As we come closer to July 4th, the day that many Americans still look to as the day when we staked our independence and shouted out as a nation that we were finally free, people do tend to have mixed emotions concerning what happened to actually bring us to this point. Movies about the Revolutionary War are considered to be, quite often, kind of lacking in details and more concerned with showing America in a good light than showing just how both sides were about as vicious as could be when it came down to just how horrific this war was. A few of them seem to get the right of it even if their facts are still lacking a bit, but one thing about this war is certain, it wasn’t the nicest of conflicts and it certainly didn’t bring out the best in humanity no matter that it helped to create a nation that is still standing today.
Here are a few of the best movies dealing with the Revolutionary War.
5. Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor
To have your name go down in history as Benedict Arnold did is something that no one ever wishes for, largely because if you’re compared to Judas Iscariot then you’ve done something horribly, horribly wrong. Arnold was at one time a rather successful officer and patriot, but after suffering more than one indignity to his person and his pride he seemed to forget that he was such a big influence on what would eventually become the United States of America. Instead of going down in history as a man that was actually praised by George Washington, which he was before he turned, he instead went down as the traitor that might have cost America West Point and gave up on the dream before it was fully formed.
4. April Morning
Many upon many young men, younger than any that are fighting today, attempted to test their mettle in this war, and many more were eager to follow their elder siblings, fathers, and other kin that were ready to take up arms. It goes without saying that many fathers attempted to stop their sons since they either knew the horrors of war and what it could do to a person, or they simply didn’t believe in the violent response to the invasion of the British. In any case it didn’t matter since many young men did manage to take up arms against those that sought to ruin and defile their home and subjugate them once again.
3. The Crossing
History is written by the victor after all, as it can be seen when the movie claims that none of Washington’s men were killed during this operation that saw a badly outnumbered bunch of troops take on a Hessian force that could have obliterated them. But as you might expect, being underhanded can be chalked up as being tactical as well since Washington decided to hit the Hessians when they were the most vulnerable, when they were hungover and in no shape to fight back. It might seem dishonorable to some and less than worthy of the victory that was had, but it was a victory all the same, and it was performed in a manner that was seen as both wise and crafty.
2. Drums Along the Mohawk
What people need to realize is that there was fighting on many fronts in this war and as a result a great many people suffered, not just the few pockets of individuals that we tend to see in more popular movies. The Revolutionary War was a bloody and insanely violent conflict that some might think was fought in a gentlemanly way, but despite what some might think no one was off limits when it came to the carnage. Native American tribes even took their place in the conflict at times, perhaps some of them thinking that they could intimidate settlers off the land and use the British to do it. Sadly, no one treated the tribes any better than the other for a number of reasons, as many false promises were given to secure the allegiance of many tribes.
1. The Patriot
This is definitely the most popular of the bunch but obviously not the most accurate since Mel Gibson tends to go for flash and pomp more than historical accuracy. But keep in mind he did know how to create a movie that people wanted to see and would be willing to sit down for. It also showed the savagery that a lot of history books won’t tell you about, but that likely existed back in that era. Think of it this way, the rules of war and the idea of being the last man standing didn’t always mesh, so doing whatever it took to be that last person and to insure that your ideals were the ones that survived allowed a lot of lines to be crossed.
It wasn’t a pretty war, but then again none of them ever are.
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