I just watched Patton again. I've watched it many times before. Other than the jeeps, were there any actual WW2 vehicles used in this movie? Sheesh!

Filmed in the great land of the Spaghetti Western. Spain ended up with a lot of WWII surplus.

Maybe some of the supply trucks?

The first part of the movie were George C. Scott as Patton is on stage in front of the flag addressing the troops was shown to us fresh enlistees and draftees at Fort Ord Basic training in Jan 1973. Let me tell you that was a powerful presentation as a wide eyed wet behind the ears recruit.

yeah that film just doesn't hold up well

i was re-watching it recently and wasn't impressed

i realize Patton was 'one of a kind' but all the acting is just over the top

the scene where all the Germans are massed shoulder-to-shoulder in the open desert walking 15' away from the tanks toward the Allies is ludicrous

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quote:

Other than the jeeps

My best Clifford C. Clavin imitation:

I saw a documentary on jeeps once. It said the life expectancy of a jeep in WWII was just 90 days...

Yes, perhaps we have a more educated audiance with higher standards now days.

Or not.

I imagine much of the wholly unbelievable nonsense we're inundated with in movies today would have been rejected if shown 40-45+ years ago.

Movies have come a long way since 1970.
Still a great flick as long as you can overlook the technical shortcomings.

Well, Top Gun still gets repeated and quoted, and it's far from an accurate portrayal of Navy pilots or, the school of the title.
While there's plenty to nits to pick regarding vehicles, at least its not as bad as seeing Pearl Harbor attacked, and you see contemporary Navy ships in the background.

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Originally posted by cparktd:

quote:

Other than the jeeps

My best Clifford C. Clavin imitation:

I saw a documentary on jeeps once. It said the life expectancy of a jeep in WWII was just 90 days...

And it still is!

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Originally posted by Sig209:
all the acting is just over the top

Ya, but I still like it. Not as good as Lawrence of Arabia, though.



https://avatarhost.files.wordp...bitch-to-another.jpg

"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."

Got to love that line.

It's impossible to talk about George C. Scott without talking about his role as General Patton. To get into the general's head Scott studied 13 biographies on Patton, he had caps placed on his teeth to look more like the man, and he was fiercely argumentative over how the character should be portrayed. Scott wanted to create the full portrait of a man, not just a character. He was so obsessed with making Patton as well rounded as possible that he initially refused to film the opening monologue out of fear that it would overshadow the film. He only relented after he was convinced that the scene would be shown at the end of the movie. He was once again tricked by a crafty director -- and it's likely this scene that earned him his nomination.

Watching Patton today, it's clear that Scott is giving the role his all. It's rare to see an actor lose themselves to thoroughly in a character but when you watch Patton you're seeing someone embody a real life person so well that the public thinks of the fictional version of that person rather than the real guy. It's a fascinating performance deserving of accolades. When Scott heard that he was nominated for the Best Actor award at the 1971 Academy Awards he told the press that "the ceremonies are a two-hour meat parade, a public display with contrived suspense for economic reasons," before describing them as "offensive, barbarous and innately corrupt." He was essentially daring the Academy to pull his nomination, but they didn't rise to the occasion.
When trash talking the Academy didn't work, Scott went so far as to send them a telegram requesting that they remove his nomination because he wouldn't be attending the awards and even if he won he wouldn't accept the trophy on moral grounds. The Academy ignored his request and the nomination stood.

When Goldie Hawn presented the award for best actor that night George C. Scott was 3,000 miles away from Hollywood. According to legend he watched a hockey game and then he went to bed as a theater full of filmmaking insiders applauded his turn as one of the most fascinating people of the 20th century.

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Originally posted by corsair:
Well, Top Gun still gets repeated and quoted, and it's far from an accurate portrayal of Navy pilots or, the school of the title.

you have to admit -- the close cooperation of the Navy lent heavily to the success of the film. the F14s (and other aircraft) and the carriers were the stars of that show IMO. lord knows millions of red-blooded American males didn't pay to see it multiple times to see Kelly McGillis

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Originally posted by CQB60:
Watching Patton today, it's clear that Scott is giving the role his all. It's rare to see an actor lose themselves to thoroughly in a character but when you watch Patton you're seeing someone embody a real life person so well that the public thinks of the fictional version of that person rather than the real guy. It's a fascinating performance deserving of accolades.

Scott was a temperamental figure, bipolar perhaps? He could be deep into a role, very immersed however he was also a well known alcoholic with a fiery temper. He went through several marriages and each one he physically abused his wives.

I view Scott like I view Steve McQueen, a seminal figure but, deeply flawed and not to be admired.

I'm in the process of reading Sam Fuller's autobiography.. It seems the soldier Patton hit in the hospital tent was not suffering from 'battle fatigue' but malaria. At least according to Fuller.

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Originally posted by chbibc:
I just watched Patton again. I've watched it many times before. Other than the jeeps, were there any actual WW2 vehicles used in this movie? Sheesh!

There are M24 Chaffee tanks throughout the movie. They were used during the war, but not until the last few months.

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Originally posted by Sig209:
yeah that film just doesn't hold up well

i was re-watching it recently and wasn't impressed

i realize Patton was 'one of a kind' but all the acting is just over the top

the scene where all the Germans are massed shoulder-to-shoulder in the open desert walking 15' away from the tanks toward the Allies is ludicrous

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At the REAL Battle of El Guettar, the Germans did in fact advance down a valley in one long column. So the film wasn't that far off. However, in the actual battle, the Germans advanced doing a reconnaissance by fire on the surrounding hillsides.

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Originally posted by SFCUSARET:
The first part of the movie were George C. Scott as Patton is on stage in front of the flag addressing the troops was shown to us fresh enlistees and draftees at Fort Ord Basic training in Jan 1973. Let me tell you that was a powerful presentation as a wide eyed wet behind the ears recruit.

Notice anything funny about that scene? The guns are on the wrong side. He usually wore the Colt SAA on the right side and a S&W 357 magnum on the left side. This arrangement was seen in other parts of the movie but not the opening scene. They either stuffed the guns in the wrong holsters or they had both a right and left holster for each gun. Interesting.

As much as I like a war movie to be accurate as possible ("A Bridge Too Far" is the high bar, in my opinion), I give "Patton" a pass for a couple of reasons:

1)Acting - if you've read any biographies about Patton then George C. Scott's portrayal is eminently believable. Also, the co-stars and main character actors - especially Karl Malden - did a fine job and were convincing in their roles. Remember, Scott won the Oscar for Best Actor back when winning that award was still more about acting than diversity or political ideology.

2) Setting - unlike "Battle of the Bulge" where the snowy woods of Belgium were scrub brush and here-and-there patches of the white stuff, "Patton" actually showed the climate as it related to the relevant theater of operations - desert for Africa, scrub for Sicily, woods and deep snow for winter in Belgium.