document_title: Lex Luthor (Smallville)

question_text: what episode does lex luthor return in smallville

text: Lex Luthor (Smallville)

text: Role in Smallville[edit]

text: Lex Luthor, introduced in the pilot as the son of billionaire Lionel Luthor (John Glover), is sent to Smallville by his father to run the local fertilizer plant. As a child, he is caught in the first meteor shower that renders him completely bald. Years later as a young adult, Lex first meets Clark Kent (Tom Welling) saving his life from drowning and the two quickly become friends.[1] Lex tries to be a good guy for most of the early seasons, but his motives are usually driven by curiosity for the unexplained, like the day Clark rescued him from drowning.[2] Over the course of seven seasons—beginning in the pilot episode on the day Clark rescued him from drowning—Lex has been trying to uncover the secrets that Clark keeps.

text: In season one, Lex hires Roger Nixon (Tom O'Brien), a reporter for the tabloid newspaper The Inquisitor, to discover how he survived the automobile accident where Clark saved him from drowning.[3] All the evidence points to Clark having been hit by Lex's car, but Lex refuses to believe that is what happened so Nixon attempts to expose Clark to everyone.[4] Around the same time, Lex also enlists the help of Dr. Hamilton (Joe Morton); Hamilton is commissioned to study the effects of the meteor rocks. Hamilton finds an octagonal disc, with unknown symbols imprinted on the disc's surface that match those on Clark's ship, while searching for traces of an alien ship that landed in Smallville in 1989.[5] The disc is eventually stolen by Nixon in an attempt to open Clark's ship.[6]

text: In season two, Lex's curiosity with the symbols continues. Lex first kills Nixon before the reporter can kill Jonathan Kent (John Schneider) for protecting Clark from Nixon.[7] When Clark discovers the Kawatche Caves, under a LuthorCorp construction site, Lex opts to be the curator of the caves to preserve them after he notices symbols on the cave walls that match the symbols on the disc, as well as an octagonal shape in the wall of the cave that would fit the disc perfectly.[8] His interest grows more and more when he finds Clark constantly in the caves, and later with a piece of paper that appears to indicate that Clark has deciphered the language on the cave walls — although, Clark denies being able to read the language.[9] Lex's company eventually loses the Kawatche caves to Lionel as his father has also developed an interest in the caves and the octagonal disc.[10] During all this, Lex also met and courted Dr. Helen Bryce (Emmanuelle Vaugier) but Helen would try to kill him on their honeymoon.[11]

text: Season three revealed why Lex endured Lionel's harsh parenting; his father blames him for his younger brother Julian Luthor's death, however, Lex took the blame to protect the true killer, his mentally unwell mother Lillian Luthor (Alisen Down), from Lionel's wraith.[12] Also, Lex's curiosity into the symbols (and Clark) leads to a blowout between the two. When Lionel gives Clark a key to a room in the Luthor Mansion where Lex has been collecting information on Clark's family, Clark informs Lex that their friendship "is over".[13] In season four, Lex replaces his father as LuthorCorp's CEO and turns his attention turns toward finding three ancient stones, which contain the same symbols as those in the cave and on the disc.[14] He fails to find all three stones but suspects that Clark did, and used the stones to find the treasure of knowledge they were supposed to have led to, often having confrontations with Jason Teague (Jensen Ackles).[15][16] Around this time, Lex's lifestyle of bedding women and then leaving them the next day would catch up to him when one (Cobie Smulders) that he had previously slept with attempts to kill him.[17]

text: In season five, Lex becomes obsessed with uncovering Clark's secret;[18] he breaks three metahuman criminals out of Belle Reve and sends them to the Kent Farm, where they hold several people close to Clark hostage. The scheme amounts to nothing, however, and Clark cuts Lex out of life completely upon finding out.[19] His curiosity into the symbols, which he believes to be alien in nature, results in Brainiac (James Marsters) arranging him to be possessed by the spirit of the Kryptonian criminal Zod.[20] In season six, Lex married Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) after deceiving Lana into being pregnant with his child. Upon learning the truth, Lana faked her own death and attempted to pin the murder on Lex.[21]

text: Season seven displayed Lex's descent into darkness; he has a brother-like relationship with Grant Gabriel (Michael Cassidy), the new editor of the Daily Planet newest editor, until it's revealed Grant is actually a clone of Lex's late brother.[22] After Lex buys the Daily Planet, Grant attempts to keep Lex from being controlling, thus Lex has his brother's clone murdered and staged as a failed mugging.[23] Lex then discovers that the previous symbols are connected to the secret organization Veritas, which his father is a part of. The Veritas members learned that an alien visitor known as "The Traveler" would arrive in Smallville during the meteor shower of 1989. At this time, Lex realizes that Lionel has been covering up the Traveler's existence and subsequently kills his own father for it.[24] He eventually discovers that the Veritas members knew of a means to control the Traveler, so Lex sets out to find the device.[25] The device, an orb he finds in the mantle above a fireplace in the Luthor mansion,[26] leads Lex to the Fortress of Solitude, where he is confronted by Clark. Having finally discovered Clark's secret, Lex uses the orb to bring down the Fortress around Clark and himself.[27]

text: In season eight, Lex is missing and Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman) is put in charge as Lex's hand-picked successor.[28] Tess wants Lex found,[29] until Lex is revealed to have a surgically-implanted nano-transmitter in Tess's optic nerve.[30] Wanting revenge, Lex uses a kryptonite bomb to have Lana's stolen bio-enhanced suit, designed to absorb and emit kryptonite radiation, absorb the radiation to de-activate the bomb and subsequently never be able to go near Clark again without fatal effects. Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley) discovers Lex's location and uses a bomb to blow up Lex's travelling medical transport, seemingly killing him.[31]

text: Season ten revealed that Lex had manufactured a number of clones in an attempt to use to heal himself. However, the majority of these clones are flawed and would age at an accelerated rate. One clone of Lex (Mackenzie Gray), aged approximately twenty years older than the original, attempted to get revenge on Clark by trying to kill Lois Lane (Erica Durance) but died before he could finish.[32] The 2-hour series finale reveals Lex had used the parts of other clones to create a composite one but lacked a heart. After an alternate reality version of his father sacrifices himself to Darkseid, Lex is brought back to life through his clone. He speaks with Clark, telling his former friend he accepts they have a destiny as enemies, but neither of them can fulfill their roles unless Clark defeats Darkseid by inspiring humanity. Lex later meets with Tess, and fatally stabs his sister, however, Tess poisons him with a specialized neurotoxin that removes all of Lex's memories. The series ends by shifting seven years into the future, where Lex had been elected as the President of the United States.[33]

text: Portrayal[edit]

text: When crafting Smallville's version of Lex Luthor, series developers Al Gough and Miles Millar decided that he would not be a precursor to the more comedic role performed by Gene Hackman in the Superman film series; the pair wanted him to be likeable and vulnerable.[2] The role was difficult to cast, as no one involved in the casting could agree on who they liked for the role. Gough and Millar wanted to cast a comedian for the series, on the belief that comedians always want to "please and be loved at the same time."[34] Michael Rosenbaum auditioned for Lex Luthor twice. Feeling he did not take his first audition seriously, Rosenbaum outlined a two-and-a-half-page scene, indicating all the places to be funny, charismatic, or menacing.[2] His audition went so well that everyone agreed he was "the guy".[34]

text: Before Rosenbaum got the part, Martin Cummins auditioned for the role of Lex Luthor; Cummins would go on to play Dr. Garner, a neuro-scientist who experiments on Clark, in multiple episodes of Smallville spanning season two and three.[35] Michael Rosenbaum is not the only actor to portray Lex on the show. There have been four other actors that have performed the role; Matthew Munn, Wayne Dalgish, Lucas Grabeel, and Connor Stanhope have all portrayed Lex Luthor as a child in various episodes throughout the series. Rosenbaum relished the opportunities he gets to show Lex's evil side, even if it is only for a few seconds in earlier seasons. Specifically, he delighted in the chance to "go overboard", like he did in "Hug" where his character pulls out a machine gun and shoots everything in sight; to the actor, this gave the audience a glimpse into who Lex was becoming.[36] To portray Lex's signature bald head, Rosenbaum had to go through more than just a regular head shaving. Not only was his head shaved every day, but he had to undergo hours of make-up treatments on his head, in various color combinations, so that his natural hairline did not show up on film.[35] After seven seasons of portraying Lex Luthor on Smallville, Michael Rosenbaum decided to move on with his acting career, so he departed from the show.[37] On February 11, 2011, Michael Ausiello reported that after the back and forth speculation as to whether Rosenbaum would return to the series, the actor finally agreed to appear in the series finale. Rosenbaum expressed that his return for the final episode was for the fans, stating, "I appreciate all of their passion, their relentlessness, and even their threats."[38]

text: Character development[edit]

text: Storyline progression[edit]

text: Rosenbaum believed that Lex was trying to be a hero in season one, but that his character showed signs of having to fight "ambiguity" and stay on the straight path.[36] The tension-filled relationship with his father, which is first established in the pilot episode, comes to a crossing in the season one finale, when Lex is left with the decision to either help his father remove the structural beam that has fallen on him, or let him die. Rosenbaum wanted the audience to see that Lex was really contemplating what his life would be like if Lionel was no longer around.[36] As Rosenbaum explained the scene:

