I love it, please help me, God. How I love it. I love it more than my own life.
Movie "General Patton"
The above passage about war is from George W. Bush in General Patton. Mouth of General S. Patton. From his words, we hear the most memorable omen of all the war movie lines, the saying of Colonel Kilgore in The Modern Apocalypse: "I love the scent of the morning napalm." "It's certainly not a coincidence, as Francis Ford Coppola was involved in the screenwriting of both films. The character of Kilgor is like a freak derived from Patton, who at the end of the war says to his subordinates, "All good things will come to an end." ”
In Barton's view, he is greater than life itself, beyond time. Examining a North African battlefield where the ancient Romans had attacked the Carthages, he said, "I was here. That's his voice. Believing in reincarnation and destiny, he roared as he was transferred away on the eve of his attack on Europe: "This is the last chance of a lifetime, but I was excluded?" God would not allow such a thing to happen. This obsession and brilliance is both his strength and his weakness. He inspires people to accomplish heroic feats, he's a brilliant strategist, but he's also a genius who gets himself into frequent trouble. In a war in which countless people died tragically, he slapped a soldier who was stunned by a shell, and his career was delayed.
Franklin J. Schaffner's General Patton was released at the height of the unpopular Vietnam War, described by many critics of the era as a "true" anti-war film. In fact, it has nothing to do with anti-war. It is an involuntary celebration of military ethics, the embodiment of which the man is, whose flaws and eccentricities have marginalized him in peacetime, but on the battlefield he has found a stage to show his skills. In this respect, he and Churchill are not much different. Both men were flaunting, acting strangely, and had a gift of self-promotion as a means of motivating their subordinates and confusing their enemies. In a way, Patton is undoubtedly a lunatic — at least for the filmmakers of the film — but his achievements are eclipsed and even humiliated by his prudent And rational British rival, Montgomery.
The film lasted nearly three hours, and for most of the time, George W. Bush was killed in the film. C. Scott's images appear on screen, only not in war scenes or when shooting Nazi plotters (always deducing Patton's strategy). His performance is solemn and sublime, and the character of the actor and the character of the character blend and stir each other. Although I had wanted other, bigger actors to play the role, it would have been unthinkable if it hadn't been for Scott. His role as the comical Buck Turgidson in Dr. Strangelove (1964) already strongly shows a Bartonian madness and his resentment towards the Russians. Scott (1927–1999) was a tall, aggressive, isolated, talented actor, an alcoholic, a perfectionist who had been drawn to the conclusion early that he would not be on the Oscar list because he was far from Hollywood circles. Throughout his career, he has constantly sought new challenges, starring in plays written by Shakespeare, O'Neal, and Miller, like Barton, who was hungry for war. He was also like Patton, a man who did nothing once he left the stage.
Look closely at the scene where the adjutant dresses Patton, who respectfully adjusts the helmet on his head as if he were placing a crown. Patton stared at himself in the mirror, then thoughtfully said, "I want to lead a large army to fight to the death all my life." "He's like an actor ready to go on stage." General, people don't always know when you're performing and when you're not. "A subordinate said to him after a magnificent speech." They don't need to know," Patton said, "I know. ”
Newspaper headlines and newsreels portray troops by focusing on generals: Rommel's defeat in Africa, Barton sweeping through northern France. That's how Barton sees it too. He promised that he would liberate Messina before Montgomery arrived, and he wanted to be the first. General Omar Bradley (Karl Malden), another important character in the film, is worried about Patton's plans that cost a great deal of life and equipment because he cannot realize that for Patton, soldiers and equipment are just the trunk of his sense of self. Vanity and courage meet in Patton. "If you are appointed admiral of the Turkish Navy," Bradley said to him, "I am sure your assistant will be able to pull out the appropriate rank badge from his backpack." ”
"General Patton" is not a war movie, or rather a movie about human nature, in which characters find roles in which they can play well. Scott's dramatic style of acting is exciting. He played Patton, who had been standing in his jeep all the time, liked to give speeches, sensationalize, and would act suddenly, motivate his subordinates, and even direct traffic. The film also touches on his mania a little bit. He didn't seem to have a private life. The film makes no mention of his family, son or even his close friends. He talked to himself. He was astonishingly knowledgeable, teaching his men the history of the battlefield, the lessons of Napoleon, and the experiences of previous leaders who had come here. He has a classic quote that applies to any occasion. "You bitch," he said triumphantly after outwitting Rommel, "I've read your book!" ”
Scott's performance is not lacking in three-dimensionality, and he portrays a complex man who longs to show his appearance consistently. He's not trying to add some nasty behavioral details, but giving us a glimpse into his heart. Obsessed with courage, Patton has a puppy that spends most of his time in a state of panic, and he leads the cowardly beast affectionately wherever he goes. When he learned through the news that the American public was deeply attracted by his "pearl handle" revolver, he said expressionlessly: "It's an ivory pistol." Only pimps in cheap brothels in New Orleans would hold revolvers with pearl handles. "It shows that he has considered it. At the beginning of the film, when the Nazis carry out a sudden air raid, he stands in the middle of the street and fires his revolver at the plane. Crazy? yes. But that added to his legend.
The film's most famous scene comes from the opening scene, where Patton steps onto a stage and addresses his troops in front of an American flag filled with a huge seventy-millimeter screen. Seen in the theater, he is uncomfortably lifelike. His speech was unapologetic and murderous. ("We're going to cut off their guts and lubricate them with the tracks of our tanks.") His uniforms, medals, ribbons, medals, breeches, riding boots, and light cane were comparable to the outfits that Groucho Max might have. The only difference may be that Scott's big nose is the kind of hooked nose of the American vulture. The scene ends with the other side of the coin, a white-haired, lonely old man walking his dog. Even then, we guess Patton was still acting. But does he know it himself?