and starring Mel Gibson . Gibson portrays William Wallace, a
13th-century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War
of Scottish Independence against King Edward I of England .
The
story is based on Blind Harry's epic poem The Actes and Deidis of
the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace and was
adapted for the screen by Randall Wallace .
The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards at the 68th
Academy Awards and won five: Best Picture , Best Director , Best
Cinematography , Best Makeup , and Best Sound Editing .
Plot
In 1280, King Edward "Longshanks" ( Patrick McGoohan ) invades
and conquers Scotland following the death of Alexander III of
Scotland , who left no heir to the throne. Young William Wallace
(James Robinson) witnesses Longshanks' treachery, survives
the deaths of his father (Sean Lawlor ) and brother (Sandy
Nelson), and is taken abroad on a pilgrimage throughout Europe
by his paternal Uncle Argyle ( Brian Cox ), where he is educated.
Years later, Longshanks grants his noblemen land and privileges
in Scotland, including Prima Nocte (or droit du seigneur , the right
of the lord to have sex with female subjects on their wedding
nights). Meanwhile, a grown Wallace ( Mel Gibson ) returns to
Scotland and is reunited with his childhood friend, Hamish
Campbell ( Brendan Gleeson). Wallace falls in love with his other
childhood friend, Murron MacClannough (Catherine McCormack);
they marry in secret so she will not have to spend the night with
the local English lord. Wallace rescues Murron from being raped
by English soldiers, but as she fights off their second attempt,
Murron is captured and publicly executed by having her throat
slit. In retribution, Wallace leads his clan to slaughter the English
garrison in his hometown and send the occupying garrison at
Lanark back to England.
This enrages Longshanks, who orders his son, Prince Edward
( Peter Hanly), to stop Wallace by any means necessary. Wallace
rebels against the English, and as his legend spreads, hundreds
of Scots from the surrounding clans join him. Wallace then leads
his army to victory at Stirling and then sacks the city of York ,
killing Longshanks' nephew ( Richard Leaf ) and sending his
severed head to the king. Wallace seeks the assistance of Robert
the Bruce (Angus Macfadyen ), the son of nobleman Robert the
Elder ( Ian Bannen ) and a contender for the Scottish crown.
Robert is dominated by his father, who wishes to secure the
throne for his son by submitting to the English. Worried by the
threat of the rebellion, Longshanks sends his son's wife, Isabella
of France (Sophie Marceau ), to try to negotiate with Wallace,
hoping Wallace will kill her and thus draw the French king to
declare war. Wallace refuses the bribe sent with Isabella by
Longshanks, but after meeting him in person, Isabella becomes
enamored of Wallace. Meanwhile, Longshanks prepares an army
to invade Scotland.
Warned of the coming invasion by Isabella, Wallace implores the
Scottish nobility to take immediate action to counter the threat
and take back the country. Leading the English army himself,
Longshanks confronts the Scots at Falkirk where noblemen
Lochlan (John Murtagh) and Mornay ( Alun Armstrong ) betray
Wallace. The Scots lose the battle, Wallace ends up wounded in
battle and Morrison (Tommy Flanagan ) and Campbell, senior
( James Cosmo) die at the battle. As Wallace charges toward the
departing Longshanks on horseback, he is intercepted by one of
the king's lancers, who turns out to be Robert. Remorseful,
Robert gets Wallace to safety before the English can capture
him. Wallace kills Lochlan and Mornay for their betrayal, and
wages a guerrilla war against the English for the next seven
years, assisted by Isabella, with whom he eventually has an
affair. Robert, intending to join Wallace and commit troops to the
war, sets up a meeting with him in Edinburgh. However, Robert's
father has conspired with other nobles to capture and hand over
Wallace to the English. Learning of his treachery, Robert disowns
his father. Isabella exacts revenge on the now terminally ill
Longshanks by telling him she is pregnant with Wallace's child,
and intent on ending Longshanks' line and ruling in his son's
place.
In London, Wallace is brought before an English magistrate
( David Gant ), tried for high treason , and condemned to public
torture and beheading. Even whilst being hanged, drawn and
quartered , Wallace refuses to submit to the king. As cries for
mercy come from the watching crowd deeply moved by the
Scotsman's valor, the magistrate offers him one final chance,
asking him only to utter the word, "Mercy", and be granted a
quick death. Wallace instead shouts, "Freedom!", and the judge
orders his death. Moments before being decapitated , Wallace
sees a vision of Murron in the crowd, smiling at him. As this
happens, Longshanks dies with his son at his side.
In 1314, Robert, now Scotland's king, leads a Scottish army
before a ceremonial line of English troops on the fields of
Bannockburn, where he is to formally accept English rule. As he
begins to ride toward the English, he stops and invokes
Wallace's memory, imploring his men to fight with him as they
did with Wallace. Robert then leads his army into battle against
the stunned English, winning the Scots their freedom.
