#1 Movie of the '90s

Rating: 10/10 (7 February 2001)

Normally, I see a movie once in a theater with very few exceptions. If it's really good I'll rent or buy the video/DVD when it's available. However, somehow I ended up going to see Braveheart three times in the theater. The first time I saw it I was blown away by the power of the film. However, it amazed me that on the second and even third viewings of the film, I was even MORE impressed with the film than I was at first. That's very rare in my experience.
What makes this movie so effective are the numerous elements that work so great together. The scriptwriting of Wallace and surprisingly good direction of Gibson were paced perfectly. It's not everyday I can watch a 3-hour movie and not even once look at my watch. The cinematography was beautiful. Last but not least is the score of James Horner. This is no doubt James Horner's best score (and even one of the few where he avoided obvious plagarism of other scores). Whether it's orchestral, use of the Celtic instruments, or synthesizer, he gets inside of the fabric of the film to really become the heartbeat of the drama. He is also careful to stay within the film, until you get to the climatic points of the movie where the music is allowed to soar, and he does so with brilliance.
Ironic that Horner lost the oscar to an aggressively overhyped Il Postino score... and then 3 years later wins the Oscar for similar, yet (in my opinion)inappropriate music in his own overhyped score of Titanic. But it figures. I once heard composer Elmer Bernstein say that he never expected to win his only Oscar for Thoroughly Modern Millie, but on numerous other occasions (e.g. To Kill a Mockingbird)he thought he had a better chance of winning.
One last aside, I knew somebody once who was acquainted with Randall Wallace (the writer). Supposedly he shopped this script to several directors, and couldn't get any takers. Then on a whim, he called Mel Gibson, who very generously offered to meet him for a meal and read the script. The rest is history. It just goes to show that if you're an aspiring artist in any field, don't give up.