Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘Braveheart’: Mel Gibson’s Homage to Freedom and Integrity

R | 2h 58min | Biography, Drama, History | 24 May 1995 (USA)

Prior to his 2006 fall from grace due to a drunken, anti-Semitic rant that immediately blacklisted him in Hollywood, Mel Gibson had transitioned, à la Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford before him, from hunky movie star to now-you-really-have-to-take-him-seriously iconic filmmaker. The zenith of that trajectory (with Gibson doing triple-threat duty as producer-director-star) was the epic, almost-three-hour-long “Braveheart.”

Scotland Versus England

Set in the Scottish Highlands in the late 13th century, “Braveheart” opens with one of the most haunting, brilliant soundtracks in movie history, over which Scottish nobleman Sir Robert the Bruce (Angus Macfadyen) narrates the following monologue: