BRAVEHEART TURNS 25
THE EPIC 1995 MOVIE DIDN’T LET FACTS GET IN THE WAY OF A GOOD STORY
With his career at its peak thanks to the huge success of the Lethal Weapon franchise, Mel Gibson was ready for a new challenge when he was presented with the script for Braveheart in the early ’90s.
It took a while for Mel to agree to direct the movie about a Scottish freedom fighter, but he remained reluctant to take on its lead role. After he suggested younger actors such as Brad Pitt and Jason Patric, who Mel thought would be more suitable, pressure from the studio funding the project meant the then-38-year-old soon agreed to star in it too.
The film became Mel’s passion project and a huge box-office success upon its release. Also starring Sophie Marceau, Angus Macfadyen and Catherine Mccormack, the movie was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won five including Best Director for Mel’s work and Best Picture, as well as making more than $315 million at the box office.
It also became one of the first films to successfully combine high-octane action adventure with historical storytelling and paved the way for movies such as Gladiator and Troy. But it’s probably best remembered for its brutal and raw battle scenes, which are now considered some of the best in cinematic history.
BATTLING FOR FREEDOM
Set in 13th century Scotland, the story of Braveheart revolves around how William Wallace led an uprising against the oppressive English ruler of the time, King Edward. After years of rebellion, Wallace is captured and handed over to the English and sentenced to death by hanging.
The epic three-hour film includes the iconic moment when a blue-paint-daubed Mel gives a rousing speech on the battlefield, proclaiming: “They may take out lives, but they’ll never take our freedom.”
Mel later admitted that simultaneously acting, directing and producing the film was hugely demanding.
“I’ll never do that again,” he said in a 2000 interview with Venice magazine. “It’s the most exhausting thing I’ve ever done.”
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
On Braveheart’s release midway through 1995, critics
were quick to note how the film was full of historical inaccuracies. They pointed out that far from coming from a poverty-stricken family, William was born into the aristocracy, and many of the major battles in the film were re-imagined.
Other visual details were fudged too; at the time, the Scots didn’t have a tradition of painting their faces before going into battle or wearing kilts. Even the title of the film was borrowed from another Scottish hero, Robert the Bruce.
However, Mel justified the many changes made in a later interview.
“Some people said that in telling the story we messed up history,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me because what I’m giving you is a cinematic experience, and I think films are there first to entertain, then teach, then inspire.”
SCOTTISH PRIDE
It was reported that a year after the film’s release, tourism in Scotland increased by up to $27 million and visitors still flock to visit areas associated with William Wallace.
Perhaps even more significant was how the movie lent worldwide recognition to the Scottish independence movement and bolstered its popularity within Scotland.
However, only a few weeks of production actually took place there. Thanks to tax breaks, much of the filming – including the major battle scenes – was done in Ireland.
Instead of using extras, members of the Irish Army Reserve were used in the fighting scenes. They were even given permission by the real-life army to grow beards for their roles, and the production was also able to use the barracks firing ranges.
Mel revealed during an interview that he’d nearly died during filming when he got crushed by a horse in one of the epic battle scenes.
But despite how violent the fighting appeared on screen, Mel said the only injuries sustained by other cast members were “a broken ankle and a hangnail and a busted nose”.
The fight scenes were toned-down to ensure the film wasn’t given a restricted classification. But Mel made sure they were choreographed in detail so they were as dramatic, and as safely filmed, as possible.
Talking to Scottish newspaper the Daily Record in 2014, he explained he how felt about them years later.
“You’re like the proud parent,” he said. “I was watching it and feeling we hadn’t seen a battle epic like it since the ’60s: Spartacus or something.”