text:
“
I think the thing that separates a murderer from a regular person who's sane is that one moment of decision. Murderers can make the decision to commit that act and kill, which most people probably never have to face. You or I have never been pushed that far, and in comparison to Lex's life, our lives haven't been that traumatic. For that moment in the library, Lex forgot who he was. That's the way I played it, and that's the way I wanted it to come across. And it's those decisions that you make that make you realize that there's such a fine line between rational and irrational. When you're driving down the road, your day's just gone to hell, and you're really upset for a moment you just want to jerk the wheel off the road. Most people just think that for a second then let it go, but at the moment when you think it, are you really contemplating it? Would you really do that? Most people wouldn't, but when he sees his father lying there, it's one of those moments where Lex is like that driver.[36]
”

text: Season two delved deeper into Lex's darker moments, from the time he wavers to save his father's life, to his outburst at Jonathan for what he feels is unfair treatment. These moments play into Lex's psyche.[39] Season three's "Memoria" finally explained the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Lex's infant brother, Julian. Gough explains that they had known the story of Julian Luthor back in season one, when the character was first mentioned in "Stray", but they wanted to find the right time to explain the situation. The creative team wanted the audience to think that Lex was responsible for Julian's death as an infant, before finally revealing that Lex was merely covering for his mother.[40]

text: Season four began expanding on the series long story arc of Lex's feelings for Lana. Though the seeds were planted in the second episode of the first season, it was not until season four that Lex began to show more of his true feelings. According to Gough, not only was Lex trying to protect Lana from Jason Teague (Jensen Ackles), Lana's boyfriend who was also after the stones of knowledge, but he was also trying to get Jason out of the picture completely so he could have Lana for himself. Writer Darren Swimmer questioned Lex's motives from earlier seasons: "You have to ask yourself, in the words of Lex Luthor himself: Why would some billionaire want to be bailing out this girl and buying her a coffee house to begin with? What's that all about?"[41] Writer Todd Slavkin described season five as "the darkening of Lex Luthor". By the time "Aqua" came around, Lex had removed the gloves, as there is no friendship with Clark that he needed to worry about, and his dark side began to show its face.[42] Season five also saw Lex's hunger for power begin to develop, as he campaigned for a Kansas senate seat. It was the events of "Lexmas" that drove Lex to continue his pursuit of ultimate power. In "Lexmas", Lex is shot and he gets a chance to live a life where he is married to Lana and he no longer on a quest for power. In this alternate reality, without all the power and money that he had originally had, Lex is unable to save Lana, who dies after giving birth to their second child. It is here that Lex decided that he would always "go for the prize".[42]

text: Characterization[edit]

text: One of Lex's key characteristics is his curiosity for the unexplained. Lex's primary motive for his "shady" actions derives from his curiosity, specifically beginning from the moment he and Clark meet after Lex hits Clark with his Porsche. Clark always appearing when something strange happens in Smallville does nothing but fuel Lex's curiosity. Rosenbaum believes that Lex's only sees two options: "For Lex, it's either take a nice ride to Metropolis and work with his dad, or find out what's going on with this strong, strange fellow, Clark Kent."[36] Another characteristic of Smallville 's Lex Luthor—one that is being developed over the course of the series—is his evilness. Rosenbaum believes that what the audience sees in Lex's dark side in the early seasons is merely a taste of what the character is truly capable of.[43] In the season two premiere "Vortex", Rosenbaum requested Greg Beeman to shoot a close-up of him after he shoots Nixon, in an effort to open a window into Lex's darker side. Rosenbaum intended to leave the interpretation of whether Lex enjoyed killing Nixon open to the audience. As Beeman explains Rosenbaum's thoughts, "...either Lex is horrified and appalled, or he liked it, and it felt good to him".[44] According to Rosenbaum, when Lex reaches that point where he uses all of his mind, and "really flips out", that is the point where the "world needs to hide".[43] Television reviewer Brian Byun felt that it was this struggle between good and evil inside Lex that not only made him an anti-hero, but also, given that the audience familiar with Lex's mythology and the knowledge that he will end up being Superman's greatest enemy, make Smallville's Lex Luthor a "tragic figure [of] almost Shakespearean grandeur".[45]

text: Taking a page out of Chazz Palminteri's A Bronx Tale, Rosenbaum ignored the script during his final scene with Kristin Kreuk for the season six finale. Here, as Lana is informing Lex that she is going to leave, Lex walks around her and closes the door to her exit. Rosenbaum was trying to invoke a moment of fright for the audience. To the actor, he wanted the audience to wonder what Lex was going to do to Lana; it was a moment meant to show just how unpredictable Lex can be.[46]

text:
Lex: Do you think I'd look better with hair?
Lana: I don't know. I've never thought about it.
Lex: I've thought about it; I've thought about a lot of things….Clark has nice hair.

— Writer Steven DeKnight describes this exchange of dialogue, from season five's "Lockdown", as providing an insight into Lex's feelings of inadequacy and envy of Clark.[47]

tag: div

text: As the seasons progressed, and the character began to grow darker and more sinister, Rosenbaum sought more opportunities to bring humor to the scene, either with physical subtleties like little smiles at key moments, or "self-deprecating humor". One such instance, which became popular with audiences, was in the season six episode "Justice", where Lex made a joke about wanting a ponytail. The producers were concerned over the piece of dialogue, but Rosenbaum convinced them that he could pull it off. To Rosenbaum, this quip by Lex makes him more credible as a person, because it is well known that Lex always wanted hair.[46] This moment reflects an earlier episode, where Lex reveals his feelings of meagerness when comparing himself to Clark. In season five's "Lockdown", Lex provides a window into his thoughts about his place in Smallville. As writer Steven S. DeKnight describes it, the audience gets to see a moment where Lex shows how he still feels like an outsider, and that he views Clark as this "perfect person". DeKnight believes that, from how Clark sees it, Lex is driven by his desire to attain everything that Clark has, like his family and girlfriend.[42]

text: Lex also develops a craving for power, with that hunger expanding in season five. Al Gough believes that Lex's political motivations are based on his lust for power. Rosenbaum echoes that opinion, believing that Lex can never get enough; "Lex is an insatiable character". Rosenbaum believes that nothing will satisfy Lex's hunger, and that he will keep going until he is president of the United States. Even then, he will keep trying to make the majority of people like and believe in him.[42]

text: Visually, the character of Lex Luthor has his own characteristics. In Smallville, Lex is usually given a "glass, steel [colored] background", and dressed in a lot of black, grey, and "cool tones" like purples and blues.[35]

text: Relationships[edit]

text: Rosenbaum realizes that the friendship between Lex and Clark is destined to fail, but that Clark's friendship truly is important to Lex early in the series.[36] The actor also believes that if Clark could see the darkness that Lex is constantly fighting then he would understand more of Lex's actions.[41] Reviewer Brian Byun expressed that the choice to explore the friendship between Clark and Lex, before they become sworn enemies, which was something that had been used in the past but never to the depth of what Smallville is doing, helped keep the show from becoming "Dawson's Creek with superpowers".[45]

text: Like Lana, who held emptiness inside her after the loss of her parents, which she tried to fill with the men in her life, Lex attempts to fill his own void, over the loss of his mother, with the women in his life. According to writer Holly Harold, Lex "needs and wants to be loved".[42] Rosenbaum agrees, and feels that Lex is searching for that "unconditional love". The actor likens this feeling to one that everyone can relate to, but that Lex fails to achieve with not only the women he develops relationships with, but also with his own father. Rosenbaum and Annette O'Toole (Martha Kent) agree that the only person that could give Lex that love is his mother, who died when he was a child. Whenever they have scenes together, O'Toole and Rosenbaum try and hint around the idea that Martha wants to provide that love for Lex, because she recognizes that he needs it, and that Lex really wants her to provide it as well.[36]

text: After various failed relationships, Lex finally believes he has what he wants when he begins a romantic relationship with Lana Lang. In "Hypnotic", in an effort to stop hurting Lana emotionally, Clark told her that he no longer loved her. This drives Lana into Lex's arms. Writer Darren Swimmer explains that this was not something that just happened in the series, but something that had been hinted at for many seasons.[47] Rosenbaum admits that Lex had a crush on Lana for many years, but contends that he tried to help Clark win Lana early on—he succeeded. When Clark and Lana's relationship crumbled, because of Clark's deceit, Lex was waiting. Rosenbaum believes that Lana was "tired of the boy and wanted a man around". By contrast, Swimmer believes that Lana started dating Lex as a way of making Clark mad, but the relationship "turned into much more". Kreuk contends that Lana went to Lex because "she knows she will never really love him." Kreuk believes that Lana's relationship with the men in her life was originally motivated by a desire to fill a void in her life that was left after her parents were killed. This need to fill that emptiness was fulfilled in "Void", when Lana took a drug to induce death so that she could see her parents in the afterlife. Upon meeting her parents, Kreuk believes that Lana realized that she no longer needed someone else to fill that hole in her. Kreuk sees this filled void as the reason why Lana would gravitate toward Lex. Kreuk feels that if Lex had chosen a different path after the events of "Lexmas", then Lana would have been able to truly love him.[47]

