Overview: The Last Days of Patton tells the story of these last few months of the General’s life and the Army Medical Corp’s efforts to save him.

Intermixed with flashbacks, the film also shows Patton’s earlier career as a fledging tank commander during the First World War.

DVD Verdict: Much like Exorcist III, a great movie that was largely shunned by original Exorcist fans because it wasn’t spooky enough, The Last Days of Patton is another piece of powerful cinema which was shunned by many Patton fans because it didn’t have enough action.

The point in both of these sequels was not to continue/rehash the heart-pounding spectacle of the first, but rather to present a quiet, heavy, introspective, script driven drama. Who else but the great George C Scott can pull this off?

The Last Days of Patton begins on June 7th, 1945 when a victorious Patton returned to Bedford, MA to throngs of fans and reporters, and it takes us through the last 6 months of Patton’s life which ended in December that same year.

There’s no combat, no gunfire, no war other than a frustrated General Patton attempting to take charge and rebuild a war-ravaged Bavaria, much to the opposition of Eisenhower’s political interests. This is a quiet drama that focuses on the private hell of a soldier without a war.

George C. Scott and an excellent script full of literary quotations make this an intellectual film, and I’d be lying if I said I recognized all the references.

In fact, I found myself pausing the movie so I could google things like who said Up he rose, and forth they went / Away from battleground, fortress, tent / Mountain, wilderness, field and farm / Death and the General, arm-in-arm (I will save you the trouble as it’s Arthur Guiterman).

The character also quotes Kipling, Foutenelle, Napoleon and others, with each quote holding deep significance and insight into the mind of the General.

One of the most memorable lines, spoken as only Scott could with a mix of bitter irony and light hearted humor was: I do not suffer, my friends, but I feel a certain difficulty in existence.

Supporting actors and actresses were fantastic with a standing ovation for Murray Hamilton (Patton’s friend General Hap Gay) who himself was dying of cancer during filming and passed away the month it was released, Sep 1986.

Knowing this, you might be particularly affected by a scene where Hap laments the impending death of his friend Patton, a quiet but powerful monologue where he talks about the tragedy of a great life ending in such a common way.

The only so-called problem with this film, through no fault of its own, was it’s severe need for a restoration for the only available copies previously seem to be on DVD transferred from VHS in 4:3 made-for-TV screen size.

Well, all that has now been attended to here on this magnificently remastered DVD edition from Film Rise, my friends, trust me.

So much so that in the first half there are stunning scenes of the European natural landscape, as well as convincing recreations of war-torn Bavaria with wrecked streets and castles that just pop now!

In closing, this is an obscure film that has been sought after by fans of Patton and Scott alike for many years in all its forms, but here now in this remastered version, it is truly as good as it gets. So grab it while you can! This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs that comes with the Special Features of:

Interactive Menus
Original Graphics
Film Information
Chapters
Biography
Facts & Trivia
Special Collector’s Photo Gallery

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