Braveheart (1995) Paramount Pictures/20th Century Fox 📢 Director: Mel Gibson 💰 Producer: Mel Gibson, Alan Ladd Jr., Bruce Davey 👫 Cast: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Catherine McCormack. 🏆 Awards ceremony: -68th Academy Awards: March 25, 1996. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, California. 🎭 Other films nominated for Best Picture this year: -Apollo 13. -Babe. -Il Postino: The Postman. -Sense And Sensibility. 📕 Plot summary: A young Scottish boy by the name of William Wallace (MEL GIBSON) grows up to avenge his father's death at the hands of the King of England, Longshanks (played by an aging PATRICK McGOOHAN), who conquered his land. As an adult Wallace also witnesses the brutal slaying of his new wife by the English army and this sets him off on a mission to form his own army, take no shit from the Brits and becomes a legend when he leads the Scots in a revolt to claim back what is rightfully theirs. And what's all this crap about the brides having to share her lady parts with an English lord before she can be returned to her husband? 💥 Standout scene(s): The epic battlefield sequence at Stirling is f**king brutal! And a few words have to be said about that execution scene at the end: BLOODY HELL! Let's not forget about Catherine McCormack's beautiful body too. PS. I also loved the scene where the closet-gay Philip flew out of the castle window at the hands of Longshanks! 🔑 Facts: -The 68th Academy Awards. -Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, it won 5: Best Picture, Director, Sound Effects Editing, Cinematography, Makeup. 🙂 Personal opinion: It's an entertaining movie without the entertainment. It's bloody long too and hard to chew on. I love Mel Gibson as an actor, with both his charismatic on-screen presence and his captivating charm. Here he shows a whole range of talent including his typical comedic touches intertwined with some genuine acting skills. In short, he - and his eyes - are just loveable. I also liked the fact that he let his actions do the talking instead of using fancy words and drawn-out sentences and threats against the enemy. The music and the cinematography are plus points. As for the film itself, it was a slow burner and at times like scratching nails on a chalkboard because it was infuriatingly plodding along but to its credit it does pick up, often getting a bit on the tense side! Be prepared to hit your option to use subtitles too whilst watching it: the film features both Scottish AND Irish accents! See this film if: -you are Scottish, -you like mountains, -you want to watch movies that won the Best Picture Oscar, -you are a fan of Mel Gibson, -have a spare 3 hours to kill. Did it deserve the Oscar? ✅YES, purely for its artistic achievements. That said, APOLLO 13 and THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY (both 1995) are two of my all-time favourites so they would definitely win in terms of personal choice. 6/10

Review date: 29 April 2025