If we are not victorious, let no one come back alive!

Rating: 9/10 (29 December 2004)

The title of my piece is what I imagine that Franklin Schaffner told his actors and technicians as the set out to make one of the most glorious war movies of all time. They were victorious and made a real classic. The casting & acting is so fine that you can forget to appreciate the beautiful cinematography, excellent editing and well-paced plot line. At age 14, I saw this movie for the first time and have been in love with it ever since. After consuming great bowlfuls of Patton-era history at high school, I ended up liking George C. Scott's Patton better than I did the real General himself. Scott produces a commanding presence that the real George Patton didn't seem to possess, from the film footage we see of his speeches during WWII. But, Gen Patton was a father and husband with a softer side, which Scott could afford to ignore (not a woman in the entire movie has more than sixteen words to say!!). Co-starring roles are almost all played flawlessly, especially the self-centered and arrogant Monty, played so perfectly by Michael Bates, you almost believe in replicated reincarnation! Malden pours himself into the Bradley role that his performance, too, is like watching a ghost...nothing as good was done again until Dunnaway did "Mommie Dearest". The only flaw for me in this movie is the cursing, which was supposed to be such a shock to audiences in 1968...it's just a distraction now, especially the answer that the General gives to the Chaplain who asks him how often he reads his Bible. Lastly, "Patton" doesn't dwell on the harsh realities of combat, as we wish to see them in today's films, but that wasn't it's mission at the time, so it's still fresh and illustrative of the Militaristic mind-set. Hey, folks, we NEED guys like this in our arsenal, from time to time!