Braveheart (1995)
Apr. 21st, 2006 06:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wee_mango
In the first scene a young William Wallace sees the hanged bodies of Scotsmen and boys who had travelled to a meeting with representatives of Edward I, popularly known as Longshanks. Edward I was a ruler of unlimited cruelty, whose intention was to destroy the native population of Scotland through war or by breeding. He had invoked an ancient law, primae noctis ("first night"), which allowed English lords the first sexual rights to any common Scottish woman on her wedding night.
William’s father and older brother leave home to do battle with Edward's army. Both are killed and their bodies are returned home to an orphaned William.
Following the funerals, young Murron McClannough leaves her mother's side & gives William a thistle (native flower of Scotland). William’s uncle, Argyle, adopts William and takes him on a 20 year journey across Europe, a journey that becomes William’s education.
When William returns to his homeland, Longshanks’ son has married Isabelle, a French princess, in a political ploy that Edward believes will increase his power over France.
William hopes to rebuild his father’s farm, marry, and raise a family. He reunites with his childhood love, Murron, and they marry in secret to avoid Longshanks’ law of prime nocte. However, when Murron is nearly raped by English soldiers a few days later and William saves her, they try to kill him. He tells his wife to meet him in a nearby grove. William fights the soldiers and retreats into hiding.
Murron, unable to escape, is captured and brutally executed in public by the local magistrate seeking to set an example against rebellion, but more directly to provoke her husband.
William rides back to the village on horseback, feigning surrender but at the last second he instead attacks the English soldiers, his one man fight is soon joined by his friend Hamish, Hamish's father Campbell, and the local townsfolk who kill every soldier in the magistrate's fortress. Bound by revenge, William kills the magistrate in the same fashion that the man killed Murron. Shortly after, William captures an even larger English garrison.
The loss of this second base angers the King who sent an army to fight Wallace but word has already spread and highlanders come in droves to fight this invading force. Voluteers from overseas come to join the fight against the English such as Stephen, a bit of a madman, from Ireland, who saves Wallace from being assassinated by another 'voluteer'.
Wallace knows that eventually the King will send his entire Northern Army, to this end he has a plan. Their first victory in this war comes at the Battle of Stirling. William, leading an outnumbered army, boosts their confidence with a charismatic speech. They outwit the English cavalry with long spears and slaughter the remaining infantry and their general.
Though awarded the post of 'High protector of Scotland' by the Scots nobles, William is still unable to convince them to solidly unite and invade England to ensure their victory and drive Longshanks from Scotland forever.
The highest ranking noble, Robert the Bruce, a possible heir to the throne of Scotland, tells William that his efforts are directed more out of rage and vengeance, rather than the preservation of his homeland. William agrees but also sees the Bruce as the kind of leader Scotland needs and bids him to unite the clans.
William makes the decision to invade England himself and his army marches several hundred miles to the city of York. They successfully raid the city and seize control of it. The local magistrate is beheaded and his head is sent to London as a message to Longshanks.
Longshanks sends the Princess of Wales, Isabelle, to York to negotiate a truce with William. He meets with her but refuses to accept Longshanks’ demands. He cites Longshanks’ longstanding cruel treatment of Scotland and his attempts at genocide. The princess returns to London to find that the meeting she held was a distraction from Longshanks’ strategy to send his armies to Scotland and attack Wallace’s flank. Isabelle sends a courier to William with the news.
He musters his troops and marches back to Scotland to engage the English army at Falkirk. During the battle William again proves to be the better tactician, using his archers to ignite a field laden with oil between his infantry and Longshanks’ with the English cavalry trapped in the middle. Additionally, during the battle, the Irish soldiers accompanying Longshanks’ army join Wallace’s army at the manipulations of Stephen, doubling its size instantly. However, Longshanks is able to subversively recruit the Scots nobles and their cavalry. No longer a backup force for Wallace, they leave their 'ally' for dead.
William escapes the ensuing slaughter and rides after Longshanks. He is stopped short by Longshanks’ helmeted companion whom Wallace reveals to be Robert the Bruce. Robert realises how much he has let Wallace down and then helps William escape arrest and return to his army. At the Scots army encampment, Hamish watches his father die as William looks on. William realizes that his pride has caused their defeat. Though his army is defeated, William is still able to rally more highlanders to his cause and rebuild his forces.
He also takes brutal vengeance on several of the nobles who betrayed him, murdering Mornay in his bedroom (on horseback by smashing his skull with a mace) and Lochlan, whose body he drops through an open window onto Lord Craig's dinner table after slitting his throat.
Word spreads of Wallace killing men by the hundreds - his legend is growing.
Longshanks realizes Wallace is once again becoming invulnerable and plots to assassinate William, again using the princess as a ploy. The princess again warns William and the assassins are brutally burned murdered by William, Hamish and Stephen the Irishman.
William secretly visits the princess to thank her and the two make love.
Several months pass and Longshanks works subversively to trap Wallace. Robert the Bruce is the decoy this time, calling Wallace to a meeting to negotiate a truce. William is captured at Edinburgh by English soldiers and the Scottish noble lord Craig who betrays him a second time. Robert discovers his father was in on the trap too and disowns him while Wallace is sent to London for public execution.
Princess Isabelle pleads with William to beg the king for mercy. William refuses, preferring to die a free man. She gives him some sort of liquid drug to ease his pain, but when she leaves the cell, William spits it out. Isabelle later pleads with the king to spare Wallace’s life. The king is unable to speak due to a fatal, unknown illness (most likely tuberculosis as per the heavy cough that plagues him in the film's second half), but his will is unchanged. Whispering in the king’s ear, Isabelle reveals that she is pregnant with Wallace’s child and his offspring will be heir to the throne.