text: As Rosenbaum describes it, Lex views Lana as this beautiful, charming girl with a little naïveté. It is this naïveté that allows Lex to believe that he can trust and confide in Lana, and that she is his one true love. Lex also knows that Lana will always love Clark, but he expects her to love him for who he is just the same. Rosenbaum does not believe that Lana gives that to Lex.[42] Writer Holly Harold finds parallels between Lex's relationship with Lana, and that of Lionel's relationship with Martha. Both men believe that these two women will be their saving grace, and pull them back from the dark side.[48] In Lex's defense, Rosenbaum contends that Lex is not using Lana in an effort to hurt Clark, but that he really does love her. The actor believes that Lex's problem lies in the fact that every time he has loved someone and opened up to them he has been hurt, or betrayed. Even though Lex loves Lana more than anyone else before her, he just cannot bring himself to open up completely for fear of repeating the past.[46] Rosenbaum believes that the eventual dissolution of the marriage between Lex and Lana was a tragic moment in both characters' lives. It is a moment that solidifies Lex's history of opening up to women and having them hurt him.[46]

text: It is not just the women in his life that Lex has a difficult time maintaining a healthy relationship with, but his father as well. Rosenbaum characterizes the relationship between Lex and Lionel as a form of tug-of-war, and disagrees with John Glover's assessment that Lionel is merely testing Lex for the life he is going to take over. For Rosenbaum, Lex is being pushed and pushed, and Lex is afraid that he will reach the point that he knows he will no longer be able to come back from.[43] In "Vortex", Lex realizes that he forgot who he was in that moment that his father was trapped under the column, and he felt guilty over the situation. According to Rosenbaum, Lex realized that by letting his father die he would have been traveling down a dark path, and would have become all that his father was—evil.[39] As Lex continues to live in his father's shadow, and as time progresses, he learns more about the "monster" that Lionel truly is. The breaking point comes when Lex learns that his father killed Lex's grandparents in a tenement fire. Rosenbaum sees this as the ultimate ethical dilemma—he likens it to parents learning that their child has murdered someone, and then having to decide if they should go to the authorities or not—and Lex, who can no longer take his father's abuse, decides to turn Lionel over to the FBI. According to Rosenbaum, the decision is justified to Lex, who sees that monster that Lionel really is from his actions—using electroshock therapy to erase Lex's memories, drugging Lex, killing his own parents, and the way he treated Lex's mother.[43]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Michael Rosenbaum was nominated multiple times for the Saturn Award category of Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series for his performance as Lex Luthor. His first nomination came in 2002, which is the only year he has won the award.[49] The same year he was also nominator for Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Award, alongside co-star Kristin Kreuk.[50] He followed that with consecutive nominations from 2003 to 2006.[51][52][53][54] Rosenbaum was nominated for Choice Sidekick in the 2002 and 2003 Teen Choice Awards.[55][56] In 2007, 2008, and 2009 he was nominated as a Teen Choice Awards Choice Villain.[57][58][59]

text: Other media appearances[edit]

text: Young adult novels[edit]

text: Lex makes his first appearance outside of the television series in the novel Smallville: Strange Visitors, published by Aspect. When a couple of con artists arrive in Smallville promoting miracle cures created by the meteor rocks, Lex becomes interested in what they are really after, as he believes their plans could hinder the research he is doing on the meteor rocks. After Jacobi and Wolfe's con is realized, Lex uses a dummy corporation to steal all of the meteor rocks Jacobi's Ascendence Foundation has collected.[60] In Smallville: Dragon, Lex throws a party at his mansion for the local teenagers, that is ultimately crashed by a repitilian creature that was created by the meteor rocks. He is also visited by an old flame, Renata, who shows up looking to rekindle their relationship. Lex quickly discovers that she has an ulterior motive when she propositions him to fund a drug deal, which prompts Lex to realize that she was really sent by his father as some test for Lex.[61]

text: Comic books[edit]

text: In 2012, the Smallville series was continued through the comic book medium, with Smallville: Season 11. Written by Bryan Q. Miller, who also wrote for the television series, the first issue details Lex changing the LuthorCorp name to LexCorp, due to his memory loss in the series finale. Tess Mercer's death is ruled a suicide, and Lex sells the ownership rights to the Daily Planet. He also questions why he would befriend the "unsophisticated" Clark Kent, after reading some newspaper clippings. He immediately harbors distrust with "Superman", after the latter reveals himself to the world. In addition, there are remnants of memories left for Lex to continue his hatred towards the superhero but have no knowledge of Superman's secret identity. Lex later discovers that he once knew who Superman is and determined to remember. This leads to a proposal with General Sam Lane to create a joint venture between LexCorp and the Pentagon for the company's project, "Guardian Defense Platforms", which involves monitoring the world's metahuman and extraterrestrial communities.[62] In the second issue, Lex takes steps to regain his lost memories, having his assistant Otis Berg research the neurotoxin Tess used on him, eventually he discovers that the toxin has caused Lex's brain to operate at a higher percentage than normal, increasing his overall intelligence. In addition, Otis discovers that the toxin not only erased Lex's memories and enhanced his intelligence, but also caused him to mentally bond with Tess's consciousness when she poisoned him.[63] Clark and Oliver eventually discover what happened to Tess, and extracts her consciousness from Lex and uploaded it into the Watchtower's computer until they can clone her a new body.[64] It is also revealed that Lex was friends with Bruce Wayne, the secret identity of Batman, since childhood, but lost touch after the murder of Bruce's parents. Years later, Bruce is secretly aware that Lex is now corrupt.[65]


document_title: The Patriot (2000 film)

question_text: where did they film the movie the patriot

root

text: The Patriot (2000 film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: During the American Revolution in 1776, Benjamin Martin, a veteran of the French and Indian War and a widower with seven children, is called to Charleston to vote in the South Carolina General Assembly on a levy supporting the Continental Army. Fearing war against Great Britain, Benjamin abstains; the vote is nonetheless passed and, against his father's wishes, Benjamin's eldest son Gabriel joins the Continentals.

tag: p

text: Two years later Charleston falls to the British and a wounded Gabriel returns home carrying dispatches. The Martins care for both British and American wounded from a nearby battle, before British Dragoons, led by the ruthless Colonel William Tavington, arrive, arrest Gabriel, and take captive the African American free men and women who work Benjamin's land. When Benjamin's second son Thomas tries to free Gabriel, he is shot and killed by Tavington, who then orders the Martins' house burned, and wounded Americans executed. After the British leave, Benjamin gives his next two eldest sons rifles, and they ambush the British unit escorting a tied Gabriel. Benjamin skillfully, yet brutally, kills many soldiers with his tomahawk. A British survivor tells Tavington of the attack, earning Benjamin the moniker of the "Ghost". Gabriel decides to rejoin the Continentals and Benjamin soon follows, leaving the younger children in the care of Benjamin's sister-in-law, Charlotte. On their way to the Continental Army's camp, they witness the southern Continental Army under General Horatio Gates engaging the British Army. Benjamin recognizes the foolishness of the action; sure enough, the Continentals are decisively routed.

text: Benjamin meets his former commanding officer, Colonel Harry Burwell, who makes him colonel of the local colonial militia due to his combat experience and also places Gabriel under Benjamin's command. Benjamin is tasked with keeping Lord Cornwallis's regiments pinned south through guerrilla warfare. French Major Jean Villeneuve helps train the militia and promises more French aid.

text: Gabriel asks why Villeneuve and others often mention Benjamin's role in something called "Fort Wilderness." Benjamin, having been hesitant to answer the question up to now, finally tells his son the story. Benjamin had been fighting in the British Army in the French and Indian War when he and several other soldiers discovered a French atrocity at a fort that Benjamin and his comrades had been trying to reinforce. In a bloodthirsty rage, Benjamin and his comrades caught up with the French at Fort Wilderness, where Benjamin and his unit literally cut the defending French soldiers apart slowly. Benjamin reveals that he has been haunted by guilt ever since.

text: Benjamin's militia harass British supply lines, even capturing some of Cornwallis' personal effects and his two Great Danes, and burn half the bridges and ferries leading to Charleston. Lord Cornwallis blames Tavington for creating this reaction with his brutal tactics. However, irritated at the lack of progress, and insulted by Benjamin's clever ploy to free some of the captured militia, Cornwallis reluctantly allows Tavington to stop Benjamin by any means necessary.

text: With the reluctant aid of the Loyalist Captain Wilkins, Tavington learns the identities of some militia members and proceeds to attack their families and burn their homes. Benjamin's family flees Charlotte's plantation as it is burned to live in a Gullah settlement with former black slaves. There, Gabriel marries his betrothed Anne. Tavington's brigade rides into the town that supplies the militia. He assembles all the townspeople, including Anne, into the church promising freedom in exchange for the whereabouts of the rebels. However, after the location is given the doors are barricaded, trapping the people as Tavington orders the church burned, killing them all in a cold-blooded act of mass-murder. After discovering the tragedy, Gabriel and several others race to attack Tavington's encampment. In the ensuing fight, Tavington mortally wounds Gabriel before fleeing. Benjamin arrives soon after, only to have another of his sons die in his arms.

