Search - Braveheart on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Graphic Violence, Brief Nudity, War Violence Movie Release: 1995 DVD Release: 08/29/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 57 mins Studio: Paramount Total Copies: 1 Genres: Epic, Historical Film, Costume Adventure, Historical Epic See Also: Braveheart [Special Collector's Edition], Braveheart [Spanish Version], Braveheart [Special Collector's Edition], Braveheart, Braveheart, Braveheart [Sapphire Edition] [Blu-ray], Braveheart

Mel Gibson, long-time heartthrob of the silver screen, came into his own as a director with Braveheart, an account of the life and times of medieval Scottish patriot William Wallace and, to a lesser degree, Robert the Bruce's struggle to unify his nation against its English oppressors. The story begins with young Wallace, whose father and brother have been killed fighting the English, being taken into the custody of his uncle, a nationalist and pre-Renaissance renaissance man. He returns twenty years later, a man educated both in the classics and in the art of war. There he finds his childhood sweetheart Murron (Catherine McCormack), and the two quickly fall in love. There are murmurs of revolt against the English throughout the village, but Wallace remains aloof, wishing simply to tend to his crops and live in peace. However, when his love is killed by English soldiers the day after their secret marriage (held secretly so as to prevent the local English lord from exercising the repulsive right of prima noctae, the privilege of sleeping with the bride on the first night of the marriage), he springs into action and single-handedly slays an entire platoon of foot soldiers. The other villagers join him in destroying the English garrison, and thus begins the revolt against the English in what will eventually become full-fledged war. Wallace eventually leads his fellow Scots in a series of bloody battles that prove a serious threat to English domination and, along the way, has a hushed affair with the Princess of Wales (the breathtaking Sophie Marceau) before his imminent demise. For his efforts, Gibson won the honor of Best Director from the Academy; the movie also took home statuettes for Best Picture, Cinematography, Makeup, and Sound Effects. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

Mel Gibson - William Wallace
Sophie Marceau - Princess Isabelle
Patrick McGoohan - Edward I Longshanks
Catherine McCormack - Murron
Brendan Gleeson - Hamish

Mel Gibson's Academy award-winning epic Braveheart comes to DVD in a fairly basic presentation that includes a widescreen, anamorphic transfer, Dolby Digital 5.1 and Surround Audio, and a commentary by Gibson. A "making of" featurette and two theatrical trailers complete this adequate disc. With any luck, a deluxe version of the DVD will be released in the not too distant future; Braveheart deserves better. ~ Heather Phares, All Movie Guide