The Patriot (film)

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Movie
German title The Patriot
Original title The Patriot
Country of production United States , Germany
original language English
Publishing year 2000
length DVD 158 min., Extended Version 168 (PAL) and 175 (NTSC + BD) minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Roland Emmerich
script Robert Rodat
production Dean Devlin ,
Mark Gordon ,
Gary Levinsohn
music John Williams
camera Caleb Deschanel
cut David Brenner
occupation

The Patriot (original title The Patriot ) is a historical war film by the director Roland Emmerich from 2000 with Mel Gibson in the leading role.

action

The widower Benjamin Martin lived during the American Revolutionary War (1775 to 1783) with his seven children on a small plantation in South Carolina . He tries to provide for his family in the best possible way and to forget his past as a cruel war hero. In the vote on the War of Independence against the British, he voted no because of his family. His eldest son Gabriel, however, joins the American troops without his father's permission . Years later, on an important mission, he returns home briefly. When the British raided the plantation during the war, they arrested Gabriel on charges of espionage and threatened to hang him. Thomas, his younger brother, who was also a war enthusiast, is shot dead by the brutal British Colonel William Tavington when he tries to free Gabriel. The farm is burned down as it has provided shelter for the wounded from both warring parties.

The father, together with his two next-younger, still child-like sons, hurriedly set an ambush in which about 20 Englishmen were killed and Gabriel was freed.

After the remaining children have been placed with Charlotte Selton, the sister of his late wife, father and son jointly recruit militiamen . In contrast to George Washington's Continental Army , Martin, who fought under the British flag in previous wars, does not try to copy the British tactics of cabinet wars , but instead wages a guerrilla war against the colonial power, in which he prefers to open fire on officers. Martin pours musket balls out of the tin soldiers of his slain son Thomas to kill the British. He receives active support from Jean Villeneuve, an officer from the French auxiliary corps of the Marquis de La Fayette , whose family was killed by the British during a sea battle.

Tavington learns the identity of the militia leaders through the betrayal of a loyalist and burns Charlotte's plantation. However, you and the children are saved in time by Martin and Gabriel. They flee to a hidden camp where Gabriel is getting married. Tavington arrives at a list of the names of Martin's men and begins to have their relatives killed. Martin then releases the militiamen so that they can protect their families. But when Gabriel's wife and family are locked up in a church and burned to death, Martin's son, furious with anger, pursues Tavington. During the ensuing battle with the British, he manages to inflict a gunshot wound on Tavington. Tavington fakes his death and stabs Gabriel as he approaches him. Martin finds his dying son, who makes peace with him because of his guilt for the death of his brother Thomas.

In a dramatic battle between the British and the Americans, Martin's militiamen lure Tavington and his soldiers into a trap. Martin seems to succumb in the fight with Tavington. But when Tavington strikes a fatal blow, Martin manages to evade and kill Tavington with a bayonet . The battle is won.

Shortly afterwards, the British general Cornwallis holed up with his remaining troops near Yorktown , where he was surrounded by the Americans and the French. With a heavy heart he decides to surrender, which ends the American War of Independence. Martin's militia is disbanded and he himself returns to his family.

Finally, with the help of friendly militiamen, Martin rebuilds his destroyed house and marries Charlotte, his wife's sister.

criticism

Historical criticism

The historian and cultural anthropologist Michael Hochgeschwender deals with the popular cultural reception of the American Revolution in his book The American Revolution: Birth of a Nation 1763–1815 , making reference to the film The Patriot in several passages . Hochgeschwender criticizes above all the unreflective handling of the myth of the revolution and the founding of the USA, the one-sided portrayal of the conflicting parties and the falsified portrayal of the slave's commitment to the revolution. Other aspects of the revolution such as the participation of Indian tribes on both sides in the war, the participation of French land troops on the part of the revolutionaries and the use of combat units from German-speaking countries are not addressed in the film.

The role of Benjamin Martin is modeled on the leader of the Whig militias Francis Marion , while the leader of the British Legion Sir Banastre Tarleton served as a model for the role of his British opponent Colonel William Tavington .

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.
no source citation for the sentence about Daniel Morgan

Daniel Morgan is also said to have served with his actions as a source for the fictional character Benjamin Martin.

For high-speed users , the Tory loyalists and in particular the figure of the modeled Banastre Tarleton with his British Legion are shown in the film based on models from National Socialist task forces and SS men from World War II. Violence against civilians and massacres occurred among both Whig and Tory militias.

