#2 - The Braveheart Movie Poster
There is something enduringly noble about hopeless resistance to oppressive authority. A wise observer once noted that the public loves a movie in which white men resist their own enslavement. This truism is nowhere illustrated more vividly than in the case of the 1995 hit movie Braveheart. Mel Gibson produced, directed and starred in the hugely successful historic epic.
The drama also starred Sophie Marceau as Princess Isabelle daughter in law of the English king, Patrick McGoohan as Edward I, and Angus Macfadyen as Robert the Bruce. McGoohan is most famous for his role in the surrealist 1960s television series The Prisoner, which he also wrote and directed.
Braveheart dominated the Academy Awards for the year of its release. It brought home five awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup, and Best Sound Editing. It was nominated for but did not win five others including Film Editing, Costume Design, Original Screenplay, Sound, and Dramatic Score.
Gibson’s movie was more than just an awards success. During its initial theatrical release it made more than $200 million. Considering Braveheart’s budget was $53 million and the above figure does not include revenues from DVD sales or pay for view the movie was a titanic economic hit.
Braveheart is the stirring, if in many ways inaccurate, (for example, Princess Isabelle, portrayed in the movie as Wallace’s ally and lover, was only ten years old at the time of Wallace’s death) retelling of the First War of Scottish Independence in which Scottish national hero William Wallace leads an insurrection against the English king Edward I. The rebellion begins with Wallace’s personal vengeance for the assault and murder of his wife but grows into widespread resistance and open warfare with the English crown. Ultimately the unstable union of Scottish forces breaks down and Wallace is defeated in battle, arrested, tried for treason and gruesomely executed.
If the importance of a movie can be judged by its cultural impact then Braveheart also deserves that accolade as well. The movie provided a rallying point for Scottish separatist politicians in the late 1990s and fired an interest in Scottish history both in Scotland and around the world.
However, not all Scottish history buffs rushed to embrace Braveheart. A statue of Mel Gibson as Wallace was erected at the Wallace Monument in Stirling Scotland was defaced with a hammer and was locked in cage to prevent further vandalism. The irony of a statue of Wallace with the word “freedom” engraved on its base behind bars brings a wry smile at the very least.
Despite the hostile reaction of some historical purists and Gibson’s recent troubles with alcohol and racial diatribes his portrayal of a downtrodden underdog fighting against his oppressors has struck a lasting cord with many movie fans. Even now, some 13 years after its release the vision of the blue-faced Gibson is instantly recognizable and the movie’s promotional posters with that image remain a giant seller. Original theatrical release versions sell for more than $100 each and reproductions are among the most popular posters in many movie memorabilia stores and on movie poster websites.