text: Benjamin mourns and wavers in his commitment to continue fighting, but is resolved when reminded of his son's dedication to the cause by finding an American flag he repaired personally. Martin's militia, along with a larger Continental Army regiment, confronts Cornwallis' regiment in a decisive battle at the Battle of Cowpens. The British appear to have the upper hand until Benjamin rallies the troops forward against their lines and Tavington rushes to personally target him. The two duel and Tavington gains the upper hand, delivering several wounds to Benjamin. A beaten Benjamin slumps to his knees, and Tavington prepares to deliver the coup de grâce. At the last second, however, Benjamin dodges the attack and stabs Tavington to death, avenging his sons' deaths. The battle is a Continental victory and Cornwallis is forced to retreat.

text: After many eventual retreats, Cornwallis is besieged at Yorktown, Virginia where he surrenders to the surrounding Continental Army and the long-awaited French naval force. After the conflict ends, Benjamin returns with his family and discovers his militia men rebuilding his homestead in their new nation.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Mel Gibson as Benjamin Martin
A veteran of the French and Indian War as the hero of the fictional Fort Wilderness and widowed father of seven children, Benjamin does what he can to avoid fighting in the Revolutionary War knowing the implications surrounding it. In addition, he does not want to reveal to his family of what he is capable of in violence. When his oldest son, Gabriel joins up, and his second born son, Thomas is killed, he takes it upon himself to join and fight with the colonial militia. He is nicknamed "The Ghost" by the British. He is based on a composite of historical characters which include Thomas Sumter, Daniel Morgan, Nathanael Greene, Andrew Pickens, and Francis Marion.[6]
Heath Ledger as Gabriel Edward Martin
Benjamin's eldest child, and the husband of Anne Patricia Howard Martin. He decides to join up with the Continental Army against his father's wishes. He is killed during an attack on the Green Dragoons' camp, while seeking revenge against Colonel Tavington for his wife's murder.
Gregory Smith as Thomas Martin
Benjamin's second son, he, like Gabriel, is anxious to fight in the war, but Benjamin says he has to wait because of his age. He is shot and killed by Tavington when he protests against Gabriel's arrest. Tavington rebukes him as a "stupid boy" for his actions afterward. Benjamin takes Thomas's set of toy tin soldiers and, over the course of the film, melts them down into bullets for his pistol.
Trevor Morgan as Nathan Martin
Third son, he and Samuel help around the farm. When Gabriel is taken prisoner and Thomas is killed, he and Samuel help their father on a rescue mission. Unlike Samuel, he is "glad" to kill British soldiers.
Bryan Chafin as Samuel Martin
Fourth son, he is usually seen helping Nathan around the farm. When Gabriel is taken prisoner and Thomas is killed, he helps his father, Benjamin, rescue Gabriel by killing several British soldiers, even though he doesn't want to kill. For a short while, he becomes scared of his father after he witnesses him brutally killing and mutilating, post-mortem, a British soldier with a tomahawk.
Logan Lerman as William Martin: Benjamin's fifth and youngest son. This character was not originally in the script and was only added because Mel Gibson wanted to have seven children in the film (like in real life) rather than six. Though present throughout the film, his only line is during the opening credits.
Mika Boorem as Margaret Martin
Benjamin's older daughter, she is often seen taking care of her younger siblings.
Skye McCole Bartusiak as Susan Martin
The younger daughter and child among Benjamin's seven children, she has a problem with speaking, which may be a post-traumatic reaction to the death of their mother; only later on does she finally open up. Her feelings towards her father change radically as the film progresses, and after Benjamin leaves from the furlough to rejoin his militia, in an extremely emotional scene, she seemingly forgives him and tells him she'll say anything he wants to make him stay, to which Benjamin can only promise to return, which Susan accepts.
Joely Richardson as Charlotte Selton
Benjamin's sister-in-law and love interest in the film. She is the owner of a plantation that is later burned down in the film. She looks after Benjamin's children while he is fighting, eventually she and Benjamin married and expecting a child.
Jason Isaacs as Colonel William Tavington
Colonel of the Green Dragoons, he is portrayed as a charismatic sociopath and a brutal commander. Long ago, his late father wasted away the family money, along with William's inheritance. He suggests to Cornwallis that he be allowed to acquire the Ohio territory as payment after the war since the brutality his commander wants from him sacrifices his social standing in English society. He is nicknamed "The Butcher" by Brigadier General O'Hara. The character is based on Banastre Tarleton.[6]
Chris Cooper as Colonel Harry Burwell
One of Benjamin's commanding officers in the French and Indian War and a colonel of the Continental Army. He fought in the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill. When his wife gives birth to their firstborn son, they name him after Benjamin's late eldest son, Gabriel. His character is loosely based on[citation needed] Lieutenant Colonel Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee.
Tchéky Karyo as Major Jean Villeneuve
A French officer who trains Martin's militia, he holds a grudge against Martin for his part in the French and Indian War, but they become close friends by the war's end. He explains in the film that he watched his wife and two daughters, 12-year-old Violette and 10-year-old Pauline (both green-eyed), being burned in the ship that carried them by the British, which explains his hatred for them. He serves as Martin's second-in-command.
René Auberjonois as Reverend Oliver
A minister of Pembroke who volunteers to fight with the militia. He also tries to give spiritual advice to his fellow soldiers. He is one of the eighteen captured men taken to Fort Carolina and released later on by Benjamin. He aides Gabriel in killing Captain Bordon, but is mortally shot by Tavington. Before dying, he courageously tosses his musket to Gabriel so that he may finish off Tavington.
Lisa Brenner as Anne Patricia Howard Martin
Gabriel's childhood friend and love interest, whom he marries later in the film. She is killed in the town church along with the rest of the town on Tavington's orders.
Tom Wilkinson as Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Earl Cornwallis
A general of the British army. While pompous and arrogant, he is disgusted by Tavington's savage and ungentlemanly-like tactics. Cornwallis is a skilled commander, with Martin calling him a genius, but he sees militia as nothing more than "farmers with pitchforks" and is easily duped by Martin in a key scene. His two Great Danes, Jupiter and Mars, are a gift from king George III.
Peter Woodward as Brigadier General Charles O'Hara
Cornwallis' second-in-command. Like Cornwallis, he does not share Tavington's views on war.
Donal Logue as Dan Scott
One of Benjamin's men. He is a racist and bullies the former slave Occam, but grows to befriend him, especially when saved by him while wounded. In the last part of the film, they stand side by side in the final battle and the raising of Martin's new house.
Leon Rippy as John Billings
One of Benjamin's neighbors and oldest friends who joins the militia. He is one of the 18 captured men taken to Fort Carolina and released later on by Benjamin. Afterward, John helps Charlotte Selton and Benjamin's children escape the burning of the Selton plantation. He commits suicide, in full view of his comrades, after finding that Tavington's men have killed his wife and son. Afterward, Benjamin gives the militia a furlough.
Adam Baldwin as Captain James Wilkins
An officer in the Loyalist Colonial militia recruited into the Green Dragoons by Captain Bordon. He knows everything about Benjamin Martin, and is called upon by Tavington to divulge such information when required. Earlier on, at the South Carolina Assembly in Charleston, he is one of the twelve out of forty to vote against a levy for the Continental Army. He fights alongside Tavington, and also shares these brutal views on how "all those who stand against England deserve to die a traitor's death." When he is forced to burn the church at Pembroke, with town residents inside by Tavington, only then does he regret his own words and realize what kind of man his commanding officer really is. He is last seen fighting alongside the British in the final battle of the movie. His fate is not shown.
Jamieson K. Price as Captain Bordon
Tavington's second-in-command of the Green Dragoons and chief intelligence officer. He is just as ruthless as his commander, "strong-arming" prisoners during interrogations. He is killed by Gabriel in the youth's raid against the Dragoons.
Jay Arlen Jones as Occam
An African slave who is sent to fight in his master's place. He is taunted and bullied by the other members of the militia, but is treated as an equal by Benjamin, Gabriel, Jean, and later on by Dan Scott and the others. He gives out information of the captured eighteen militia men at Fort Carolina while escaping Tavington's trap. After serving a year in the Continental Army, he becomes a free man, but nonetheless still serves with the militia until the end of the war, and later aids, alongside his former adversary Dan Scott, in raising a new house for Martin. (See also: African Americans in the Revolutionary War)
Joey D. Vieira as Peter Howard
Anne Howard's father, who lost his left leg and most of his hearing while fighting the French and Indian War. He likens British taxation policies to the British taking his other leg.
Zach Hanner as British field officer.
Terry Layman as General George Washington.
Andy Stahl as General Nathanael Greene.
Grahame Wood as a friendly British Lieutenant at Martin's farm who interacts with both Benjamin Martin and Colonel Tavington. He sees Tavington's orders to kill the Colonial wounded and other prisoners revolting, but remains silent and follows through with the orders without question, largely out of fear for his own life. He dies shortly afterwards in Martin's skirmish to rescue his son, Gabriel.

tag: ul

text: Production[edit]

text: Script[edit]

text: Screenwriter Robert Rodat wrote seventeen drafts of the script before there was an acceptable one. In an early version, Anne is pregnant with Gabriel's child when she dies in the burning church. Rodat wrote the script with Gibson in mind for Benjamin Martin, and gave the Martin character six children to signal this preference to studio executives. After the birth of Gibson's seventh child, the script was changed so that Martin had seven children. Like the character William Wallace, which Gibson portrayed in Braveheart five years earlier, Martin is a man seeking to live his life in peace until revenge drives him to lead a cause against a national enemy after the life of an innocent family member is taken.

