Patton (movie)

Patton (UK: Patton: Lust for Glory) is a 1970 movie about United States Army General George S. Patton, and his role in the Second World War. Patton starred George C. Scott in the title role, and it was released by 20th Century Fox. The movie became very popular, and won an Academy Award for Best Picture in 1971. A sequel, The Last Days of Patton, appeared in 1986, also starring Scott.

Patton
Directed by	Franklin J. Schaffner
Written by	Biography (Patton: Ordeal and Triumph): Ladislas Farago Memoir (A Soldier's Story): Omar N. Bradley Screenplay: Francis Ford Coppola Edmund H. North
Produced by	Frank Caffey Frank McCarthy
Starring	George C. Scott Karl Malden Michael Bates Karl Michael Vogler Siegfried Rauch
Cinematography	Fred J. Koenekamp, ASC
Edited by	Hugh S. Fowler
Music by	Jerry Goldsmith
Distributed by	Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Release date	February 4, 1970
Running time	170 min
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$12,000,000
Box office	$61,749,765

Beginnings

Patton's widow was approached not long after her husband died (after an automobile accident), with an offer to make a Hollywood movie about Patton's life and career. His family did not agree right away, and it was many years before they approved a dramatic movie to be made. The movie's screenplay was based on a well-written biography of General Patton, Patton: Ordeal and Triumph, and A Soldier's Story, a memoir by General Omar N. Bradley, who served with Patton.

Storyline

The story covers the time from the American defeat at the Battle of the Kasserine Pass in North Africa during 1943, when Patton was sent to take command, through his victories in Africa and Sicily, his time as a "decoy" before D-Day, The Battle of the Bulge, and his last weeks, after the war was over in 1945.

The movie did not give much time to showing combat and battles, but explained Patton's role in several important battles and campaigns. It also showed his character as a person, as a soldier, and as a leader. Patton made good choices, such as appointing Omar Bradley to assist him, and bad choices, such as striking soldiers physically when they showed fear or cowardice, or giving his personal opinions to the media, when they differed widely from what the Allied commanders expected. The movie showed a mix of both bad and good things about Patton.

Reception

The movie appeared nearly twenty-five years after Patton died. American attitudes toward war, toward fighting, and toward the military had changed in many ways. The Vietnam War was happening at the same time the movie was made and shown. The older generation, who had fought in World War II or helped out on the home front, tended to support the war and the draft, which made young American men join the Army to fight. Younger people, who did not remember World War II or were born after it ended, were mostly against the war in Vietnam. Patton gave older and younger viewers a look back at an American war hero and leader, and it gave them things to think and talk about together.

Other websites

• Patton on IMDb
• Review at TV Guide.com
• Filmsite.org review

Preceded by Midnight Cowboy

Academy Award for Best Picture 1970

Succeeded by The French Connection