Mel Gibson dons a skirt in his directorial debut as the 13th-century Scottish hack-and-slash political activist William Wallace. While there's not a frame that smacks of originality, Braveheart does a decent job with the formula: pointedly non-violent, apolitical peasant loses his girl to local boss and finds both representative government and bloodletting to be of immense interest, after all. Perhaps the most gratuitously violent film this year, audiences loved it to the tune of $66 million, and the Academy went nuts bestowing 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. The most overrated mainstream film of the year, this is still sure to be popular; but the similarly-themed Rob Roy (VL-9/95) is much better. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review—Jan. 8, 2008—Paramount, 2 discs, 177 min., R, $19.99—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1995's Braveheart (Special Collector's Edition) features a great transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. DVD extras include the original audio commentary by director-producer-star Mel Gibson, and a host of new extras: the 50-minute “making-of” documentary “Alba gu Brath!,” a half-hour “Tales of William Wallace” featurette on the real-life folk hero, “A Writer's Journey” interview with writer Randall Wallace (22 min.), seven archival interviews with the cast (15 min. total), and a seven-minute photo montage. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a somewhat overrated Best Picture winner.]
Braveheart
(Paramount, 177 min., R, avail. Mar. 12) Vol. 11, Issue 2
Braveheart
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