I don’t know about you, but for me, the Fourth of July goes with war movies — you know, like Al Gore and happy endings.
Maybe it’s the “bombs bursting” in the Star Spangled Banner, or the evening fireworks, or simply that the smell of barbeque in the afternoon reminds me of napalm (actually, it’s either victory, or lighter fluid).
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So when the wiener hits the grill, I’m hankering for some Heartbreak Ridge. I’m weak-kneed for a little Where Eagles Dare. I’m jonesing for a piece o’ that… Johnny Tremain. (You try and find a good war movie that starts with a “J.”)
Most of all, I pine for Patton. Few celluloid moments can top that iconic opening scene for patriotic bliss. First off, you’ve got that humongous American flag backdrop. And you’ve got the general himself in full fruit-salad regalia, delivering the greatest pep talk since Henry V‘s St. Crispin’s Day speech.
The script, co-written by Francis Ford Coppola, is endlessly quotable. “No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.” “Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!”
And a personal favorite, which Patton cribbed from the French Revolution: “L’audace, l’audace, toujours l’audace!” Try saying that next time the wife nags you to get off the couch.
The movie is thick with ironies, not the least of which is that it was intended as an anti-war film. Patton (the movie and the man) is a true American original, a human Rorschach test.
Liberals see in him a dangerous blow-hard who should be locked up; everybody else just wishes he were alive today and commanding in Afghanistan. (And then on to Russia!)
Chinese premier Zhou Enlai studied Patton to learn about America’s character before his historic meeting with Richard Nixon. I like to think that when the commie bastard realized what he was up against, he crapped his Mao suit.
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