History Film / Braveheart

[[caption-width-right:300:''[[TagLine Every man dies, but not every man really lives...]]'']]

* SympatheticAdulterer: The film portrays William Wallace having an affair with Princess Isabelle of France, wife of the heir apparent Edward II.[[note]]Impossible in real life, where Isabelle was still a child when Wallace died.[[/note]] Wallace is a CrusadingWidower whose wife was murdered by an English lord. It's portrayed sympathetically in a twofold manner for Isabelle, first because she's in a loveless ArrangedMarriage with her husband, strongly implied to be homosexual. She also uses the fact that it was Wallace, not her husband, who impregnated her with the future King of England to taunt the evil Edward Longshanks, who arranged her marriage to his son in the first place.

* CatapultNightmare: Mornay has a nightmare about Wallace haunting him, which makes him wake up in this fashion. Cue OrWasItADream.

* OrWasItADream: [[FaceHeelTurn After he betrays William Wallace at Falkirk]], the Scottish Noble Mornay has a nightmare in which Wallace is riding towards him, fire blazing all around and the most terrifying DeathGlare ever. He [[CatapultNightmare wakes up]], relieved that it was just a dream, but moments later Wallace actually rides into his bedroom and gives Mornay [[EpicFlail a face full of flail]].

* DramaticLandfallShot: The opening sequence starts with a camera flight over coastal water after which the rough Scottish mountain landscape comes into view.

* IncurableCoughOfDeath: King Edward the Longshanks, though in reality he lived two years beyond Wallace's death.

** We do not see the moment when Wallace's head is cut off. The ax moves in slow motion, and we know that he's dead when his hand opens.

* GratuitousForeignLanguage: "ALBA GU BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATH!" sort of counts. That is Scottish Gaelic, but the film is in English.

[[caption-width-right:300:''[[TagLine Every man dies,but not every man really lives...]]'']]

* CostumeDrama: The film was Oscar-nominated for Best Costume Design but lost out to ''Film/{{Restoration}}''.

[[caption-width-right:300: '''FREEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOOM!!!''']]

** After Longshanks's KickTheDog moment against his son's best friend and possible lover, Edward II finally snaps and tries to kill the old man in {{Revenge}}. Sadly subverted, though; Longshanks easily defends himself, then simply abuses his son even more.

** [[spoiler:Longshanks, wanting to at least spend his own deathbed enjoying Wallace's torture-execution, instead dies immediately before him via painful and scary HeartTrauma caused by his final yell of, "FREEDOM!"]]

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant It should not be confused]] with real history or the [[UsefulNotes/IOSGames iPhone game]] or the leonine leader of the [[Franchise/CareBears Care Bear Cousins]]. Or a song from a certain [[Anime/DigimonAdventure anime]]...

* ISurrenderSuckers: How William Wallace starts his RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne: When Princess Isabella's adviser says, in Latin, about Wallace "He's a bloody, murdering savage. And he's telling lies," Wallace immediately replies in Latin "I never lie. But I am a savage."

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Scots understandably take a dim view of Edward I, as do the Welsh with equally good reason, but the English quite correctly regard him as one of their best kings. He was also an excellent husband and father. Whether or not he knew of Edward II's proclivities, he certainly didn't kill any of his male lovers.

* MultiMeleeMaster: In addition to his iconic [[CoolSword claymore]], William Wallace is seen to be proficient with a huge mallet, a [[EpicFlail flail]] (both ball-and-chain and hinged stick variants), a [[KnifeNut dagger]], a [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice pike]], a [[ImprovisedWeapon deer's antler]], a [[DropTheHammer warhammer]], an [[AnAxeToGrind ax]], and rocks of various shapes and sizes.

The cast also includes Creator/PatrickMcGoohan as Edward I "Longshanks", King of England, Peter Hanly as a young Edward II, Creator/SophieMarceau as Princess Isabella of France, and Angus Macfadyen as Robert the Bruce (later King of Scotland). The film won five awards at the 1995 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

* BuryYourGays: The prince's male lover being murdered by King Edward by throwing said lover out a tall window right in front of the prince. In real life, Gaveston was Prince Edward's favorite, but it's not known with certainty that they were lovers. Gaveston was eventually captured and executed, but [[FictionalizedDeathAccount not the same way]], and it had more to do with Edward's favoritism than explicitly with homosexuality. Also, far from dying in Edward I's reign, Gaveston was Edward II's favourite during the latter's reign, so it's unlikely the makers of the film intended Philip to be Gaveston. They more likely assumed Edward would have had other male lovers in his youth.

* BuryYourGays: The prince's male lover being murdered by King Edward by throwing said lover out a tall window right in front of the prince. In real life, Gaveston was Prince Edward's favorite, but it's not known with certainty that they were lovers. Gaveston was eventually captured and executed, but [[FictionalizedDeathAccount not the same way]], and it had more to do with Edward's favoritism than explicitly with homosexuality. Also, Gaveston was Edward II's favourite during his reign, so it's unlikely the makers of the film intended Philip to be Gaveston. They more likely assumed Edward would have had other male lovers in his youth.

* FamousLastWords: FREEDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!

* AnnoyingArrows: ZigZagged. During Wallace's assault on the magistrate who murdered Murron, Campbell the Elder gets hit by an arrow, making Hamish stop to try taking it out, [[RealityEnsues until his father hits him for his foolishness]]. It gets cauterized afterwards. Later, during the Battle of Falkirk, as the English gain the upper hand with their volleys of arrows, Wallace is struck by one, making him stop, but is well enough to pursue Longshanks' knight, [[spoiler:Robert the Bruce]].

** Edward I and the members of his court spoke French, not English; this could be written off as part of the TranslationConvention, except that the Queen and her lady are shown speaking French.

* GratuitousForeignLanguage: "ALBA GU BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATH!" sort of counts. That is the old Scottish language, but the film is in English.

* BuryYourGays: The prince's male lover being murdered by King Edward by throwing said lover out a tall window right in front of the prince. In real life, Gaveston was Prince Edward's favorite, but it's not known with certainty that they were lovers. Gaveston was eventually captured and executed, but [[FictionalizedDeathAccount not the same way]], and it had more to do with Edward's favoritism than explicitly with homosexuality. Also, Gaveston was Edward II's favourite during his reign, so it's unlikely the makers of the film intended Philip to be Gaveston. They more likely assumed Edward would have had other male lovers before.

* BuryYourGays: The prince's male lover being murdered by King Edward by throwing said lover out a tall window right in front of the prince. In real life, Gaveston was Prince Edward's favorite, but it's not known with certainty that they were lovers. Gaveston was eventually captured and executed, but [[FictionalizedDeathAccount not the same way]], and it had more to do with Edward's favoritism than explicitly with homosexuality.

* AnachronismStew: The film depicts the Medieval Scots as wearing both blue woad [[ThisMeansWarpaint face paint]] (which was a practice of the ancient Britons that pop culture transplants to the Picts, who lived in Scotland before the Scots, and is seen in general use no later than the Roman occupation) and kilts (which [[NewerThanTheyThink didn't come into fashion in Scotland until the 16th century]]).

* OneMarioLimit: Wallace's wife was really named Marian, but it got changed to Murron to avoid confusion/comparison with RobinHood's love interest Maid Marian.

The cast also includes Patrick [=McGoohan=] as Edward I "Longshanks", King of England, Peter Hanly as a young Edward II, Creator/SophieMarceau as Princess Isabella of France, and Angus Macfadyen as Robert the Bruce (later King of Scotland). The film won five awards at the 1995 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.