Patton

Patton is a 1970 American epic biographical war film about U.S. General George S. Patton during World War II. It stars George C. Scott as Patton and Karl Malden as General Omar Bradley, and was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner from a script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, who based their screenplay on Patton: Ordeal and Triumph by Ladislas Farago and Bradley's memoir, A Soldier's Story. Patton won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Scott also won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of General Patton, but declined to accept the award. The opening monologue, delivered by Scott as General Patton with an enormous American flag behind him, remains an iconic and often quoted image in film. In 2003, Patton was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". The Academy Film Archive also preserved Patton in 2003. Plot General George S. Patton addresses an unseen audience of American troops, emphasizing the importance Americans place upon victorious role models as well as his own demands that his men defeat the enemy by working and fighting as a team. In its first encounter with the German Afrika Korps at Kasserine, the II Corps is humiliatingly defeated by General Erwin Rommel, whom Patton places in high regard as a well respected rival. As a consequence, Patton is placed in command of II Corps and immediately begins instilling discipline amongst his untested troops. Alongside the poor condition of American soldiers in the II Corps, Patton also identifies the stubbornness of his British counterpart; General Bernard Montgomery constantly undermines American forces in order to monopolize the war glory. Patton's chance to prove his worth comes at the subsequent Battle of El Guettar where Patton defeats the advancing German forces.