Patton – 1970
Well, here we are with yet another war film, and while it was a good one, the special effects are all completely old hat by now. Were they done well? Of course, yes. But have we seen them all before? Absolutely. When are we going to get to something more interesting than gunfire and exploding shells? Don’t get me wrong. I’m aware that there is a place for them, but year after year, we’re seeing the same old explosions, the same old fires. Come on, Academy. There is so much more out there!
Ok. I had to get that off my chest. So now I have to guess at why this movie was nominated for Best Special Effects. I say I have to guess because I can’t really figure it out. I really saw nothing special or innovative about the effects. The explosions were exciting and violent, just like they were supposed to be. There was absolutely nothing wrong with their execution. But nothing stood out as better than any other war film.
Was it matte paintings or green-screening? I don’t think so. Director Franklin J. Schaffner chose to do all the filming on location instead of in studios. There were stunts, of course, and I guess those could be considered special effects. For example, during one battle sequence, a tank was situated at the top of a dirt plateau. When a shell destroyed the wall of earth, the tank fell, rolling down to the lower level of ground, exploding, and catching fire at the same time. But I can’t imagine that was very difficult to accomplish.
There were a few scenes in which there were German fighter planes flying overhead and shooting at the soldiers on the ground. In fact, Patton, played by George C. Scott, stood his ground, shooting at the airplanes with a revolver, as bullets riddled the dirt between his feet. There were exploding buildings, exploding tanks, exploding jeeps, and exploding soldiers. There were even a few seconds of a man with a flame-thrower, setting a truck full of men on fire. There were also a few scenes which showed the aftermath of bloody battles with dead soldiers littering the smoking earth. Bloody corpses, sometimes with body parts either mangled or missing, littered the ground. But again, there was nothing special about any of it.
I even went out of my way to do some research on the internet, trying to find anything written about the film’s special effects, some reason for its nomination. But I found nothing. I have to conclude that it was just a big year for the film. In all, it received ten nominations, winning seven. I think that big budget juggernauts that receive that kind of attention are often nominated for more than they really deserve. Its too bad, because I’m sure that there were other films that deserved the Best Special Effects nomination more than this good movie with its average effects. Funny enough, the movie that won the award for the category was also a war film. But it was not long after this that the category seemed to peter out. During the 70s, there were years which had either one nomination, or none at all.