Braveheart (1995)
96%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: Won 5 Oscars
33 wins & 34 nominations total
Distractingly violent and historically dodgy, Mel Gibson’s Braveheart justifies its epic length by delivering enough sweeping action, drama, and romance to match its ambition.
If you’re in the mood for some serious blood and guts, Mel Gibson’s Braveheart is your go-to flick. Sure, it’s not exactly a history lesson, but who cares when you’ve got all the action, drama, and romance you could ask for? And let’s be real, the length is worth it when you’re getting epic battles and heart-wrenching moments. Just don’t expect to ace your next history exam after watching it.
Production Company(ies)
Icon Entertainment International, The Ladd Company, B. H. Finance C.V.
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Fort William, Glen Coe, Highland, Scotland, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for brutal medieval warfare
Year of Release
1995
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital SDDS Dolby Atmos
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 57m
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Language(s):English, French, Latin, Gaelic, Italian
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 24, 1995 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 19, 2006
Genre(s)
Biography/War
Keyword(s)
starring Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Catherine McCormack, Brendan Gleeson, James Cosmo, directed by Mel Gibson, written by Randall Wallace, biography, war, box office performance, budget, reviewed by K Austin Collins, Colin McArthur, Jay Carr, Adam Mars-Jones, Desmond Ryan, Jami Bernard, Sheila Reid, James Wegg, Fico Cangiano, David Nusair, Mike Massie, Allison Rose, R rating, William Wallace, Princess Isabelle, Longshanks – King Edward I, Murron MacClannough, Hamish Campbell, Campbell, Bruce Davey, Alan Ladd Jr., Dolby SR, Dolby A, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Scope (2.35:1), Paramount Pictures
Worldwide gross: $213,216,216
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $419,259,806
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 369
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 45,720,808
US/Canada gross: $75,609,945
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $148,676,360
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 520
US/Canada opening weekend: $9,938,276
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $19,542,227
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 667
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $72,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $141,577,909
Production budget ranking: 243
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $76,239,704
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $201,442,193
ROI to date (est.): 92%
ROI ranking: 969
Sophie Marceau – Princess Isabelle
Patrick McGoohan – Longshanks – King Edward I
Catherine McCormack – Murron MacClannough
Brendan Gleeson – Hamish Campbell
James Cosmo – Campbell
Director(s)
Mel Gibson
Writer(s)
Randall Wallace
Producer(s)
Bruce Davey, Mel Gibson, Alan Ladd Jr.
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 5 Oscars
33 wins & 34 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Cinematography Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Directing Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Makeup Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Sound Editing Winners, Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
All Critics (85) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (65) | Rotten (20)
Though Gibson’s film isn’t smart on this subject or even really aware of it, it has few modern rivals as an example of the ways a movie can rend history into compellingly simplistic myth.
May 27, 2020
K. Austin Collins
Vanity Fair
TOP CRITIC
The ideological project of Braveheart is to valorise both Wallace and the Bruce as Scottish national heroes. This is done in the crudest possible way.
February 6, 2020
Colin McArthur
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Braveheart is a big, strapping medieval sword-and-arrow movie with more fighting than romance, a surprising abundance of lush and sensuous imagery considering its brutal strife, and Gibson fiercely inciting it to stand up and march.
April 27, 2018
Jay Carr
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
In the absence of satisfying moral dilemmas, Braveheart is an action film with an unhappy ending rather than the tragedy it would like to be.
March 1, 2018
Adam Mars-Jones
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
As the star of the new, epic-scaled Braveheart, Gibson celebrates yet another man of selfless valor. And as its director, he displays some daring of his own.
February 24, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
Desmond Ryan
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
A lavish, entertaining spectacle full of manly men, dastardly villains, rousing battles and women who easily see Mel’s hero potential through all that messy hair.
February 24, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Mel Gibson acts, directs and produces this 173-minute ordeal. He does everything but edit the film which is what is needed most.
May 13, 2022
Sheila Reid
Women in the Life
“It’s our wits that make us men.”
May 8, 2022 | Rating: 2/5
James Wegg
JWR
Mel Gibson’s sweeping and romantic epic is one of the best war films of all time. [Full review in Spanish]
August 28, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
Fico Cangiano
CineXpress Podcast
…boasts a frequently captivating opening stretch that effectively establishes the compelling, sympathetic protagonist and his seemingly insurmountable task…
January 25, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Awe-inspiring, brutal, and action-packed.
September 10, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Braveheart is beautifully shot, well-acted, and offers an interesting, but an untruthful, story about what many believe to be a great Scotsman.
July 1, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Allison Rose
FlickDirect…
Plot
William Wallace is a Scottish rebel who leads an uprising against the cruel English ruler Edward the Longshanks, who wishes to inherit the crown of Scotland for himself. When he was a young boy, William Wallace’s father and brother, along with many others, lost their lives trying to free Scotland. Once he loses another of his loved ones, William Wallace begins his long quest to make Scotland free once and for all, along with the assistance of Robert the Bruce.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Mel Gibson stars in and directs Braveheart, which won five Academy Awards including Best Picture.
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