text: Casting[edit]

text: Joshua Jackson, Elijah Wood, Jake Gyllenhaal and Brad Renfro were considered to play Gabriel Martin. The producers and director narrowed their choices for this role to Ryan Phillippe and Heath Ledger, with the latter chosen because the director thought he possessed "exuberant youth".

text: Filming[edit]

text: The film's German director Emmerich said "these were characters I could relate to, and they were engaged in a conflict that had a significant outcome—the creation of the first modern democratic government."[6]

text: The film was shot entirely on location in South Carolina, including Charleston, Rock Hill—for many of the battle scenes, and Lowrys—for the farm of Benjamin Martin, as well as nearby Fort Lawn.[7] Other scenes were filmed at Mansfield Plantation, an antebellum rice plantation in Georgetown, Middleton Place in Charleston, South Carolina, at the Cistern Yard on the campus of College of Charleston, and Hightower Hall and Homestead House at Brattonsville, South Carolina, along with the grounds of the Brattonsville Plantation in McConnells, South Carolina.[8] Producer Mark Gordon said the production team "tried their best to be as authentic as possible" because "the backdrop was serious history," giving attention to details in period dress.[6] Producer Dean Devlin and the film's costume designers examined actual Revolutionary War uniforms at the Smithsonian Institution prior to shooting.[6]

text: Music[edit]

text: The musical score for The Patriot was composed by John Williams and was nominated for an Academy Award.[9] David Arnold, who composed the scores to Emmerich's Stargate, Independence Day, and Godzilla, created a demo for The Patriot that was ultimately rejected. As a result, Arnold never returned to compose for any of Emmerich's subsequent films and was replaced by Harald Kloser and Thomas Wanker.

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: The Patriot received mildly favorable reviews from critics. The film scored a "Fresh" rating of 61% rating among all critics on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 134 reviews and with an average rating of 6.1/10, which notes that it "can be entertaining to watch, but it relies too much on formula and melodrama."[10][11] The Patriot is one of two Emmerich films to ever be given a "fresh" rating from that website (the other is Independence Day). Rotten Tomatoes also notes that, "While his hero is conscience-stricken about killing, Emmerich sure enjoys serving it up in generous helpings.[12] " On Metacritic, the film earned a rating of 63 out of 100, based on reviews from 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The New York Times critic Elvis Mitchell gave the film a generally negative review, although he praised its casting and called Mel Gibson "an astonishing actor", particularly for his "on-screen comfort and expansiveness". He said the film is a "gruesome hybrid, a mix of sentimentality and brutality".[13] Jamie Malanowski, also writing in The New York Times, said The Patriot "will prove to many a satisfying way to spend a summer evening. It's got big battles and wrenching hand-to-hand combat, a courageous but conflicted hero and a dastardly and totally guilt-free villain, thrills, tenderness, sorrow, rage and a little bit of kissing".[14] The film was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Sound.

text: Controversy[edit]

text: A highly positive review was purportedly written by a critic named David Manning, who was credited to The Ridgefield Press, a small Connecticut weekly news publication. During an investigation into Manning's quotes, Newsweek reporter John Horn discovered that the newspaper had never heard of him.[15] The story emerged at around the same time as an announcement that Sony had used employees posing as moviegoers in television commercials to praise the film. These occurrences, in tandem, raised questions and controversy about ethics in movie marketing practices.

text: On June 10, 2001, the episode of Le Show, host Harry Shearer conducted an in-studio interview with Manning, whose "review" of the film was positive. The voice of Manning was provided by a computer voice synthesizer.[16]

text: On August 3, 2005, Sony made an out-of-court settlement and agreed to refund $5 each to dissatisfied customers who saw this and four other films in American theatres, as a result of Manning's reviews.[17]

text: Box office[edit]

text: The Patriot opened in 3,061 venues at #2 with $22,413,710 domestically in its opening weekend, falling slightly short of expectations (predictions had the film opening #1 with roughly $25 million ahead). The film opened behind Warner Bros The Perfect Storm, which opened at #1 with $41,325,042.[18] The film closed on October 16, 2000 with $113,330,342 domestically, which barely recouped its budget of $110 million. It was successful overseas grossing $101,964,000 with a grand total of $215,294,342.[2]

text: Accolades[edit]

text: The Patriot was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Sound Mixing (Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Lee Orloff), Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score.[19] It also received several guild awards, including the American Society of Cinematographers award to Caleb Deschanel for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography[20] and the Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Award for Best Period Makeup and Best Period Hair Styling.[21]

text: Historical authenticity[edit]

text: During development, Emmerich and his team consulted with experts at the Smithsonian Institution on set, props, and costumes; advisor Rex Ellis even recommended the Gullah village as an appropriate place for Martin's family to hide.[22] In addition, screenwriter Robert Rodat read through many journals and letters of colonists as part of his preparation for writing the screen play.[23]

text: Producer Mark Gordon said that in making the film, "while we were telling a fictional story, the backdrop was serious history".[6] Some of the resulting characters and events thus were composites of real characters and events that were designed to serve the fictional narrative without losing the historical flavor. Rodat said of Gibson's character: "Benjamin Martin is a composite character made up of Thomas Sumter, Daniel Morgan, Andrew Pickens, and Francis Marion, and a few bits and pieces from a number of other characters."[6] Rodat also indicated that the fictional Colonel William Tavington is "loosely based on Colonel Banastre Tarleton, who was particularly known for his brutal acts".[6]

text: While some events, such as Tarleton's pursuit of Francis Marion and his fellow irregular soldiers who escaped by disappearing into the swamps of South Carolina, were loosely based on history,[24] and others were adapted, such as the final battle in the film which combined elements of the Battles of Cowpens and Battle of Guilford Court House, most of the plot events in the film are pure fiction.

text: Criticism of Benjamin Martin as based on Francis Marion[edit]

text: The film was harshly criticized in the British press in part because of its connection to Francis Marion, a militia leader in South Carolina known as the "Swamp Fox". After the release of The Patriot, the British newspaper The Guardian denounced Marion as "a serial rapist who hunted Red Indians for fun.[25] Historian Christopher Hibbert said of Marion:

text: "The truth is that people like Marion committed atrocities as bad, if not worse, than those perpetrated by the British."[26]

text: The Patriot does not depict the American character Benjamin Martin as innocent of atrocities; a key plot point revolves around the character's guilt over acts he engaged in, such as torturing, killing, and mutilating prisoners during the French and Indian War, while not mentioning his crimes against fellow colonists during the Revolutionary War. In Hibbert's book Redcoats and Rebels: The American Revolution Through British Eyes, written before The Patriot was released, Hibbert included no criticism of Marion. Conservative radio host Michael Graham rejected Hibbert's criticism of Marion in a commentary published in National Review:

text: "Was Francis Marion a slave owner? Was he a determined and dangerous warrior? Did he commit acts in an 18th century war that we would consider atrocious in the current world of peace and political correctness? As another great American film hero might say: 'You're damn right.' "That's what made him a hero, 200 years ago and today."[27]

text: Graham also refers to what he describes as "the unchallenged work of South Carolina's premier historian" Dr. Walter Edgar, who claimed in his 1998 South Carolina: A History that Marion's partisans were "a ragged band of both black and white volunteers".[27]

text: Amy Crawford, in Smithsonian magazine, stated that modern historians such as William Gilmore Simms and Hugh Rankin have written accurate biographies of Marion, including Simms' The Life of Francis Marion.[28] The introduction to the 2007 edition of Simms' book was written by Sean Busick, a professor of American history at Athens State University in Alabama, who wrote:

text: "Marion deserves to be remembered as one of the heroes of the War for Independence....Francis Marion was a man of his times: he owned slaves, and he fought in a brutal campaign against the Cherokee Indians...Marion's experience in the French and Indian War prepared him for more admirable service."[28]

text: During pre-production, the producers debated on whether Martin would own slaves, ultimately deciding not to make him a slave owner. This decision received criticism from Spike Lee, who in a letter to The Hollywood Reporter accused the film's portrayal of slavery as being "a complete whitewashing of history".[29] Lee wrote that after he and his wife went to see the film, "we both came out of the theatre fuming. For three hours The Patriot dodged around, skirted about or completely ignored slavery." Gibson himself remarked: "I think I would have made him a slave holder. Not to seems kind of a cop-out."[30]

text: Criticism of Tavington as based on Tarleton[edit]

text: After release, several British voices criticized the film for its depiction of the film's villain Tavington and defended the historical character of Banastre Tarleton. Ben Fenton, commenting in the Daily Telegraph, wrote:

text: "There is no evidence that Tarleton, called 'Bloody Ban' or 'The Butcher' in rebel pamphlets, ever broke the rules of war and certainly did not ever shoot a child in cold blood."[31]

text: Although Tarleton gained the reputation among Americans as a butcher for his involvement in the Waxhaw massacre in South Carolina, he was a hero in Liverpool, England. Liverpool City Council, led by Mayor Edwin Clein, called for a public apology for what they viewed as the film's "character assassination" of Tarleton.[32] What happened during the Battle of The Waxhaws, known to the Americans as the Buford Massacre or as the Waxhaw massacre, is the subject of debate. According to an American field surgeon named Robert Brownfield who witnessed the events, the Continental Army Col. Buford raised a white flag of surrender, "expecting the usual treatment sanctioned by civilized warfare". While Buford was calling for quarter, Tarleton's horse was struck by a musket ball and fell. This gave the Loyalist cavalrymen the impression that the Continentals had shot at their commander while asking for mercy. Enraged, the Loyalist troops charged at the Virginians. According to Brownfield, the Loyalists attacked, carrying out "indiscriminate carnage never surpassed by the most ruthless atrocities of the most barbarous savages".

