Product Description: WHEN WIDOWER AND WAR HERO BENJAMIN MARTIN SEES HIS FAMILY VICIOUSLY ATTACKED BY RED COATS, HE CAN NO LONGER AVOID FIGHTINGIN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. TOEGETHER WITH HIS SON HE FORMS A MILITIA TO TAKE UP ARMS AGAINST THE BRITISH AND SOON IS EMBROILED IN THE REDEMPTION OF REVENGE AND THE PASSION OF LOVE.
Amazon.com: Aimed directly at a mainstream audience, The Patriot qualifies as respectable entertainment, but anyone expecting a definitive drama about the American Revolution should look elsewhere. Rising above the blatant crowd pleasing of Stargate, Independence Day, and Godzilla, director Roland Emmerich crafts a marvelous re-creation of South Carolina in the late 1770s (aided immeasurably by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel), and Robert Rodat's screenplay offers the same balance of epic scale and emotional urgency that elevated his earlier script for Saving Private Ryan. Unfortunately, Emmerich embraces clichés and hackneyed melodrama that a more gifted director would have avoided. Instead of attempting a truly great film about the most pivotal years of American history, Emmerich settles for a standard revenge plot with the Revolutionary War as an incidental backdrop.
On those terms, the film is engrossing and sufficiently intelligent, especially when militia leader Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) cagily negotiates with British General Cornwallis (Tom Wilkinson) in one of the most rewarding scenes. For the most part, the story concerns Martin's anguished quest for revenge against ruthless redcoat Colonel Tavington (played with snide relish by Jason Isaacs), and the rise to manhood of Martin's eldest son, Gabriel (Heath Ledger), whose battlefield honor exceeds even that of his brutally volatile father. At its best, The Patriot conveys the horror of war among innocent civilians, and the epic battle scenes, while by no means masterful, are graphically intense and impressive. And although Ledger's love interest (Lisa Brenner) is too bland to register much emotion, the focus on family (which frequently relegates the war to background history) provides a suitable vehicle for Gibson, who matches his achievement in Braveheart with an effectively brooding performance. --Jeff Shannon
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Brand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT EAN: 9780767858465 Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC ISBN: 0767858468 Item Dimensions:25 Label: Sony Pictures Languages:EnglishOriginal LanguageDolby Digital 2.0 SurroundEnglishSubtitled Manufacturer: Sony Pictures MPN: COLD05731D Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Sony Pictures Region Code: 99 Release Date: October 24, 2000 Running Time: 165 minutes Studio: Sony Pictures Theatrical Release Date: June 28, 2000
Customer Reviews
Patriotism is Here
One of the very few movies that Mel Gibson was involved in that deserves a special kind of respect. It's transfer to Blu-ray must have been treated with delicate care as the transfer to High Definition looks even more beautiful than its DVD release. If there's one movie that you need to purchase on Blu-ray, I would highly recommend this one.
While I don't consider myself a Mel Gibson fan, this movie portrays the events of the Revolutionary War, back when the colonies fought for independence ... Read More