Great Scott

Rating: Null/10 (5 October 2011)

A so-so war film elevated to almost greatness by the towering performance of George C. Scott as the brilliant and eccentric George S. Patton. Great supporting work by the British actors, particularly Michael Bates, who should have won an Oscar for his amazing portrayal of Bernard Montgomery.
The combat scenes are unimaginative and unconvincing, however. Particularly irksome is the fact that the tanks used to portray the famous American Sherman, bear absolutely no resemblance to the real thing. This is particularly evident when a real Sherman appears in a piece of news footage in the movie.
Interestingly, the movie is based partly on the memoirs of Omar Bradley, who in the movie appears to regard Patton with a combination of affection and awe. In real life Bradley, who did not drink, smoke, or swear, disliked Patton personally and almost never said anything positive about his abilities as a general.
Still, the film is largely accurate historically and worth seeing, if only for Scott's performance.