Patton (1970)

Director:

Franklin J. Schaffner

Writers:

Ladislas Farago (book)
Omar N. Bradley (book)

Release Date:

2 April 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | War

Plot:

The World War II phase of the controversial American general's career is depicted.

Plot Keywords:

General | Germany | American | Destiny | Military

Awards:

Won 7 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 7 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Nov. 25

6:00 AM

AMC

Cast

George C. Scott	...	Gen. George S. Patton Jr.
Karl Malden	...	Gen. Omar N. Bradley
Stephen Young	...	Capt. Chester B. Hansen
Michael Strong	...	Brig. Gen. Hobart Carver
Carey Loftin	...	Gen. Bradley's driver (as Cary Loftin)
Albert Dumortier	...	Moroccan Minister
Frank Latimore	...	Lt. Col. Henry Davenport
Morgan Paull	...	Capt. Richard N. Jenson
Karl Michael Vogler	...	Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
Bill Hickman	...	Gen. Patton's driver
Pat Zurica	...	1st Lt. Alexander Stiller (as Patrick J. Zurica)
James Edwards	...	Sgt. William George Meeks
Lawrence Dobkin	...	Col. Gaston Bell
David Bauer	...	Lt. Gen. Harry Buford
John Barrie	...	Air Vice-Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham

Also Known As:

Patton: A Salute to a Rebel
Patton: Lust for Glory (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

170 min | Sweden:172 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | French | Russian | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) | DTS 70 mm (70mm re-release)

Certification:

Australia:M | Brazil:16 | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:13 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG (re-rating) (1970) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Rod Steiger had first turned down the role, later admitting that was a big mistake.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the scene where Patton visits Bradley's Command Post in Normandy, France, he delivers a line of dialogue that says Hitler's own people tried to kill him just a few days ago. This would place the timeline of this meeting just after July 20, 1944 (the day of the actual assassination attempt on Hitler), but before July 25, 1944 (The start of the Allied Cobra operation) which was also discussed at this meeting. Immediately after this scene, there is a cut to a German Command bunker where Rommel is complaining that his men are being slaughtered in Normandy. The timeline of this latter scene is in error as Rommel, by this time, was severely wounded by an Allied fighter attack plane on July 17, 1944 and very much out-of-the-action from this day onwards.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Patton: Now I want you to remember that 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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Bart the General (#1.5)" (1990)

Soundtrack:

To the Color

A film about the man not the war

Oliver Stone has said this film glorifies war, i disagree, what it does is show a man {Patton} who gloried in war, the war is shown through his perspective,and to Patton war is glorious and he revels in it.The performance of George c scott as Patton is brilliant, it shows a complex and demanding character riddled with contradictions ,who believes he was born to be a leader of men,the supporting cast is very good particularly karl Malden who plays general Bradley a calm experienced soldier with no dreams of glory, the perfect foil to the maverick Patton, the combat scenes are well shot and are never more than is necessary to support the narrative,the film rises above being very good to excellence due to George c Scotts intuitive grasp of the character.