A stupendous historical saga, Braveheart won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for star Mel Gibson. He plays William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish commoner who unites the various clans against a cruel English King, Edward the Longshanks (Patrick McGoohan). The scenes of hand-to-hand combat are brutally violent, but they never glorify the bloodshed. There is such enormous scope to this story that it works on a smaller, more personal scale as well, essaying love and loss, patriotism and passion. Extremely moving, it reveals Gibson as a multitalented performer and remarkable director with an eye for detail and an understanding of human emotion. (His first directorial effort was 1993's Man Without a Face.) The film is nearly three hours long and includes several plot tangents, yet is never dull. This movie resonates long after you have seen it, both for its visual beauty and for its powerful story. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Mel Gibson's birth-of-a-nation epic Braveheart does for England what Spartacus did for Rome: every Englishman in this film is weak or nasty or a fool, or all three. Gibson plays William Wallace, the highland warrior whose fierce fighting spirit prompted Robert the Bruce's memorable victory over the English at Bannockburn. The film opens with boy Wallace losing his father and brother to the murdering English. Gibson's over-age Wallace then indulges in an unintentionally risible spot of teenage romance with the chaste Murron (Catherine McCormack), who is promptly despatched by yet another wicked Englishman. Gibson swings into action in some truly impressive (and horribly gory) fight scenes, culminating in the battles of Stirling and Falkirk.

When not separating English body parts, Gibson finds time for a clandestine romance with Isabelle, the Princess of Wales (Sophie Marceau), whom he manages to impregnate, thereby ensuring that the current British monarchy are all descended from him and not from William the Conqueror as they might heretofore have supposed. He trounces the weak and venial English at every turn, causing England's nasty Edward I (Patrick McGoohan) to cough and splutter a lot. Only treachery by the Scotch nobility (lowlanders to a man) stops Wallace's triumphant crusade. His final apotheosis, complete with pre-Passion of the Christ crucifixion imagery, posits Wallace as the redeemer of his country's lost independence.

The set-piece battles are a feast for the senses: a combination of the scale of Spartacus with the mud of Branagh's Henry V. But the continual use of slow motion in tandem with the gorgeous scenic backdrops and James Horner's cloying "folksy" music score of indeterminate national origin, enhances the feeling that this is a slick promo for the Scottish tourist board (ironic, perhaps, that much of it was shot in Ireland). Gibson and his Caledonian costars give the impression that a good time was had by all. --Mark Walker

braveheart is certainly one of my favourite films of all time.as an epic it has all of the features that an epic should have.mel gibson is successful both as a director and as the character william wallece in this film.and i think even 50 years from now on this film will be talked of, as we do about the great epic ben hur.

I believe Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders told the story of William Wallace more accurately than antipodean Mel. Also the disembowelling scene at the end!. Only an arrogant Hollwood leading man would think that a mere grimace was in order before yelling the word "Freedom". Tragic but fun. Cant believe it won Oscars. What were they thinking.

This film doesn't pretend to be a history lesson.What it does do is inform people about the Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace and it does it in an excellent way.Many people have been critical about the historical inaccuracies in this movie but they miss the point.More than anything,'Braveheart' has opened the door for so many people to perhaps learn more about a man they may never have heard of before this film came along.
Mel Gibson deserves enormous credit for both his portrayal and direction.Indeed,the acting is pretty much top notch here and special praise must go to Patrick McGoohan as King Edward 1st.He positively drips evil and dominates every scene he is in.
This is true five star entertainment with fantastic cinematography,true emotion in many scenes and a superb soundtarck from James Horner.If you want a history lesson,you had better watch the History Channel on Sky.If you want rattling good action and an introduction to a special Scottish hero then 'Braveheart' is a must.

Let's get this straight from the start - I am a very poor historian and know very little about whether the events portrayed in this novel are closer to fact or fiction, except for what I have read from other reviewers who complain about the historical innacuracies in Braveheart. I guess that is part of why I was so open-minded when I saw this film - I didn't really mind (or should I say notice) any deviances from the reality of what happened, really all I was looking for was a good film to watch with perhaps a little history thrown in, and that's exactly what this film provides.

Following the story of William Wallace who, after his (secret) wife Murron MacClannough is killed by Englishmen who are supposedly keeping 'order' in Scotland, Wallace decides to be the one to stand up and fight against the English for Scottish freedom. It's an incredibly interesting (and moving) story portrayed brilliantly (the film is close to 3 hours in length but doesn't feel it) with parts that will make you cry, make you laugh, inspire you, and infuriate you with the injustice being shown. Mel Gibson plays Wallace to perfection, infact, the entire cast are faultless - the children at the beginning, Murron, the princes and kings, princess Isabelle - absolutley everyone, including the extras.

The film was made in 1995, but doesn't show it's age at all, infact, it could be showmn as a new film in cinemas today and nobody would notice. Mel Gibson also did the directing for this film, showing that not only is he an incredibly talented actor, but a brilliant director to. He is a man of many talents!! This is an incredible film that is definately worth a watch. If you're a historian though, just go into it with an open mind. Fantastic stuff.

Gibson surrounds himself with brilliant actors who snatch the scenes off him, while he snatches the entire movie straight back from all of them. Randall Wallace's script is a stand-out as is Angus MacFadyen as the haunted 17th Earl of Bruce and the unforgettable Patrick MacGoohan as Edward, Hammer of the Scots, while the final charge at Bannockburn always sends chills down my spine.

Any time some English person wants to sound off about how unrealistic Braveheart is, I always tell them:

'It is unrealistic - the reality was much worse.'