Patton (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1970)

Honest, I tried to find the slightest hint of personality in this tumescent warhorse. The slashing windmill comparing Patton to Don Quixote was a much appreciated touch of looniness. But that may have hit harder because it comes at the blessed end of the film. And there's one terrific shot (again, towards the end of the film) of Patton wrestling with his legacy, his portrait on one side of the frame and, on the other, the general himself getting reprimanded yet again for ignorant comments meant to instigate eternal war. But overall, Patton is about as exciting as series of battle plans because that's exactly what it is. The vast majority of the running time is taken up with battle plans and maps and conferences and newsreels and stats and figures and ugh! It all reminded me of the number-crunching rationalizations that did nothing to help America win the Vietnam War raging at the time of release. No wonder it was Nixon's favorite film.

Grade: C-minus