Hochgeschwender critically summarizes the presentation of the historical context and its actors as follows:

“While the film strives for authenticity in questions of detail, its political generalizations are due more to the founding myth of the USA than to historical reality. The brutality of the Whig militias and their interest-driven struggle are not taken into account, the motivation of the Tories remains unclear, the pathos of freedom refers to a transhistorical, inadequate concept of freedom, the British are one-sidedly portrayed as excessively brutal, the settlers' war of annihilation against the Indians is becoming not addressed. The portrayal of the black slave Occam, who fought for his freedom as a militiaman in the service of the revolution, is completely unrealistic. […] [It is forgotten to mention] that the majority of blacks in the south fought for the British, that free and enslaved blacks were predominantly employed in northern states and in segregated regiments there, and finally that many black slaves who fought for the revolution, in the end just didn't get their freedom. "
This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.
no source information about the situation of black slaves in the southern American colonies and the historical context, also on George Washington and Francis Marion

In the south of the American colonies in particular, black slaves formed the basis of the economy, especially in agriculture and tobacco growing - both George Washington and Francis Marion owned slaves.

In the end, Hochgeschwender comes to the following conclusion about the film:

"[...] 'The Patriot', [is] a film whose uncritical, anachronistic patriotism fits perfectly with the American national triumphalism between the victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War and the Islamist attacks of September 11, 2001."

Movie review

Der Spiegel writes in a review:

“Benjamin Martin is modeled on the revolutionary hero Francis Marion, the 'Swamp Fox', who shifted the war from open battle to the inaccessible swamps of South Carolina and embarrassed the narrow-minded British generals with this unsportsmanlike way of waging war. Emmerich uses the changed topography solely to cover the senseless nationalism of history with a pompous romance of leather socks. Because the film otherwise retains historical details, it will become even more exemplary as a war film, Emmerich notes about his work. A laudable goal. But with this styleless kitsch, he achieved the opposite. "

The Time magazine scored the film in 2011 among the ten most misleading historical films.

Others

Kevin Spacey was originally intended for the role of Colonel Tavington and not Jason Isaacs, who was then less known to the public . But with Mel Gibson asking for $ 25 million for his role, there wasn't enough money left to hire Oscar winner Spacey.

The script initially attributed six children to the lead actor, as Mel Gibson had in real life. When Gibson had another child shortly before shooting started in 1999, a seventh child was written into the script at short notice. It is played by Logan Lerman , who made his film debut with it.

For the film music, Roland Emmerich wanted to engage the American composer John Williams from the start due to his previous work with Steven Spielberg. Since Emmerich did not expect any acceptance, he first commissioned the composer David Arnold ; only later did Williams accept.

With a US $ 110 million film budget, it grossed $ 113 million in the United States and $ 215 million worldwide.

Voice actor

The voice actors for the German version:

Awards

Web links

Wikiquote: The Patriot  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Hochgeschwender: The American Revolution: Birth of a Nation 1763-1815. CH Beck, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-406-65442-8 , pp. 7–8, 305, 322, 434–435.
  2. ↑ Michael Hochgeschwender: The American Revolution: Birth of a Nation 1763-1815. CH Beck, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-406-65442-8 , pp. 208-231.
  3. ↑ Michael Hochgeschwender: The American Revolution: Birth of a Nation 1763-1815. CH Beck, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-406-65442-8 , p. 434.
  4. ↑ Michael Hochgeschwender: The American Revolution: Birth of a Nation 1763-1815. CH Beck, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-406-65442-8 , p. 8, 304-305.
  5. ↑ Michael Hochgeschwender: The American Revolution: Birth of a Nation 1763-1815. CH Beck, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-406-65442-8 , p. 434.
  6. ↑ Michael Hochgeschwender: The American Revolution: Birth of a Nation 1763-1815. CH Beck, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-406-65442-8 , p. 434.
  7. ↑ Manfred Müller: "The Patriot". Die for the striped cloth flap. Spiegel online, August 1, 2000, film review
  8. ↑ Michael Hochgeschwender: The American Revolution: Birth of a Nation 1763-1815. CH Beck, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-406-65442-8 , pp. 434-435.
  9. ↑ Kayla Webley: The Patriot. In: Top 10 Historically Misleading Films. time.com, January 25, 2011, English-language film list
  10. ↑ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=patriot.htm
  11. ↑ synchronkartei.de: The Patriot. Retrieved September 20, 2015 .

See also

Other films with the original title The Patriot :