greatest movie ever but there can't be too many that rate higher. It's incredibly entertaining and the ending foreshadows what Gibson (and his ICON Films) eventually did with "The Passion." A must see.

I watched Braveheart again over the weekend and this is truly an excellent epic drama. But let's get one thing off the table first. I do not view this movie as an accurate portrayal of William Wallace or Robert the Bruce - nor is it what the rating is based on. Obviously plenty of liberties were taken with history. The movie is great because it's a good story well told.

Braveheart is about the war for Scottish independence in the 13th century and the historical William Wallace who led the initial phases of the revolt. Wallace is portrayed as a man of deep principle who wanted peace but wanted freedom for his countrymen more.

The large battle scenes and the leadership of Wallace are awesomely portrayed, as is the untenable position of Robert the Bruce. Bruce is caught between the Scottish nobles who prefer land, wealth, and favoritism from the British crown to freedom and safety for their Scottish brethren, and William Wallace, whom he could ally with to fight for freedom, but at the potential cost of his life, land, and status. Robert the Bruce's internal struggle was well captured on screen.

The only problem I had with the movie and story - but a minor one really - is the unlikely liaison between Wallace and the Princess of Wales. Even in a fictional account of William Wallace, this seemed like a terribly unlikely event. But in the scheme of things, this is a minor quibble.

Mel Gibson's movie, Braveheart did extremely well in the box office and had a huge following. It is an uplifting movie with a lot of positives. This includes music, cinematography, and a well crafted story. A lot of actors did a superb job. These include Patrick McGoohan (Edward Longshanks) and Sophie Marceau. Like other movies in the recent times, this movie suffers from a not-so-good screenplay.

The story is about a reluctant person who is driven by revenge to rise against the English and try to free Scotland. Since there is not enough written history about that time, Mel Gibson rewrites history. I guess that this is OK in a movie. The film has everything in abundance: romance, patriotism, passion, revenge, heroism, battle - in short, it cannot fail unless messed up.

Whether you like it or not would depend on a number of factors. It has too much violence, especially the battlescenes and the R rating is justified. William Wallace is no Mandela, Dalai Lama or Gandhi, he does not try to fight for ideals but is motivated by sheer revenge when his wife is murdered. So, he is not the quintessential leader. I guess it would be unfair to compare one century with another, but he does come through as a hard, yet passionate leader. Of course, you will not like this movie if you are English too, as it slanders them, especially about a person who is not well documented. One must admit that no one would like that. I guess morality is difficult with such movies. I have read no place about the "Prima Noctes" instituted by the English. Mel Gibson uses such historical license in his next movie, "Passion of Christ" also. So is reality, some of the battlescenes are difficult to believe, especially those of the Irish changing sides and so on. They also do not show the taking of a city like York in detail (which must be pretty hard). This is where the historic license comes in I guess.

Having said that, I must admit that I enjoyed parts of the movie, though some of the movie was too long drawn. There is some creativity in it. I guess the era of directors such as David Lean are gone, so we must make do with the best of what we get. Turn off your rationale and intelligence a bit and you will enjoy this movie.

Braveheart comes with an impressive list of credentials. It is regarded as one of Mel Gibson's best performances. It won five Academy Awarts, including Best Picture. The musical score by James Horner is one of the all time favorites. And it is one of the most popular movies of all time. Billed as an epic historical saga filled with history, love and battle, Braveheart apparently is Hollywood at its best. But is it really worth all the hype, and is the emperor really wearing any clothes?

First of all, the movie takes many historical liberties, deviating substantially from the real account of William Wallace. For instance, both the "prima nocta" legislation, and the suggestion that Wallace fathered a child with Princess Isobelle are fictional. But poetic license in movie making is not new, and can hardly be sufficient reason for trashing a movie - Braveheart never pretends to be a reconstruction of history. But it does pretend to be an epic of cinema, and its success in that regard is debatable.

The basic plot of Braveheart is quite simple: Man loves woman. Woman gets killed by English. Man gets angry and takes revenge on English killers of woman. Man helps lead Scotland to freedom from English. Notice something? While William Wallace is lauded for his efforts to free Scotland, the reality is that he is motivated more by personal revenge and anger over what happened to his wife. His character is ruled more by murderous passion, lust and revenge, than by politics; His actions are more the result of uncontrollable rage than the result of an intelligent desire to liberate his country. In the process, Wallace stoops to commit some of the same evils as his English oppressors. Just like the English tried to take his wife, so Wallace ends up bedding the wife of the English crown prince, rather than honoring her marriage to her own husband (who is admittedly a fool, but this doesn't justify adultery). In principle, Wallace's adultery is just as heinous and dishonoring to her husband as the English's treatment of Wallace's wife dishonored him. But by this point most viewers have already been manipulated to think that this sexual conquest is a good thing; Braveheart clearly presents this adulterous tryst as a delightful thing, and even rewards the adulterous union with a child.

This is typical of the moral confusion evident throughout the entire movie. While it pretends to be an epic about a struggle for freedom, in reality it is little more than a gory action movie with lots of fighting and passion, where the action is governed more by primitive and barbarian feelings and lusts than by reasoned and thoughtful intelligence. The reasons behind the cry "Freedom!" are never explained, aside from the fact that Wallace is filled with rage at losing his wife, and this motivates him to fearless (and at times foolish and unbelievable) acts of "bravery". He's a larger-than-life hero governed by passion without reason; is motivated more by a vengeful passion over his murdered bride than a passion for his country. It's not surprising that Braveheart is nonetheless popular, because perhaps the masses today are largely governed by the same passions. This kind of hero is appealing to those accustomed to the ongoing media spectacle which lauds mindless macho men, and brainless brawn. Despite our advanced technological and educated era, popular culture is largely rendered passive and mindless through the influence of the mass media and thoughtless entertainment. Perhaps then it's little wonder that we find Braveheart so appealing, that we fail to realize that its attraction is no more enduring than the emperor's new clothes. And that today we find a more intelligent movie about a principled statesman and leader like "A Man For All Seasons" rather boring.

Not to say that Braveheart is all bad (although be warned that the violence and gore more than justifies the R rating). I found it appealing that the movie didn't resort to a feel-good everyone-lived-happily-ever-after type ending. The final tragic note is powerful, and is not altogether unlike its imitator "Gladiator" (2000). The battle scenes featuring medieval weapons and hundreds of extras create an epic feel, and have to be admired for what they are - although at times the drama is exaggerated. But when all is said and done, this movie pretends to be more than what it really is. Braveheart turns history into a blood and brainless love story. It's no more one of the heights of cinema than the Emperor's new clothes are the heights of fashion. - GODLY GADFLY