Patton 1970

The Film:

It probably won't come as a surprise that I haven't seen this one before - or that I'm not really looking forward to it very much. In fact, I don't even remember it ever being on British TV at any time since I've been old enough to notice, and I've not really ever heard anyone talking about it.

I vaguely know who Patton was - some American General in the Second World War who shouted a lot. I also know the clip from the film where he's standing in front of the Stars and Stripes giving a speech, but that's probably because I've seen the clip on Oscar compilations etc.

I'm not a great fan of war films per se - although I've generally really liked the ones we've watched so far in this challenge. I'm not, however, holding out much hope for this one. Given that it was made during the Vietnam War it's going to have to be very subtle and/or clever to come across to me as anything other than a rallying cry for the troops - which doesn't really sit very well after nearly 50 years of hindsight and with The Deerhunter not many years away. (Co-incidentally we're also watching it at a time when Paul Hardcastle 19 is number one on retro Top of the Pops...). I'd much rather be settling down to the other war film nominated that year (see below) but maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised....

The Ceremony:

April 15th 1971 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Again with no host - this time there were 34 "Friends of Oscar".

Probably the most notable thing about this year's ceremony was that it was the first one in which an actor rejected their Oscar (although this did seem to start a bit of a trend).

George C Scott refused to have any part in the Academy Awards at all. He'd refused the nomination he received for The Hustler several years earlier and he did the same this year - but won anyway and then refused to actually accept the award. He referred to the Awards as "a two-hour meat parade, a public display with contrived suspense for economic reasons". I can't really disagree much with that but, having now seen Patton, I would argue that this was a case of the pot calling the kettle black (except Patton lasted an hour longer!)

Other Notable Winners That Night:

Helen Hayes in 1932

Aside from George C Scott, the other acting awards went to Glenda Jackson, John Mills (his only ever nomination!) and Helen Hayes. Hayes' win was particularly impressive as it still holds the record for the longest gap between two wins. She was one of the first ever Best Actress winners, back in 1932, and this time she won Best Supporting Actress for (the otherwise slightly ropey) Airport. She wasn't actually at the ceremony as she was on Broadway at the time (at the age of 70). Thankfully, there are still photos of her at that time - with the nomination, I think - so we can compare them!

Helen Hayes in 1971

Ring Lardner Jnr won Adapted Screenplay for M*A*S*H having previously been blacklisted (as one of the Hollywood Ten) for most of the 50s and 60s. The Beatles won their only ever Oscar (either as Band or for any of the individual members) when Let It Be won Best Original Song Score. Obviously they weren't there to receive it, as they generally weren't talking except through lawyers at this point, so Quincy Jones accepted it on their behalf.




Best Song:

I know this song as a Carpenters song - so it's a bit strange hearing someone other than Karen singing it. It's apparently from "Lovers and Other Strangers" (no, me neither, but it's got Bea Arthur in it and it sounds quite fun!) and here's a clip:

What We Could/Should Have Been Watching:

Now THIS is how you make a war film!

Well, it definitely shouldn't have been Patton as far as I'm concerned! Other nominees included Airport (which hasn't stood the test of time, thanks to Leslie Nielsen and co), Love Story (classic schmaltz, but schmaltz none the less) and Five Easy Pieces (arguably worth it for the chicken salad sandwich alone).

I'd have given the Oscar to any one of them over Patton - but my vote has to go to the wonderful M*A*S*H. If you're going to make a war film for Americans right in the middle of the Vietnam war, then my vote would always go with hard hitting satire rather than gung-ho heroism. Maybe it's a Republican vs Democrat thing (not being American I'm probably not qualified to say) but Robert Altman's comedy set in the Korean War says far more to me about the meaning and effect of war. It led to one of the most successful sitcoms of all time (one of the first to blend tragedy and humour seamlessly) - and it's also very, very funny! I'll take Hawkeye and Trapper over Patton and Bradley any day.

Our Verdict:

Iconic. But, possibly, for all the wrong reasons.

 Oh dear. It was at least as bad as I'd feared, if not worse. It's down there with Gigi and Tom Jones. I will concede that I am definitely not the target audience for this film, partly because I'm not American and partly because I'm more than a little left-wing in my thinking. I was hoping for something a bit more interesting, clever, thought-provoking (even if the politics weren't to my liking) when I saw that Coppola was responsible for the Oscar-winning screenplay, but he was definitely saving his best for a few years later.

Too many of these sort of scenes - not my sort of thing at all.

The Jerry Goldsmith score (which didn't win anything) is by far the best thing about the film, particularly in the first location scene which is the aftermath of a battle and is very hard-hitting and realistic. I got ready to be impressed, but then lost it pretty quickly.

There are three pivotal scenes which are very nearly great but, in my mind, fail to deliver in the way they could have done. Firstly, the iconic opening with Patton's speech in front of the flag. Maybe if it had been properly played with a bit of satire, or with more of a sense of repulsion for Patton and what he is saying (Surely this film sees him as an anti-hero rather than a hero? Or maybe not?) or even with some sympathy for his delusions. But it doesn't quite do any of those things. Are we supposed to agree with it all and start chanting "USA! USA!" or what? I really wasn't sure what it was getting at being placed at the very beginning of the film and I *really* worried what Trump supporters would make of it all.

More of this sort of scene and I could have been won over.

Possibly my favourite scene is when he goes to the site of an ancient battle and his beliefs in reincarnation come to light. The fact that he believed that he'd already been in some of the most famous battles in history is fascinating and I was really looking forward to more of this - some clear insights into what made him tick. But, no, we didn't get a lot more of this. Just loads of scenes of people blowing things up and Rommel barking at everyone in German (I'm not sure whether the German characters speaking in German was impressive or affected - I think I'm going for the latter.)

Karl Malden, still looking like a priest even when he's
an Army General.

The pivotal moment in the film could/should have been (and possibly was meant to be) the scene where Patton slaps the young soldier with PTSD and calls him a coward. That could have led to more drama, more character development etc. Instead, he gets told off, sent to Knutsford (I kid you not!) and more things get blown up and more Germans shout at each other.

I do feel that there was the potential for a good film in there trying to get out. George C Scott acts his boots off all the way through and deserves his accolades, but I would much rather this had been a proper character study. And one that was stronger in its convictions (whatever they may have been). Coppola himself has said that writing the screenplay was a weird thing and that he got fired several times and only rehired at Scott's insistence. He sees the reincarnation angle as being one of the most important parts of the film but the script was clearly subject to a lot of interference - so much so that it comes across as a weird thing for a lifelong Democrat to have written. It would be interesting to see what he could have made of the script had he rewritten it ten years later, after Apocalypse Now.

One thing I will say in its favour, Patton is a film that has attracted a lot of varied and interesting positive reviews on iMDB - some from people who had family who served under Patton himself. It's not as full of Trumpian nonsense as I thought it would be. I still didn't like it very much though.