text: In Tarleton's own account, he stated that his horse had been shot from under him during the initial charge in which he was knocked out for several minutes and that his men, thinking him dead, engaged in "a vindictive asperity not easily restrained".[33]

text: Tarleton's role in the Revolutionary War in the Carolinas is examined by Ben Rubin who shows that historically, while the actual events of the Battle of the Waxhaws were presented differently according to which side was recounting them, the story of Tarleton's atrocities at Waxhaws and on other occasions became a rallying cry, particularly at the Battle of King's Mountain.[34] The tales of Tarleton's atrocities were a part of standard U.S. accounts of the war and were described by Washington Irving and by Christopher Ward in his 1952 history, The War of the Revolution, where Tarleton is described as "cold-hearted, vindictive, and utterly ruthless. He wrote his name in letters of blood all across the history of the war in the South."[35] Not until Anthony Scotti's 2002 book, Brutal Virtue: The Myth and Reality of Banastre Tarleton, were Tarleton's actions fully reexamined. Scotti challenged the factual accounts of atrocities and stressed the "propaganda value that such stories held for the Americas both during and after the war".[36] Scotti's book, however, did not come out until two years after The Patriot. Screenwriters consulting American works to build the character Tavington based on Tarleton would have commonly found descriptions of him as barbaric and accounts of his name being used for recruiting and motivation during the Revolutionary War itself.[37]

text: Whereas Tavington is depicted as aristocratic but penniless, Tarleton came from a wealthy Liverpool merchant family. Tarleton did not die in battle or from impalement, as Tavington did in the film. Tarleton died on January 16, 1833, in Leintwardine, Herefordshire, England, at the age of 78, nearly 50 years after the war ended. He outlived Col. Francis Marion who died in 1795, by 38 years. Before his death, Tarleton had achieved the military rank of General, equal to that held by the overall British Commanders during the American Revolution, and became a baronet and a member of the British Parliament.

text: Depiction of atrocities in the Revolutionary War[edit]

text: The Patriot was criticized for misrepresenting atrocities during the Revolutionary War, including the killing of prisoners of war and wounded soldiers and burning a church filled with townsfolk. While atrocities occurred during the war, the most striking of the film's depictions of British atrocities—the burning of a church full of unarmed colonial civilians—had virtually no factual basis nor parallel in the American or European 18th century wars, with the exception of the Massacre at Lucs-sur-Boulogne in 1794. The New York Post film critic Jonathan Foreman was one of several focusing on this distortion in the film and wrote the following in an article at Salon.com:

text: "The most disturbing thing about The Patriot is not just that German director Roland Emmerich (director of Independence Day) and his screenwriter Robert Rodat (who was criticized for excluding the roles played by British, Canadian (Juno Beach) and other Allied troops in the Normandy landings from his script for Saving Private Ryan) depicted British troops as committing savage atrocities, but that those atrocities bear such a close resemblance to war crimes carried out by German troops—particularly the SS in World War II. It's hard not to wonder if the filmmakers have some kind of subconscious agenda....They have made a film that will have the effect of inoculating audiences against the unique historical horror of Oradour—and implicitly rehabilitating the Nazis while making the British seem as evil as history's worst monsters....So it's no wonder that the British press sees this film as a kind of blood libel against the British people."[38]

text: The Washington Post film critic Stephen Hunter, a historian of the era, said: "Any image of the American Revolution which represents you Brits as Nazis and us as gentle folk is almost certainly wrong. It was a very bitter war, a total war, and that is something that I am afraid has been lost to history....[T]he presence of the Loyalists (colonists who did not want to join the fight for independence from Britain) meant that the War of Independence was a conflict of complex loyalties."[39] The historian Richard F. Snow, editor of American Heritage magazine, said of the church-burning scene: "Of course it never happened—if it had do you think Americans would have forgotten it? It could have kept us out of World War I."[40][41]

text: The concept of patriotism[edit]

text: Slate columnist Michael Lind criticized the identification of the leading character's actions with patriotism. Specifically, Lind stated that "this movie is deeply subversive patriotism. Indeed, patriotism is a concept that neither the screenwriter...nor the director...seems to understand". He further wrote that "the message of The Patriot is that country is an abstraction, family is everything. It should have been called The Family Man".[42]

text: In contrast, historian Ben Rubin argues that because the American Revolution was a conflict that as often pitted neighbor against neighbor—Whigs (advocates of Revolution) against Tories (loyalists to Britain)—as it pitted nascent Americans against the British, many people stayed neutral until goaded into taking a stand in reaction to perceived atrocities.[43] From this perspective, Benjamin Martin's joining of the militia becomes, according to commentator Jon Roland, a deep patriotism that "shows them being called up, not as an act of an official, but by private persons aware of a common threat...[reacting to a] militia duty to defend one another".[44]

text: Homages[edit]

text: This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text: In the film, Gibson's character asks, "Why should I trade one tyrant three thousand miles away for three thousand tyrants one mile away?" "They Call me a brainless Tory," said (Doctor) Reverend Mather Byles while watching three thousand Sons of Liberty parading the streets of Boston, "but tell me my young friend, which is better, to be ruled by one tyrant three thousand miles away or three thousand tyrants not a mile away".[45]

text:
Paul Revere And The World He Lived In by Ester Forbes Riverside Press Cambridge, Massachusetts 1942
The Patriot: The Official Companion by Suzanne Fritz and Rachel Aberly
The Patriot: A Novel by Stephen Molstad

text: Home media[edit]

text: The Patriot was released on DVD on October 24, 2000, a Blu-Ray release followed on July 3, 2007.[46] The Patriot was later released on 4K UHD Blu-Ray on May 22, 2018.[47]


document_title: The Spy Who Loved Me (film)

question_text: who is the girl in the spy who loved me

question_tokens: who is the girl in the spy who loved me

text: The Spy Who Loved Me (film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: British and Soviet ballistic-missile submarines are mysteriously disappearing. James Bond—MI6 agent 007—is summoned to investigate. On the way to his briefing, Bond escapes an ambush by Soviet agents in Austria, killing their leader during a downhill ski chase. The plans for a highly advanced submarine tracking system are being offered in Egypt. There, he encounters Major Anya Amasova—KGB agent Triple X—his rival to recover the microfilm plans. They travel across Egypt together, encountering Jaws – a tall assassin with razor sharp steel teeth – along the way. Bond and Amasova reluctantly join forces after a truce is agreed by their respective British and Soviet superiors. They identify the person responsible for the thefts as the shipping tycoon and scientist Karl Stromberg.

text: While travelling by train to Stromberg's base in Sardinia, Bond saves Amasova from Jaws, and their cooling rivalry turns to affection. Posing as a marine biologist and his wife, they visit Stromberg's base and discover that he had launched a mysterious new supertanker, the Liparus, nine months previously. As they leave the base, an unknown henchman on a motorcycle featuring a rocket sidecar, Jaws in a car, and Naomi, an assistant/pilot of Stromberg in an attack helicopter, chase them, but Bond and Amasova escape underwater when his car – a Lotus Esprit from Q Branch – converts into a submarine. Jaws survives a car crash and Naomi is killed when Bond fires a sea-air missile from his car which destroys her helicopter. While examining Stromberg's underwater Atlantis base, the pair confirm that he is operating the stolen tracking system and encounter a fleet of Stromberg's minisubs which Amasova obliterates by launching mines. Bond finds out that the Liparus has never visited any known port or harbor. Amasova discovers that Bond killed her lover (as shown at the beginning of the movie), and she vows to kill Bond as soon as their mission is complete.

text: Bond and Amasova board an American submarine to examine the Liparus as it captures the submarine. Stromberg sets his plan in motion: the simultaneous launching of nuclear missiles from British and Soviet submarines to destroy Moscow and New York City. This would trigger a global nuclear war, which Stromberg would survive in Atlantis, and subsequently a new civilisation would be established underwater. He leaves for Atlantis with Amasova. Bond escapes and frees the captured British, Russian and American sailors and they battle the Liparus's crew. Bond reprograms the submarines to fire missiles at each other, saving Moscow and New York City. The victorious submariners escape the sinking Liparus on the American submarine.