Wallace is brought into the public square for execution. He is offered clemency (which translates to a quick death by beheading) in exchange for declaring himself the king’s loyal subject. He refuses and is strung up, first by his neck, then by his wrists and ankles.
He is then tied to a cross and disemboweled alive. Refusing the taunts of the executioner to accept subjectivity to the king, and the crowd shouting "Mercy!" he yells his last word, "Freeeeeeeeeeeeedom!" as the king dies. Realizing that Wallace will not be broken, even under extreme pain, the executioner orders his beheading.
An instant before the axe falls, Wallace notices a familiar woman passing behind Hamish and Stephen in the crowd. It is Murron. The small cloth that Wallace was given by his wife as a wedding gift falls from his hand.
In Scotland, shortly after the execution, Robert the Bruce leads the remnants of Wallace’s army onto the field at Bannockburn to accept the title of King of Scotland. Holding the small cloth that fell from Wallace’s hand in his final moment of life, he rallies the army to do battle with the English - "You have bled with Wallace. Now bleed with me" - much to the consternation of the nobles, who'd hoped that the Bruce would accept his title without incident. Hamish takes William's sword and flings it into the air. As it lands in the ground and swings in the wind, a voiceover by Wallace/Mel Gibson informs us:
"In the year of our Lord, 1314, patriots of Scotland, starving and outnumbered, charged the fields at Bannockburn. They fought like warrior poets, they fought like Scotsmen, and won their freedom."
Plot from Wikipedia; altered by me :)
Images from a Braveheart photobucket account (then saved by me).
For years I managed to avoid this movie as I found out what happened to the lead character and was put off lol (thank goodness Mel edited the disembowling bit down and didn't show him being castrated!!). 2 years ago, just before I left school for good, I caught it on TV one night and loved it. Got it on video and then last night on DVD. I've forgotten how many times I've seen Braveheart but it would probably be in my top 5 movies at least! :)
Fave/memorable moments/quotes etc:
- I think I cried the first few times watching this when Murron (Catherine McCormack) comes into shot during the execution scene. Bizarrely this happens to be my favourite scene, and moment even though it only lasts for like a second - I partially blame James Horner's wonderful score ;)
- Stephen the crazy Irishman; I think has got to be my fave character - he steals the film & has me giggling at the majority of his lines, especially when he and William are covering themselves from arrows during the battle of Stirling: "The Lord tells me He can get me out of this mess, but He's pretty sure you're f**ked!"
- when young Murron gives young William the thistle at his dad and brother's funeral he starts to cry (see third picture) which of course always sets me off too! James Robinson was a great wee actor there, pity he hasn't done anything apart from this movie.
- Stephen: "In order to find his equal an Irishman is forced to talk to God. (looks heavenward) Yes Father!"
- Stephen: (upon arrival at the battle of Stirling) "The Almighty says this must be a fashionable fight; it's drawn the finest people!"
- Edward II's 'friend' Philip being thrown out the window by Longshanks lol - at first left me going o____O
- Mel Gibson running round with long hair, in a kilt and putting on a Scottish accent; RAWR!! ;) :p
- the nice Scottish Highland scenery
- Princess Isabelle: (talking to the jailer outside Wallace's cell) "The king will be dead in a month and his son is a weakling. Who do you think is going to rule this kingdom? Now open the door."
- William Wallace: (talking to the English general) "Before we let you leave, your commander must cross that field, present himself before this army, put his head between his legs, and kiss his own arse."
- William Wallace: "Sons of Scotland! I am William Wallace."
Second Soldier: "William Wallace is seven feet tall!"
William Wallace: "Yes, I've heard. Kills men by the hundreds. And if HE were here, he'd consume the English with fireballs from his eyes, and bolts of lightning from his arse."
(Scottish army laughs)
- Isabella getting her own back on Longshanks by telling him the heir to the throne of England will be Scottish.
- William attempting to court Murron:
William Wallace: "Are you impressed?"
Murron: "No! Why should I be?"
William Wallace: "Oui, parce que chaque jour, j'ai pensé a toi (Yes, because everyday, I thought about you)."
Murron: "Do that standing on your head and I'll be impressed."
William Wallace: "My kilt'll fly up but I'll try!"
Murron: "You certainly didn't learn any manners on your travels!"
William Wallace: "Ah the French and the Romans have far worse manners than I."
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Date: 2006-04-21 08:27 pm (UTC)I watched this movie for Mel and came out falling for Angus MacFadyen and David O'Hara (Stephen). Isn't Isabelle (Sophie Marceau) beautiful?
The boyfriend, Philip, is a looker, too. Cute guy - oh look, he is flying out the window.
If you don't come crying from this movie, you have to be made of stone or something. This also got me into the real William Wallace and Robert the Bruce.
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Date: 2006-04-21 10:27 pm (UTC)Pst! What other movies do you like? I may end up reviewing them.... ;)
♥
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Date: 2006-04-21 11:50 pm (UTC)~ Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour
~ Gone With the Wind with Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh
~ Ever After with Dougray Scott and Drew Barrymore
~ Pirates of the Caribean with Orlando and Johnny
~ Princess Bride with Carey Elwes and Robin Wright Penn
~ Sense and Sensibility (Emma Thompson version)
In fact, if you are going to do movie synopsis. It would be cool to see your take on Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Withnail and I and other Indy Boys "Other" movies (as I call them because one or more of the Hornblower boys are in them). My favorite Ioan movie is Happy Now.
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Date: 2006-04-22 01:42 pm (UTC)♥