It Deserved Every Oscar It Got

Rating: 9/10 (7 February 2009)

Here is George C Scott in the role he was surely born to play. He fits the part as well as Paul Schofield fits Thomas Moore in 'A Man For All Seasons'.
Scott's presentation of an ambitious, single-minded, overbearing man brimming with self-belief is wonderfully realised. You cannot imagine that he is anything but the general he pretends to be. At times likable and loathsome, we nevertheless care about him and his sometimes strange contradictions.. If not for his unpromising face and gravel-crusher voice GCS would surely have been one of the leading hero/ladies-men of his day. Yet despite the punished-looking expression, and the Dalek-with-a-sore-throat delivery, every feature and vocal tone manages to carry some subtle nuance of emotion and thought. Scott is a real actor, from a time when acting carried more weight than good looks. Ernest Borgnine cut a similar figure.
This is a movie about a general. War takes second place. We get to know the kind of man responsible for the lives of thousands. We learn about his own personal and political wars, his likes and dislikes, and those who like and dislike him. There's a lot more of the latter. He shows us that heroes can sometimes be insufferable. They are often driven men who drive others just as hard and this excites resentment. Worse still it excites ingratitude. For however much we may despise them, they are needful to the hour. Without them we would be lost.
There is war, and the action is perfectly adequate for the movie's vintage. But the real war is Patton's own. His victory is the victory of personal ambition.
Other actors pale into insignificance. And maybe this was intended by the director. The only other instantly recognisable face is Karl Malden's, which is scarcely more ornamental. The budget is big and deservedly so. location-work is expansive, filming, lighting and editing all hit their targets.
War-mongers like Patton may be discountenanced now in this politically-correct age of left-wing liberalism. But when the enemy begins banging at the gates - who ya gonna call?
Very highly recommended.