Mel
Gibson, long-time heartthrob of the silver screen, came into his own as a
director with Braveheart, an account of the life and times of medieval
Scottish patriot William Wallace and, to a lesser degree, Robert the Bruce's
struggle to unify his nation against its English oppressors. The story
begins with young Wallace, whose father and brother have been killed
fighting the English, being taken into the custody of his uncle, a
nationalist and pre-Renaissance renaissance man. He returns twenty years
later, a man educated both in the classics and in the art of war. There he
finds his childhood sweetheart Murron (Catherine McCormack), and the two
quickly fall in love. There are murmurs of revolt against the English
throughout the village, but Wallace remains aloof, wishing simply to tend to
his crops and live in peace. However, when his love is killed by English
soldiers the day after their secret marriage (held secretly so as to prevent
the local English lord from exercising the repulsive right of prima noctae,
the privilege of sleeping with the bride on the first night of the
marriage), he springs into action and single-handedly slays an entire
platoon of foot soldiers. The other villagers join him in destroying the
English garrison, and thus begins the revolt against the English in what
will eventually become full-fledged war. Wallace eventually leads his fellow
Scots in a series of bloody battles that prove a serious threat to English
domination and, along the way, has a hushed affair with the Princess of
Wales (the breathtaking Sophie Marceau) before his imminent demise. For his
efforts, Gibson won the honor of Best Director from the Academy; the movie
also took home statuettes for Best Picture, Cinematography, Makeup, and
Sound Effects.| Mel Gibson | William Wallace |
| Sophie Marceau | Princess Isabelle |
| Patrick McGoohan | Edward I Longshanks |
| Catherine McCormack | Murron |
| Brendan Gleeson | Hamish |
| Ian Bannen | Robert the Bruce's leprous father |
| Martin Murphy | Lord Talmadge |
| Peter Mullan | Veteran |
| John Murtagh | Lochlan |
| Tam White | MacGregor |
| Rupert Vansittart | Lord Bottoms |
| Gerard McSorley | Cheltham |
| Barry McGovern | King's Advisor No 2 |
| David McKay | Young Soldier |
| Malcolm Tierney | Magistrate |
| James Robinson | Young William |
| Ralph Riach | Priest No 1 |
| Joe Savino | Chief Assassin |
| Alan Tall | Elder Stewart |
| Sandy Nelson | John Wallace |
| Alex Norton | Bride's Father |
| Robert Paterson | Priest No 2 |
| Niall O'Brien | English General No 2 |
| David O'Hara | Stephen |
| Mal Whyte | Jailor |
| Brian Cox | Argyle Wallace |
| James Cosmo | Campbell |
| Martin Dempsey | Drinker No 1 |
| Martin Dunne | Lord Dolecroft |
| Tommy Flanagan | Morrison |
| Alun Armstrong | Mornay |
| Liam Carney | Sean |
| Julie Austin | Mrs Morrison |
| Michael Byrne | Smythe |
| Sean McGinley | MacClannough |
| Sean Lawlor | Malcolm Wallace |
| Jimmy Keogh | Drinker No 2 |
| Angus MacFadyen | Robert the Bruce |
| Jeanne Marine | Nicolette |
| David Gant | Chief Justice/Executioner |
| Peter Hanly | Prince Edward |
| Donal Gibson | Stewart |
| Phil Kelly | Farmer |
| Bernard Horsfall | Balliol |
| John Kavanagh | Craig |
Genre/Type - Historical Film, Epic, Historical Epic, Costume Adventure
Produced by - Paramount
Running time - 177 min.
El Valle de las Espadas (1963, Javier Seto)
Henry V (1980, David Giles)
Rob Roy (1995, Michael Caton-Jones)
The 13th Warrior (1999, John McTiernan)
The Flame and the Arrow (1950, Jacques Tourneur)
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999, Luc Besson)
The Patriot (2000, Roland Emmerich)
Vercingetorix (2001, Jacques Dorfmann)