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==Introduction==

"Patton" is a biopic of one of America’s greatest generals in World War II. The motion picture portrays the role of General George S. Patton, the most famous Allies tank commander of WW II. It concentrates on Patton’s career from 1942 to 1945. The movie begins with Patton's career during the North Africa campaign and his battle with Rommel, the Desert Fox. It then follows his part in the invasion of Sicily, his disgrace for striking a soldier and his role in the liberation of Europe after the D-Day landings and his role in the fall of the Third Reich. The feature also briefly deals with his role in post-war Germany and his death in an accidental car crash in the winter of 1945. The movie shows the strengths and weakness of this most difficult and brilliant man. The movie Patton was released in 1970 and it was a great success and one of the cinematic hits of that year. Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, the movie was scripted by Francis Ford Coppola of Godfather fame and Edward Hill <ref>Cousins, Mark. The Story of Film: A Worldwide History (New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2006), p. 213</ref>. The film was produced by Twentieth Century Fox. The role of Patton was played by the American character actor George C Scott. The movie was enthusiastically received by both the public and the critics and won several Academy Awards. This article will discuss how accurate was the movie and did it reflect the reality of Patton’s role in the defeat of Nazi Germany.

==Patton and the opening Speech==

The movie has one of the most memorable opening scenes in Hollywood history. George C Scott emerges as Patton and gives a remarkable speech in front of a huge banner of the Stars and Stripes. The opening scene was written by Francis Ford Coppola and was not intended to be in the final cut of the movie but the director had second thoughts and luckily left it in. The speech of Patton was a unique blend of patriotism, nobility and crudities. However, Patton never gave such a speech. Yet it would be wrong to state that the speech was just a fabrication. Coppola cleverly took quotes from Patton’s speeches and interviews with reports and combined them in a brilliant way<ref>Cousins, p. 214</ref>. The words in the speech are Patton’s apart from some lines used by the screenwriter to integrate the quotes into a coherent speech. The result was one of the most outstanding introductions in movie history but strictly speaking the American general never gave such a speech.