Patton [1970 film]

Owned optical disc for years. Watch at least annually, Multiple Academy Awards. Scott declined the best Actor award

Another of my favorites. I have lots of military general biographies so I consider this movie a capstone to my interests.

The World War II phase of the career of the controversial American general, George S. Patton. (IMDb)

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The personal story of the World War 2 career of General Patton. Inaccurate history. Scott's Patton was way too heavy-handed. Patton was nothing if not lighthearted and depended upon his staff far more than displayed in the film. Karl Malden needed more than his gimmick of chewing on a piece of straw for his Bradley portrayal - he does NOT resemble Omar Bradley. A total miscast, the result of Hollywood's continual illusion that any good actor can portray any personality faithfully. Of course, Hollywood script writers seldom are very familiar with the historical figures they create on film, or what they did. The major problem with this film's script was its absurd portrayal of Patton as a "tank expert." He certainly was not that. Patton show more completely misunderstood the purpose of armor in WWII. He rejected the M26 Pershing tank in favor of the horrible Sherman they had used up until the Tidworth Downs conference in England prior to Normandy. His brainless decision (based on obsolete Army theories of armored warfare) was vehemently opposed by every armor commander who had had experience with the Shermans in Sicily and North Africa. Everyone except Patton was well aware of the severe deficiencies of the Sherman tank, but Patton's rank and obstinateness prevailed. That I rank as the most disastrous decision made by any US commander in WWII - it lengthened the war and killed many thousands of those unfortunate enough to be selected to be a member of a Sherman tank crew. After the invasion, when it became readily apparent just how inferior the Sherman was, a growing scandal was hushed up by the governments of both Britain and the US. Despite the fact that Patton's rejection of the vastly superior Pershing was easily the most significant and far reaching decision he ever made, the film doesn't even mention the fact. This totally destroys the credibility of this film. Typical Hollywood history - things are portrayed the way some scriptwriter wishes they had happened. Buy hey, that's Hollywood. show less

Un ritratto a tutto tondo di George Patton, il più famoso generale di truppe corazzate che combatté per gli americani durante la seconda guerra mondiale. Il personaggio è descritto come un comandante abile, ma esibizionista, autoritario e in perenne rivalità con l'inglese Montgomery.

Alla sconfitta tunisina, le forze armate americane sotto la guida del Generale Patton, in costante conflitto con i propri superiori, fanno seguire la trionfale liberazione dell'Europa dal Nazismo. (fonte: Wikipedia)