text: The submarine is ordered to destroy Atlantis but Bond insists on rescuing Amasova first. He confronts and kills Stromberg but again encounters Jaws, whom he drops into a shark tank. However, Jaws kills the shark and escapes. Bond and Amasova flee in an escape pod as Atlantis is sunk. Amasova picks up Bond's gun and reminds him that she has vowed to kill him, but then decides not to and the two embrace. The Royal Navy recovers the pod and the two spies are seen in an intimate embrace through its port window, much to the bemusement of their superiors on the ship.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Roger Moore as James Bond 007: A British MI6 agent assigned to investigate the theft of two submarines.
Barbara Bach as Anya Amasova/Agent Triple X: A Soviet KGB agent also investigating the theft. Her attraction to Bond is cut short when she learns he killed her lover. Bach was cast only four days before principal photography began, and performed her audition expecting just a role in the film, not one of the protagonists.[1]
Curd Jürgens (billed as "Curt Jurgens" in the credits) as Karl Stromberg: The main villain, a megalomaniac planning to trigger World War III and destroy the world, then recreate a new civilisation underwater. Jürgens' casting was a suggestion of director Lewis Gilbert, who had worked with him before.[1]
Richard Kiel as Jaws: Stromberg's seemingly indestructible juggernaut of a henchman, afflicted with gigantism and having a set of metal teeth. He reprised the role in the subsequent Bond film, Moonraker.
Caroline Munro as Naomi: Stromberg's personal pilot and a would-be assassin. Munro's casting was inspired by an advertisement campaign she had made.[1]
Walter Gotell as General Gogol: The head of the KGB and Anya's boss. Gotell's debut in the role; he had previously appeared as Morzeny in From Russia with Love and reprised the role of Gogol in the next five films.
Bernard Lee as M: The head of MI6.
Desmond Llewelyn as Q/Major Boothroyd: MI6's head of research and development. He supplies Bond with unique vehicles and gadgets, most notably the Lotus Esprit that converts into a submarine.
Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny: M's secretary.
Geoffrey Keen as Frederick Gray: The British Minister of Defence. Keen's Bond debut; he appeared in the role in the next five films.
Robert Brown as Vice-Admiral Hargreaves: Flag Officer, Submarines of Royal Navy; Brown later played M in Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill.
George Baker as Captain Benson: A British naval officer stationed at the Royal Navy's Faslane Naval Base in Scotland. Baker had previously appeared in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
Michael Billington as Sergei Barsov, Russian agent and Anya Amasova's lover.
Vernon Dobtcheff as Max Kalba: Egyptian nightclub owner and black market racketeer who possesses the microfilm and tries to encourage Bond and Amasova to bid for it. Murdered by Jaws.
Nadim Sawalha as Fekkesh: Middle-man on the trail of the stolen microfilm. Murdered by Jaws.
Olga Bisera as Felicca: Fekkesh's glamorous associate who falls victim to a trap set for Bond.
Edward de Souza as Sheikh Hosein: Cambridge-educated Arab sheikh and old friend of Bond.
Shane Rimmer as Commander Carter: captain of the American submarine.
Bryan Marshall as Commander Talbot: captain of the captured British submarine.
Milton Reid as Sandor: Stromberg's henchman.
Sue Vanner as Log Cabin Girl: Beautiful Russian agent who sets a trap for 007 in the pre-credit sequence.
Eva Reuber-Staier as Rubelvitch: General Gogol's secretary.
Marilyn Galsworthy as Stromberg's assistant: Treacherous secretary who steals the tracking system microfilm. Stromberg feeds her to his pet shark. In the novelisation of the film, her name is said to be Kate Chapman.
Valerie Leon as the hotel receptionist.

text: The assistant director for the Italian locations, Victor Tourjansky, had a cameo as a man drinking his wine as Bond's Lotus emerges from the beach. As an in-joke, he returned in similar appearances in another two Bond films shot in Italy, Moonraker and For Your Eyes Only.[1]

text: Production[edit]

text: The Spy Who Loved Me in many ways was a pivotal film for the Bond franchise, and was plagued since its conception by many problems. The first was the departure of Bond producer Harry Saltzman, who was forced to sell his half of the Bond film franchise in 1975 for £20 million. Saltzman had branched out into several other ventures of dubious promise and consequently was struggling through personal financial reversals unrelated to Bond. This was exacerbated by the twin personal tragedies of his wife's terminal cancer and many of the symptoms of clinical depression in himself.[2]

text: Another troubling aspect of the production was the difficulty in obtaining a director. The producers approached Steven Spielberg, who was in post-production of Jaws, but ultimately decided against him.[3] [4] The first director attached to the film was Guy Hamilton, who directed the previous three Bond films as well as Goldfinger, but he left after being offered the opportunity to direct the 1978 film Superman, although Richard Donner took over the project.[5] Eon Productions later turned to Lewis Gilbert, who had directed the earlier Bond film You Only Live Twice.

text: With a director finally secured, the next hurdle was finishing the script, which had gone through several revisions by numerous writers. The initial villain of the film was Ernst Stavro Blofeld; however Kevin McClory, who owned the film rights to Thunderball forced an injunction on Eon Productions against using the character of Blofeld, or his international criminal organisation, SPECTRE, which delayed production of the film further. The villain was later changed from Blofeld to Stromberg so that the injunction would not interfere with the production. Christopher Wood was later brought in by Lewis Gilbert to complete the script. Although Fleming had requested that no elements from his original book be used, the film characters of Jaws and Sandor are based on the novel characters Sol Horror and Sluggsy Morant, respectively. Horror is described as having steel-capped teeth, while Sluggsy had a clear bald head.

text: Since Ian Fleming permitted Eon to use only the name of his novel and not the actual novel, Fleming's name was moved for the first time from above the film's title to above "James Bond 007". His name reverted to the traditional location for Moonraker, the last Eon Bond film based on a Fleming novel before 2006's Casino Royale. However, the credit style first used in The Spy Who Loved Me has been used on all Eon Bond films since For Your Eyes Only, including Casino Royale.

text: Script[edit]

text: Broccoli commissioned a number of writers to work on the script, including Stirling Silliphant, John Landis, Ronald Hardy, Anthony Burgess, and Derek Marlowe. In the second volume of his autobiography, Burgess claims to have worked on an early treatment for the movie. The British television producer Gerry Anderson also stated that he provided a film treatment (although originally planned to be Moonraker) much similar to what ended up as The Spy Who Loved Me.[6]

text: Eventually, Richard Maibaum provided the screenplay, and at first he tried to incorporate ideas from all of the other writers into his script. Maibaum's original script featured an alliance of international terrorists attacking SPECTRE's headquarters and deposing Blofeld, before trying to destroy the world for themselves to make way for a New World Order. However, this was shelved.

text: After Gilbert was reinstated as director, he decided to bring in another writer, Christopher Wood. Gilbert also decided to fix what he felt the previous Roger Moore films were doing wrong, which was writing the Bond character too much the way Sean Connery played him, and instead portray Bond closer to the books — "very English, very smooth, good sense of humour". Broccoli asked Wood to create a villain with metal teeth, Jaws, inspired by a brace-wearing henchman named Horror in Fleming's novel.[1]

text: Broccoli agreed to Wood's proposed changes, but before he could set to work there were more legal complications. In the years since Thunderball, Kevin McClory had set up two film companies and was trying to make a new Bond film in collaboration with Sean Connery and novelist Len Deighton. McClory got wind of Broccoli's plans to use SPECTRE, an organisation that had first been created by Fleming while working with McClory and Jack Whittingham on the very first attempt to film Thunderball, back even before it was a novel, in the late 1950s. McClory threatened to sue Broccoli for alleged copyright infringement, claiming that he had the sole right to include SPECTRE and its agents in all films. Not wishing to extend the already ongoing legal dispute that could have delayed the production of The Spy Who Loved Me, Broccoli requested Wood remove all references to Blofeld and SPECTRE from the script.[7]

text: In the film, Stromberg's scheme to destroy civilisation by capturing Soviet and British nuclear submarines and have them fire intercontinental ballistic missiles at two major cities is actually a recycled plot from Gilbert's previous Bond film, You Only Live Twice, which involved stealing space capsules to start a war between the Soviets and the Americans. The similarity was apparent in the climax; both films involved an assault on a heavily fortified enemy that had taken refuge behind steel shutters.

text: The scheme in which the villain wishes to destroy mankind to create a new race or new civilisation was also used in Moonraker, the next film after The Spy Who Loved Me. In Moonraker, the villain Hugo Drax had an obsession with starting human civilisation over again on Earth, using specially chosen "superior human specimens" based in space. The film Moonraker was also written by Christopher Wood.

