Directed by Mel Gibson, Braveheart (released in 1995) is a war/drama about William Wallace, a Scottish patriot. When the war started between the Scottish and English people, Wallace immediately jumped into battle. When the love of his life was viciously murdered by the king, Wallace's resolve is bolstered. When he commands his army to capture King Edward I's throne he gets executed. William Wallace will be remembered as a symbol of freedom in Scotland despite the fact that Scotland gained its independence several decades after Wallace's death.
When it was released Braveheart received very positive reviews and was nominated for a plethora of Academy Awards, winning the awards for Best Picture, Best Director for Gibson, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Makeup. It was nominated for the following Academy Awards: Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score. Jay Carr of The Boston Globe, for example, loved the film, writing that "Braveheart is a big, strapping medieval sword-and-arrow movie with more fighting than romance, a surprising abundance of lush and sensuous imagery considering its brutal strife, and Gibson fiercely inciting it to stand up and march."
