{"id":91540,"date":"2023-09-19T12:22:25","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T19:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=91540"},"modified":"2023-09-19T21:25:41","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T04:25:41","slug":"patton-1970","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=91540","title":{"rendered":"Patton (1970)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;They&#8217;ll lose their fear of the Germans; I hope to God they&#8217;ll never lose their fear of me.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Poster-188x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"188\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-91543\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Poster-188x300.png 188w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Poster-80x128.png 80w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Poster-169x270.png 169w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Poster.png 592w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 188px) 100vw, 188px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nDuring World War II, controversial General George S. Patton (George C. Scott)  puts his career in jeopardy by refusing to tone down his strong beliefs and provocative behavior.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Biopics<\/li>\n<li>George C. Scott Films<\/li>\n<li>Karl Malden Films<\/li>\n<li>Military<\/li>\n<li>Nonconformists<\/li>\n<li>Ruthless Leaders<\/li>\n<li>World War II<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary doesn&#8217;t review 1970&#8217;s Best Picture Winner in <em>GFTFF<\/em>, but he does discuss it in <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>, where he notes that it &#8220;was geared to be, politically speaking, a middle-of-the-road film that wouldn&#8217;t offend anyone, and it was rewarded with across-the-board popularity.&#8221; Indeed, it became &#8220;a favorite movie of the hawkish presidents and military men, who jotted down every quote the aggressive general uttered about the nature of war and the responsibilities of the officers and soldiers who fought it.&#8221; He adds that &#8220;those who insisted the Vietnam War was being lost because sound military strategy was being compromised by diplomacy, discovered in this film the historical figure they wanted our generals to emulate.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Scott.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Scott-1024x464.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"290\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-91545\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Scott-1024x464.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Scott-300x136.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Scott-128x58.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Scott-768x348.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Scott-596x270.png 596w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Scott.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Peary asserts that &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/George_S._Patton\">Patton<\/a> was appealingly presented as a nonconformist within the military, a poet and historian who often speaks his mind against authority figures&#8221; &#8212; and he points out that &#8220;any time Patton says something that might have raised the ire of college-age viewers, [co-screenwriters Francis Ford] Coppola and Edmund H. North wisely have Karl Malden&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Omar_Bradley\">Omar Bradley<\/a> counter with a more reasoned statement, as if he and not Patton represented the thinking of the filmmakers.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Malden.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Malden-1024x464.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"290\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-91548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Malden-1024x464.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Malden-300x136.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Malden-128x58.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Malden-768x348.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Malden-596x270.png 596w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Malden.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Peary concedes that &#8220;<em>Patton<\/em> contains a great performance by Scott and holds up fairly well as a biography and as a war movie&#8221; &#8212; but he points out that: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Under close scrutiny you&#8217;ll notice that this film has a flimsy structure with five or six basic scenes that are repeated over and over in different settings, as the war progresses. Repeatedly, Patton startles officers with his idiosyncracies, frightens soldiers with his discipline, shows (when his guard is down) that he really cares about the men who serve under him, gets into trouble for being outspoken, and so on.&#8221; <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Hospital.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Hospital-1024x464.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"290\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-91786\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Hospital-1024x464.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Hospital-300x136.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Hospital-128x58.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Hospital-768x348.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Hospital-596x270.png 596w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Hospital.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He asserts it&#8217;s &#8220;also annoying&#8230; that every time Coppola and North want us to know what a military genius Patton is, we cut to German headquarters, where we hear their top brass exalting him.&#8221;  <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-German-Top-Brass.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-German-Top-Brass-1024x464.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"290\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-91788\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-German-Top-Brass-1024x464.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-German-Top-Brass-300x136.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-German-Top-Brass-128x58.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-German-Top-Brass-768x348.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-German-Top-Brass-596x270.png 596w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-German-Top-Brass.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m not as irritated by the structure of the film as Peary is, given that it shows the actual &#8212; albeit inevitably fictionalized &#8212; arc of this real-life general&#8217;s career, which likely did flow somewhat like this; and it feels relevant to highlight how highly German enemies thought of him given his rocky reception back at home. <\/p>\n<p>In terms of Scott, Peary points out that his &#8220;tour-de-force performance&#8230; overwhelmed everyone in 1970&#8221; and &#8220;his blunt, imposing opening speech in front of a huge American flag became an instant classic &#8212; he could have stopped right then and won the Oscar.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Flag.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Flag-1024x464.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"290\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-91549\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Flag-1024x464.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Flag-300x136.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Flag-128x58.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Flag-768x348.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Flag-596x270.png 596w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Flag.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He adds, &#8220;It leads me to believe Scott would have been even more effective in a one-man show about Patton, because the other characters and repetitive scenes and conversations got in the actor&#8217;s way. Still, for giving one of the cinema&#8217;s most forceful and memorable characterizations of an historical figure, he certainly was worthy of the award the Academy wanted to give him.&#8221; However, Peary himself gives the Alternate Oscar to Jack Nicholson in <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44173\"><em>Five Easy Pieces<\/em> (1970)<\/a>, which he also names as the Best Picture of the Year. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> An interesting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0066206\/trivia\/?item=tr5630468&#038;ref_=ext_shr_lnk\">bit of trivia<\/a> is that &#8220;this was one of the few Oscar-nominated major films without a single female actor listed in the credits. There are only 3 lines of female dialogue in the film (during Patton&#8217;s PR appearances in England.)&#8221; Ouch. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>George C. Scott as Patton<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Scott.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Scott-1024x464.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"290\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-91545\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Scott-1024x464.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Scott-300x136.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Scott-128x58.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Scott-768x348.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Scott-596x270.png 596w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Scott.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Cinematography-1024x464.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"290\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-91546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Cinematography-1024x464.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Cinematography-300x136.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Cinematography-128x58.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Cinematography-768x348.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Cinematography-596x270.png 596w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Cinematography.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Horse.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Horse-1024x464.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"290\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-91557\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Horse-1024x464.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Horse-300x136.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Horse-128x58.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Horse-768x348.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Horse-596x270.png 596w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Patton-Horse.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Jerry Goldsmith&#8217;s score<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for Scott&#8217;s bravura performance and as an Oscar winner. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0066206\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/newspapers?id=otpHAAAAIBAJ&#038;sjid=N4wDAAAAIBAJ&#038;pg=6310%2C2952469\">Village Voice Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/18647\/patton#articles-reviews?articleId=93528\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2604patt.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;They&#8217;ll lose their fear of the Germans; I hope to God they&#8217;ll never lose their fear of me.&#8221; Synopsis: During World War II, controversial General George S. Patton (George C. Scott) puts his career in jeopardy by refusing to tone down his strong beliefs and provocative behavior. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Biopics George C. Scott Films Karl Malden Films Military Nonconformists Ruthless Leaders World War II Review: Peary doesn&#8217;t review 1970&#8217;s Best Picture Winner in GFTFF, but he does&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=91540\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=91540"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91803,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91540\/revisions\/91803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=91540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=91540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=91540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}