On this week 239 years ago, the Treaty of Paris was signed by England’s King George III and five of the U.S. Founding Fathers, thus formally ending the eight plus-year Revolutionary War solidifying America’s independence.
In my continuing series of Top 5 war movies, I’ve come up with five impressive titles and one honorable mention TV miniseries that are well worth your investment of time.
‘The Patriot’ (2000)
The only feature film here that includes all fictional characters, “The Patriot” finds German director Roland Emmerich temporarily abandoning the over-the-top, hyper-stylization found in his overblown disaster flicks.
“The Patriot” stars Mel Gibson as Benjamin Martin, a French and Indian War veteran turned pacifist farmer who is pulled into the fray. (Columbia Pictures)
Fresh off of his Academy Award nomination for “Saving Private Ryan,” screenwriter Robert Rodat employs many of the same visceral elements, thus leading to the film’s hard “R” rating. In a role turned down by Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson stars as Benjamin Martin, a French and Indian War veteran turned pacifist farmer who is pulled into the fray after the murder of a relative at the hands of the British Army….