Braveheart (1995) Braveheart (1995)

See also: _Index | Plot Structure (Braveheart) | Backbeats (Braveheart)

Quick Facts

  • Director: Mel Gibson
  • Screenplay: Randall Wallace
  • Starring: Mel Gibson (William Wallace, Scottish commoner turned rebellion leader), Sophie Marceau (Princess Isabelle of France, daughter-in-law to Edward I), Patrick McGoohan (Edward I "Longshanks," King of England), Catherine McCormack (Murron MacClannough, Wallace's secret wife), Brendan Gleeson (Hamish Campbell, Wallace's lifelong friend and lieutenant), Brian Cox (Argyle Wallace, William's uncle and guardian), Angus Macfadyen (Robert the Bruce, Earl of Bruce and contender for the Scottish crown), Peter Hanly (Prince Edward of Wales, son and heir to Longshanks), James Cosmo (Campbell, Hamish's father), David O'Hara (Stephen, Irish ally), Ian Bannen (Robert the Bruce's leper father)
  • Cinematography: John Toll (Academy Award)
  • Editor: Steven Rosenblum
  • Music: James Horner
  • Runtime: 178 minutes (theatrical)
  • Budget: approximately $72 million
  • Worldwide Box Office: approximately $213 million
  • Release Date: May 24, 1995 (US)
  • MPAA Rating: R
  • Distributor: Paramount Pictures (US), 20th Century Fox (international)
  • Awards: Won 5 Academy Awards at the 68th ceremony, including Best Picture, Best Director (Gibson), Best Cinematography (Toll), Best Makeup, and Best Sound Effects Editing.

Overview

A Scottish commoner whose father and brother died fighting Edward Ib6 returns to his home village a man of property,b9 marries his childhood sweetheart in secret to keep her out of reach of prima nocta,b13 and is forced into open rebellion when an English garrison commander cuts her throat in the village square.b15 The rebellion swells from a personal vendetta into a national rising; Wallace wins improbable victories at Stirling and York,b25 b28 is knighted Guardian of Scotland,b26 and discovers that the Scottish nobles he is fighting for have been bargaining with Longshanks behind his back.b30 b31 Betrayed at Falkirkb32 and again at the negotiation that sees him handed to the English,b37 Wallace is publicly tortured and executed in London, refusing to plead for mercy and dying with the word "Freedom."b39 The film closes with Robert the Bruce — the noble who twice betrayed Wallace — leading the Scots into the field at Bannockburn nine years later, the institutional victory Wallace's commitment made possible.b40 The film is heavily fictionalized; its relationship to the historical Wallace is loose, and the analysis here is of the film as filmed, not the historical record.