Saving Private Ryan is arguably the greatest war film ever made, but viewers have discovered another movie that competes with the Steven Spielberg masterpiece. Patton was released in 1970 and follows the story of the war general George S. Patton, who led American soldiers to victory in a number of battles in World War II.
The film documents Patton and his men during different points of the war, fighting in North Africa, securing a vital victory at El Guettar in Tunisia, turning their attention to Sicily to secure an allied foothold in southern Europe and preparing for D-Day.
The epic biographical film documents Patton’s balance of leadership with his tough behaviour towards soldiers, of which he was heavily criticised as his way of doing things went against authority and the conventional ideas of war.
George C. Scott stepped into the shoes of Patton, perfectly exemplifying his grit and passion for America. The cast also features Karl Malden, James Edwards, Carey Loftin and Bill Hickman.
The synopsis reads: “After a US defeat in 1943 at the Battle of Kasserine Pass, George Patton, a mercurial man, commands the II Corps in North Africa. As he excels militarily, he also proves to be a loose cannon.”
The Franklin J. Schaffner directed film stormed to victory at the 1971 Academy Awards, claiming seven Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actor for Scott.
Patton boasts a score of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and has Amazon Prime viewers branding it as good as iconic war films such as Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List.
“Patton, best war film ever,” declared one viewer on X as a second agreed: “A very close thing but for me the best war film was Patton with George C Scott.”
Praising the film, another wrote: “Patton is about as accurate a war film as you can get, and one of the best portrayals of a real life figure I’ve seen. Definitely deserved it’s 7 Oscars and probably should’ve won more.”
A fourth added: “Just got done watching the classic WW2 film ‘Patton’, my final verdict… S Tier, an absolutely STUPENDOUS War film, a masterpiece on par with the likes of masterpieces like ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and ‘Schindler’s List’.”
Another posted: “Every war is different, and war movies serve different ends. Patton is the best biographical war film. Dunkirk is the best depiction of an historical battle. 1917 is the best at showing the pointless horror of trench war.”
Someone else echoed: “Patton, one of the best war films ever made!!”