text: Tom Mankiewicz, who worked on the three preceding Bond films, claims he was called in to do an extensive rewrite of the script. Mankiewicz says he did not receive credit, because Broccoli was limited to the number of non-British in key positions he could employ on the films to obtain Eady Levy assistance.[8]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Tom Mankiewicz claims that Catherine Deneuve wanted to play the female lead and was willing to cut her normal rate from $400,000 per picture to $250,000, but Broccoli would not pay above $80,000.[8]

text: The film was shot at the Pinewood Studios in London, Porto Cervo in Sardinia (Hotel Cala di Volpe), Egypt (Karnak, Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Gayer-Anderson Museum, Abu Simbel temples), Malta, Scotland, Hayling Island UK, Okinawa, Switzerland and Mount Asgard on Baffin Island in the then northern Canadian territory of Northwest Territories (now located in Nunavut).[9]

text: As no studio was big enough for the interior of Stromberg's supertanker, and set designer Ken Adam did not want to repeat what he had done with SPECTRE's volcano base in You Only Live Twice — "a workable but ultimately wasteful set" — construction began in March 1976 of a new sound stage at Pinewood, the 007 Stage, at a cost of $1.8 million.[10] To complement this stage, Eon also paid for building a water tank capable of storing approximately 1,200,000 gallons (5,500,000 litres). The soundstage was so huge that cinematographer Claude Renoir found himself unable to effectively light it due to his deteriorating eyesight, and so Stanley Kubrick visited the production, in secret, to advise on how to light the stage.[11] For the exterior, while Shell was willing to lend an abandoned tanker to the production, the elevated insurance and safety risks caused it to be replaced with miniatures built by Derek Meddings' team and shot in the Bahamas.[1] Stromberg's shark tank was also filmed in the Bahamas, using a live shark in a saltwater swimming pool.[11] Adam decided to do experiments with curved shapes for the scenery, as he felt all his previous setpieces were "too linear". This was demonstrated with the Atlantis, which is a dome and curved surfaces outside, and many curved objects in Stromberg's office inside.[1] For Gogol's offices, Adam wanted an open space to contrast M's enclosed headquarters, and drew inspiration from Sergei Eisenstein to do a "Russian crypt-like" set.[12]

text: The main unit began its work in August 1976 in Sardinia. Don McLaughlan, then head of public relations at Lotus Cars, heard that Eon were shopping for a new Bond car. He drove a prototype Lotus Esprit with all Lotus branding taped over, and parked it outside the Eon offices at Pinewood studios; on seeing the car Eon asked Lotus to borrow both of the prototypes for filming. Initial filming of the car chase sequence resulted in disappointing action sequences. While moving the car between shoots, Lotus test driver Roger Becker impressed with his handling of the car and for the rest of filming on Sardinia, Becker became the stunt driver.[1][13]

text: The motorcycle sidecar missile used in one chase sequence was built by film staff at Pinewood and used a standard Kawasaki Z900 and a custom made sidecar outfit. The sidecar was made large enough so that a stuntman could lie flat inside. It had two 10 inch scooter wheels on each side, a Suzuki 185 engine and the detached projectile was steered through a small solid rubber wheel at the front. A heavily smoked perspex nose allowed the stuntman sufficient visibility to steer the device whilst being entirely hidden from view. A pincer type lock held the sidecar in place until operated by the pilot via a solenoid switch. The sequences involving the outfit were speeded up as the weight of the sidecar made the outfit very difficult to control.[14]

text: In October, the second unit travelled to Nassau to film the underwater sequences. To perform the car becoming a submarine, seven different models were used, one for each step of the transformation. One of the models was a fully mobile submarine equipped with an engine built by Miami-based Perry Submarines. The car seen entering the sea was a mock-up shell, propelled off the jetty by a compressed air cannon. During the model sequences, the air bubbles seen appearing from the vehicle were created by Alka-Seltzer tablets.[1]

text: In September, production moved to Egypt. While the Great Sphinx of Giza was shot on the location, lighting problems caused the pyramids to be replaced with miniatures.[1] While construction of the Liparus set continued, the second unit headed by John Glen departed for Mount Asgard, where in July 1976 they staged the film's pre-credits sequence. Bond film veteran Willy Bogner captured the action, staged by stuntman Rick Sylvester, who earned $30,000 for the stunt.[15] This stunt cost $500,000 – the most expensive single movie stunt at that time. Additional scenes for the pre-credits sequence were filmed in the Bernina Range in the Swiss alps.[16]

text: The production team returned briefly to the UK to shoot at the Faslane submarine base before setting off to Spain, Portugal and the Bay of Biscay where the supertanker exteriors were filmed. On 5 December 1976, with principal photography finished, the 007 Stage was formally opened by former Prime Minister Harold Wilson.[17]

text: Music[edit]

text: The theme song "Nobody Does It Better" was composed by Marvin Hamlisch, written by Carole Bayer Sager, and performed by Carly Simon. It was the first theme song in the series to be titled differently from the name of the film,[18] although the title is in the lyrics. It was nominated for Best Song but lost to "You Light Up My Life".

text: The song met immediate success and is featured in numerous films, including Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Little Black Book, Lost in Translation, and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004). In 2004, it was honoured by the American Film Institute as the 67th greatest song as part of their 100 Years Series.

text: The soundtrack to the film was composed by Marvin Hamlisch, who filled in for veteran John Barry, who was unavailable to work in the United Kingdom because of tax reasons.[19] The soundtrack, in comparison to other Bond films of the time, is more disco-oriented and included a new disco rendition of "The James Bond Theme" titled "Bond 77"; several pieces of classical music were also included in the score. For instance, while feeding a duplicitous secretary to a shark, Stromberg plays Bach's "Air on the G String", which was famous for accompanying disappointed characters in Hamlet cigar commercials. He then plays the opening string section of the second movement, Andante, of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 as his hideout Atlantis rises from the sea. The score also includes two pieces of popular film music scored by Maurice Jarre. The Doctor Zhivago theme, which is played on Anya's music box during the pre-credit sequence, and the theme from Lawrence of Arabia, which appears as background music during a desert sequence.

text: Release and reception[edit]

text: The Spy Who Loved Me opened with a Royal Premiere attended by Princess Anne at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on 7 July 1977. It grossed $185.4 million worldwide,[20] with $46 million in the United States alone.[21] On 25 August 2006, the film was re-released at the Empire Leicester Square Cinema for one week.[22] It was again shown at the Empire Leicester Square 20 April 2008 when Director Lewis Gilbert attended the first digital screening of the film.

text: Eon executive Charles Juroe said that at a screening attended by Charles, Prince of Wales, during the Union Jack-parachute scene "I have never seen a reaction in the cinema as there was that night. You couldn't help it. You could not help but stand up. Even Prince Charles stood up."[23] It was Roger Moore's favourite Bond film,[1] and many reviewers consider it the best installment to star the actor.[24][25][26] Christopher Null praised the gadgets, particularly the Lotus Esprit car.[27] James Berardinelli of Reelviews said that the film is "suave and sophisticated", and Barbara Bach proves to be an ideal Bond girl – "attractive, smart, sexy, and dangerous".[25] Brian Webster stated the special effects were "good for a 1979 [sic] film", and Marvin Hamlisch's music, "memorable".[28] Danny Peary described The Spy Who Loved Me as "exceptional ... For once, the big budget was not wasted. Interestingly, while the sets and gimmicks were the most spectacular to date, Bond and the other characters are toned down (there's a minimum of slapstick humour) so that they are more realistic than in other Roger Moore films. Moore gives his best performance in the series ... [Bond and Anya Amasova] are an appealing couple, equal in every way. Film is a real treat – a well acted, smartly cast, sexy, visually impressive, lavishly produced, powerfully directed mix of a spy romance and a war-mission film."[29] Janet Maslin of The New York Times considered the film formulaic and "half an hour too long, thanks to the obligatory shoot-'em-up conclusion, ... nevertheless the dullest sequence here" but praised Moore's performance and the film's "share of self-mockery", which she found refreshing.[30]

text: The Times placed Jaws and Stromberg as the sixth and seventh best Bond villains (respectively) in the series in 2008,[31] and also named the Esprit as the second best car in the series (behind the Aston Martin DB5).[32]

text: Marvin Hamlisch was nominated for several awards such as the Academy Award for Best Song, Original Music Score, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, Grammy Award for Best Score for a Motion Picture and the BAFTA Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music ("Nobody Does It Better") in 1978. The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction (Ken Adam, Peter Lamont and Hugh Scaife)[33] and a BAFTA for Best Production Design/Art Direction

text: The end credits state "James Bond Will Return in For Your Eyes Only", but following the success of Star Wars, the originally planned For Your Eyes Only was dropped in favour of the space-themed Moonraker for the next film. Most critics received the film positively: Rotten Tomatoes sampled 47 reviewers and judged 79% of the reviews to be positive.[34]

text: Novelization[edit]

text: When Ian Fleming sold the film rights to the James Bond novels to Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, he gave permission only for the title The Spy Who Loved Me to be used. Since the screenplay for the film had nothing to do with Fleming's original novel, Eon Productions, for the first time, authorised a novelisation based upon the script. This would also be the first regular Bond novel published since Colonel Sun nearly a decade earlier. Christopher Wood, who co-authored the screenplay, was commissioned to write the book titled James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me.

text: The novelisation and the screenplay, although both written by Wood, are somewhat different. In the novelisation, SMERSH is still active and after James Bond. Their role begins during the pre-title. After the mysterious death of Fekkish, SMERSH appears yet again, this time capturing and torturing Bond for the whereabouts of the microfilm that retains plans for a submarine tracking system (Bond escapes after killing two of the interrogators). The appearance of SMERSH conflicts with a number of Bond stories, including the film The Living Daylights (1987), in which a character remarks that SMERSH has been defunct for over 20 years. It also differs from the latter half of Fleming's Bond novels in which SMERSH is said to have been put out of operation. Members of SMERSH from the novelisation include Amasova and her lover Sergei Borzov as well as Colonel-General Niktin, a character from Fleming's novel From Russia, with Love who has since become the head of SMERSH. In the book, Jaws remains attached to the magnet that Bond dips into the tank, as opposed to the film where Bond releases Jaws into the water.[35]

text: Sale of props[edit]

text: The Lotus Esprit, also known as Wet Nellie, capable of transforming from car to submarine in the film, was purchased for £616,000 at a London auction in October 2013 by Elon Musk, who plans to rebuild the vehicle and attempt to make the fictional dual-purpose car be an actual dual-purpose car (underwater and on land).[36]