Cast
Mel Gibson as William
Wallace
James Robinson as
young William Wallace
Sophie Marceau as
Princess Isabella of France
Patrick McGoohan as King
Edward "Longshanks"
Angus Macfadyen as Robert
the Bruce
Catherine McCormack as
Murron MacClannough
Mhairi Calvey as young
Murron
Brendan Gleeson as Hamish
Andrew Weir as young
Hamish
James Cosmo as Campbell
David O'Hara as Stephen of
Ireland
Peter Hanly as Prince
Edward
Ian Bannen as Bruce's
father
Seán McGinley as
MacClannough
Brian Cox as Argyle Wallace
Sean Lawlor as Malcolm
Wallace
Sandy Nelson as John
Wallace
Stephen Billington as Phillip
John Kavanagh as Craig
Alun Armstrong as Mornay
John Murtagh as Lochlan
Tommy Flanagan as
Morrison
Donal Gibson as Stewart
Jeanne Marine as Nicolette
Michael Byrne as Smythe
Malcolm Tierney as
Magistrate
Bernard Horsfall as Balliol
Peter Mullan as Veteran
Gerard McSorley as
Cheltham (inspired by Hugh de
Cressingham )
Richard Leaf as Governor of
York
Mark Lees as Old Crippled
Scotsman
Tam White as MacGregor
Jimmy Chisholm as
Faudron
David Gant as the Royal
Magistrate
Production
Gibson (right) on set with 20th Century
Fox executive Scott Neeson
Gibson's production company, Icon Productions , had difficulty
raising enough money even if he were to star in the film. Warner
Bros. was willing to fund the project on the condition that Gibson
sign for another Lethal Weapon sequel, which he refused.
Paramount Pictures only agreed to American and Canadian
distribution of Braveheart after 20th Century Fox partnered for
international rights. [2] The production budget has been
estimated by IMDb at US$72 million.
While the crew spent six weeks shooting on location in Scotland,
the major battle scenes were shot in Ireland using members of
the Irish Army Reserve as extras. To lower costs, Gibson had the
same extras, up to 1,600 in some scenes, portray both armies.
The reservists had been given permission to grow beards and
swapped their military uniforms for medieval garb. [3]
According to Gibson, he was inspired by the big screen epics he
had loved as a child: William Wyler's The Big Country (1958) and
Stanley Kubrick 's Spartacus (1960). [ citation needed]
Braveheart was shot in the anamorphic format with Panavision
C- and E-Series lenses. [4]
Gibson toned down the film's battle scenes to avoid an NC-17
rating from the MPAA ; the final version was rated R for "brutal
medieval warfare". [5]
In addition to English, the film's primary language, French , Latin,
and Scottish Gaelic are spoken.
Soundtrack
Main article: Braveheart (soundtrack)
The score was composed and conducted by James Horner and
performed by the London Symphony Orchestra . It is Horner's
second of three collaborations with Mel Gibson as director. The
score has gone on to be one of the most commercially
successful soundtracks of all time. It received considerable
acclaim from film critics and audiences and was nominated for a
number of awards, including the Academy Award , Saturn Award ,
BAFTA Award , and Golden Globe Award .
Release and reception
Box office
On its opening weekend, Braveheart grossed $9,938,276 in the
United States and $75.6 million in its box office run in the U.S.
and Canada. [1] Worldwide, the film grossed $210,409,945 and
was the thirteenth highest-grossing film of 1995. [1]
Reviews
Braveheart met with generally positive reviews. Review
aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 78% with
an average score of 7.2/10. The film's depiction of the Battle of
Stirling Bridge was listed by CNN as one of the best battles in
cinema history. [6] In his review, Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5
stars out of four, writing: "An action epic with the spirit of the
Hollywood swordplay classics and the grungy ferocity of ' The
Road Warrior '."
In a 2005 poll by British film magazine Empire , Braveheart was
No. 1 on their list of "The Top 10 Worst Pictures to Win Best
Picture Oscar". [7] Ironically Empire Magazine's readers also
voted Braveheart the best film of 1995. [8] Scottish actor and
comedian Billy Connolly claimed Braveheart was "a great piece of
work". [9]
Effect on tourism
The European premiere was on September 3, 1995 in Stirling.
[10]
In 1996, the year after the film was released, the annual three-
day "Braveheart Conference" at Stirling Castle attracted fans of
Braveheart , increasing the conference's attendance to 167,000
from 66,000 in the previous year. [11] In the following year,
research on visitors to the Stirling area indicated that 55% of the
visitors had seen Braveheart . Of visitors from outside Scotland,
15% of those who saw Braveheart said it influenced their decision
to visit the country. Of all visitors who saw Braveheart , 39% said
the film influenced in part their decision to visit Stirling, and 19%
said the film was one of the main reasons for their visit. [12] In
the same year, a tourism report said that the " Braveheart effect"
earned Scotland ₤7 million to ₤15 million in tourist revenue, and
the report led to various national organizations encouraging
international film productions to take place in Scotland. [13]
The film generated huge interest in Scotland and in Scottish
history , not only around the world, but also in Scotland itself.
Fans came from all over the world to see the places in Scotland
where William Wallace fought, also to the places in Scotland and
Ireland used as locations in the film. At a Braveheart Convention
in 1997, held in Stirling the day after the Scottish Devolution vote
and attended by 200 delegates from around the world, Braveheart
author Randall Wallace, Seoras Wallace of the Wallace Clan,
Scottish historian David Ross and Bláithín FitzGerald from
Ireland gave lectures on various aspects of the film. Several of
the actors also attended including James Robinson (Young
William), Andrew Weir (Young Hamish), Julie Austin (the young
bride) and Mhairi Calvey (Young Murron).
Awards and honors
Braveheart was nominated for many awards during the 1995
Oscar season, though it wasn't viewed by many as a major
contender such as Apollo 13 , Il Postino: The Postman , Leaving Las
Vegas, Sense and Sensibility , and The Usual Suspects. It wasn't
until after the film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director
at the 53rd Golden Globe Awards that it was viewed as a serious
Oscar contender. When the nominations were announced for the
68th Academy Awards , Braveheart received ten Academy Award
nominations, and a month later, won five. [14]
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