Braveheart (1995) War/Action - R
9/10: It makes up for historical hiccups with unmatched storytelling, perfect scenery, fierce battles, beautiful romance, and an unforgettable soundtrack. You'll want to fight for freedom to the death
Recommended for:
Kids-only movie night: No
Family movie night: No
Older kids movie night: Yes
Grownups only movie night: Yes
Awards:
Braveheart won 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Sound Effects Editing; 2 Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director; 3 BAFTA Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Editing; and 1 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Sex/Nudity/Pornography 6/10:
The most explicit scene is after a secret marriage, where we see Wallace and the bride naked from the waist up, and we clearly see her breasts and nipples before they embrace and kiss before the scene changes.
A different wedding celebration is interrupted by a lord and his soldiers, and he claims his "prima noctis" right (right to the first night) where he forcefully takes the bride to sleep with him since he is the lord of those lands. The movie shows this as a big motivator of the Scot's rebellion. However, historians widely regard prima noctis as a myth with no credible evidence that it was ever practiced. For further reading: The Myth of Prima Nocta.
Wallace's wife is almost raped by an English soldier who disgustingly licks her and forcefully kisses her after throwing her on the ground. He doesn’t get much farther than that though, because she bites a piece of his cheek off before Wallace rescues her.
After his wife dies, Wallace takes a liking to the english princess Isabelle and she visits him in jail when he is in danger of death. They kiss and we see them lie down together shirtless from the waist up (but no breast nudity) and sex is implied. This scene will be disappointing to many viewers since it shatters Wallace as a hero motivated for his love to his murdered wife. If he loved her so much and fought the revolution because of her, why did she just have a one night stand with Isabelle? In reality, Isabella was around 9 years old at the time of Wallace’s death and would not even have have met him.
The English prince and heir to the throne is a homosexual. He is weak, emasculate and hates his father. He is not shown as an example to follow, but it is shown that his anger towards his tyrannical father is right and justified. And he probably wasn’t even gay (see Historical Accuracy section below)
To insult the enemy troops before battle, Wallace and his army lift up their skirts and we can see their asses. It’s hilarious. See here at 1:50.
Violence/Gore 6/10:
R-rating, but no gore, just realism. The worst violence is someone’s throat being slit graphically, a leg chopped off, a man impaled by defensive spikes, and the King throwing his son’s gay lover out through the window onto his death (four-second shot of his body on the ground with blood around).
Drinking/Drugs/Smoking 1/10:
Occasional drinking in feasts. No glorified alcohol abuse.
Cursing/Blasphemy 2/10:
A priest incites Wallace to repent and recent his offenses to ease his suffering, which is in a sense blasphemous since God never sides with tyranny or evil.
Virtuous Examples 9/10:
If it wasn’t for Wallace sleeping with Princess Isabelle, then this movie would be a 10/10 in Virtuous Examples since Wallace literally dyes a martyr against evil. He is passionate, strong, romantic, cunning, loving, and rightfully violent since his wife was assassinated, but when you see him sleep with her it throws his love and motivation to fight for his murdered wife out the window. If we ignore that everything else in the movie is literally perfect. Wallace, and his friends, are great role models for men, especially in our age since we’re required to fight for what is right against surmounting odds.
Moral Lessons:
The whole movie’s portrayal of fatherhood, romance, marriage, virtue, moral courage, wit and resourcefulness, and fighting against the odds and against evil is great.
Historical Accuracy 6/10:
The movie is not a history documentary, so don’t go in expecting one. It is loosely based on William Wallace’s time and revolution, the names and years and battles are right, and that’s as far as the historical accuracy goes. This doesn’t take away from this movie being absolutely fantastic and irrepeatable.
William's origins: The film depicts Wallace as a simple farmer, but historical records suggest he may have come from a noble family. Wallace was educated and likely spoke multiple languages, including Latin and French.
Prince Edward being gay: There is strong disagreement among historians as to whether Edward II, who fathered at least five children, was even a homosexual at all. His lover was based on the historical person of Piers Gaveston, a close friend of him who was also married. Many historians believe these stories of Edward's homosexuality were invented by the King's enemies in order to discredit him.
Prima Noctis: One of the film's central plot points is King Edward I's enforcement of prima noctis—the supposed right of a lord to sleep with a new bride on her wedding night. However, no evidence exists that this practice occurred in medieval Scotland or England. It is widely regarded by historians as a myth. (Read more here)
The Battle of Stirling Bridge: The movie portrays the Battle of Stirling Bridge without its namesake bridge. In reality, the bridge played a critical role in Wallace's victory, as it forced the English to cross in small numbers, allowing the Scots to overpower them.
Kilt usage: Wallace and his men are shown wearing kilts, but kilts were not worn in Scotland until the 16th century—roughly 300 years after Wallace’s time. Medieval Scots would have worn tunics, not tartan-patterned kilts.
Wallace and Isabella of France: The film depicts a romantic relationship between Wallace and Isabella, the wife of Prince Edward (later Edward II). In reality, Isabella was around 9 years old at the time of Wallace’s death and would not even have have met him.
Robert the Bruce's betrayal: The film portrays Robert the Bruce as betraying Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk, but there is no historical evidence to support this claim. Robert the Bruce later became a hero of Scottish independence, and Many Scots were offended by the film's portrayal of him since he is considered a national hero.
Negative portrayal of Catholicism: While Braveheart portrays the Catholic Church as complicit in English oppression, the historical reality is that the Church was the single and largest promoter of justice, morality, education, and science as evidenced by its hospitals, schools, and its unprecedented preservation of millennia’s worth of classical knowledge. Scottish clergy like Bishop William Lamberton actually supported independence, as seen in his role in the Declaration of Arbroath. Pope Boniface VIII's Unam Sanctam in 1302 explicitly positioned monarchs under divine law, challenging their absolute power, and influencing some tyrannical actions of King Philip IV of France. Cistercian and Benedictine monasteries like Durham and Rievaulx were not only remarkable and unique centers of learning, preserving texts vital for the Renaissance, but also hubs of charity to the poor and agricultural innovation. The Catholic Church at the time invented the university system, as shown in the University of Bologna, Salamanca, Paris, Oxford, Cambridge, Padua, Siena and Naples. Saints like Thomas Becket stood against royal overreach, showing how true Catholics act against injustice. During the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, priests like John Ball championed social justice, while in Scotland, figures like John Duns Scotus argued for the moral right to resist tyranny, aligning with the struggle for Scottish freedom. At the same time, the Church was also fighting the Crusades against centuries-long Muslim oppression of Christian pilgrims and poor. What the movie portrays is merely a dramatized caricature of reality to make the movie more shocking.
Conversation starters:
What is the purpose of freedom? Nowadays, people mistakenly seek freedom for freedom’s sake, thinking that it means being free to do whatever you want, including committing suicide, doing drugs becoming a prostitute or engaging in it, since all that determines morality is “consent” or “whether or not if hurts someone else”. In reality, the purpose of freedom is to do what is good. There is a universal moral law given to us by the Divine Lawgiver, and it is intrinsic in human nature, which guides us to do what is right. If we only use our freedom to seek our own pleasure and to become enslaved to vice, then that is not freedom; it is merely a license to do harm to yourself and to those that love you, and no one truly desires to live in that way.
Our culture today persecutes those who have the family values of God, Family, and Country. While we are not yet subject to death like Wallace and his friends were, do we think we will be ready if the challenge arises?
Was Wallace right in sleeping with Princess Isabelle?
Quotes:
“Every man dies, not every man really lives.”
“They may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!”
Final Rating 9/10:
Braveheart delivers on music, spectacle, emotional impact, and moral character which make up for its historical inaccuracies. A must-watch for those old and mature enough to understand (homosexuality and rape) it will make you want to fight for freedom to the death.