For over 800 years, the story of William Wallace has inspired freedom fighters all over the world. Though the man's life is shrouded in legend and lore, he continues to inspire each generation of people who long for a release from the tyranny of oppression from imperialist rulers. His story was further immortalized in the 1995 epic Hollywood blockbuster, Braveheart, starring and directed by Mel Gibson in what many consider to be his all-time greatest work of art.
Braveheart was written by Randall Wallace, a television veteran tackling his first feature film. In the years since his work on Braveheart, Wallace established himself as a prominent writer/director in Hollywood, having worked on such films as The Man in the Iron Mask, Secretariat, and Heaven is for Real. In addition, he and Gibson reteamed on We Were Soldiers and the upcoming biblical sequel, The Resurrection of Christ.
In celebration of the 25th anniversary steelbook 4K Blu-ray of Braveheart, Randall Wallace spoke to Screen Rant about his work on the film, from writing William Wallace as a paragon of righteous masculinity to convincing Mel Gibson that he was the only actor with the quiet strength and sensitive vulnerability to bring such a tricky character to life. He discusses the film's enduring popularity among men and women who identify with Wallace's struggle and love for his wife, and muses about the possibility of a Director's Cut version of the movie.
The Braveheart 25th anniversary SteelBook 4K Blu-ray is out now.
Braveheart. I mean, c'mon. I'm 29, so I didn't catch it on DVD until I was around ten years old or so. And as I grew up and kept it, I understood more and more as I learned more about the world. But back in 1995, when the movie came out, those types of big historical epics, practically biblical in scale, had kind of fallen out of favor. I guess The Greatest Story Ever Told was like, the last of those. But then you come along, having never made a movie before... How do you pitch that? Do you say, "This movie is going to be rated R, and it's going to cost a ton of money. Any takers?"
That's a great question. The bizarre thing about this is that it was, of course, my first feature ever to be made. I had written it with the idea that I wasn't trying to write something commercial. I certainly wanted to connect with an audience; I think, if whoever you're speaking with is not hearing you, it's your responsibility to respond in some way. We want to connect... But I didn't want to let what Hollywood was saying it wanted to buy influence what I wanted to write. I wanted to write a story that gave me goosebumps. I wanted it to be what moved me. And I had the opportunity to speak with Rebecca Pollack, who is now Rebecca Pollack-Parker. She's Sydney Pollack's daughter, and she's every bit his daughter. He had made some of my favorite movies of all time, and mentored me some as I became a director. But I went in and told Becky. She had an interest in history, and I told her the story, and she had a reverence about it and said, "My God, go write that!" It surprised me. That little bit of encouragement sent me off.
Sometimes just a little nudge is all we need, right?
I never imagined it would become what it became. I only wanted it to be for me. Of course, I aspired to be a successful filmmaker, but I didn't imagine that 25 years later, I would be talking to a 29 year old man who would say, "When I was ten years old, I saw this, and I knew then, it was true, it was special, it related to life." You know, what Hollywood tries to do goes and comes and goes again. I think movies about super heroes and magic powers have their fashion. But they don't speak to me the way a story does that says, life can be unfair, it can be brutal, it can crush you, but you have a response that you can make, and you can win a victory. Something I said to Mel, in our first personal meeting together, was, "Every movie has a message. The message in most movies is, the guy with the biggest biceps or the bluest eyes or the cutest dimples is the guy who gets the girl. But this movie says, if you're faithful to your heart, even if they cut it out of you, you'll prevail." That was the kind of movie I wanted to make, and I could see that for him. And from that moment, we were on the run.
That's incredible. I've always felt, and now I wonder if Braveheart didn't plant those seeds in my soul, even a losing fight needs to be fought, so that in the future, people will know that people fought against injustice.
You know, it's great that you say that. I can barely remember names, but I can remember movies that I saw when I was eight years old. There are moments in some great movies, like that recent one about Churchill, where he says, "Nations that go down fighting return." They come back. The ones that surrender, they vanish. Others, like in the story of the Spartans at Thermopylae, "This is the death I would have chosen." Like, I'm not going to live forever. That's where the whole, "Every man dies, not every man really lives" moment came from for me. What if William Wallace said, "Okay. I'll take this strategy, maybe I can compromise, maybe I can stay alive, and say the right thing, and then I can come back later and maybe assassinate the king and renew this rebellion." But now, he would be dead anyway. You know you're gonna die, so what are you going to die for? What makes your life worth living? That's what serves my blood, and that's what motivates me.
Speaking of Mel, the two of you have become something of an iconic pairing. I was too young to have seen Braveheart in theaters, but I still remember seeing We Were Soldiers in the movies with my dad. I was 11 when that came out. Maybe I was a bit young, but whatever. You know, I didn't come up with the whole, "You can't watch this because it's R." There was an understanding that even if you're a little traumatized, you'll be fine eventually.
Right! That's right, actually!
Kids aren't as fragile as we think they are.
That's exactly right. You've got a great dad. You've got a dad who knew that. Kids aren't that fragile, and they recognize truth when they see it. Now, I have three sons, and I didn't want them to see Braveheart until I thought they were old enough to see it and understand it. I think young men recognize, this is the truth. And I think young women see that kind of man, and think, that's the kind of man I want to be with. One of the most moving moments of my life with regards to Braveheart was a few years ago. I did a screening of my print of the movie in Austin, Texas for a charity screening. It was the first time I'd seen the movie in theaters in over a decade. I was doing a Q&A with the audience afterwards, and the first person who stood up was in the front row. She stood up and said, "Mr. Wallace, I don't have a question, but I want to tell you something. I'm 19 years old," so she had not seen the movie in theaters, and she said, "My fiancee died six months ago, and he told me before he died, that he wanted me to watch Braveheart so I could understand the way he loved me." And that was one of the most moving things I ever heard about Braveheart. And I've heard some great endorsements from young men who've said, "I'll never forget it as long as I live." But that was the moment I will never forget. That a young woman would say, "That's the way I was loved, and that's the kind of man I want."
The power of art. I mean, if there's ever any doubt, there really shouldn't be. Okay, let's go back a bit. How did you get Mel on board? What was that first meeting like?
It was a long process. He was the only actor I believed could do it. The best actor and the only actor. He had a combination of a wild spirit and sensitivity. And, as wild as everyone knows Mel can be, he is deeply sensitive and vulnerable. He had directed Man Without a Face, he had acted in Hamlet... He had courage! He had the guts to take criticism and face disapproval. I thought he'd be a perfect William Wallace. From that first meeting, I saw on his face that he loved what the story was about. I knew we were together on it, but he wouldn't say "yes" for a long time. I couldn't understand what the delay was. I went to Scotland on my own, with my own money, and found some battle reenactors and locations and filmed those locations, took pictures to take back and show to him. Then it was at that meeting, just the two of us, he said, "I want to direct it, how would you feel about that?" And I realized, that's what his hesitation had been. He didn't want to just act, he wanted to direct. And I said, "I love that, I would support that completely!" But then we went through a period where he wanted to direct, but wanted someone else to star in it. We talked about some other actors, but to me, he was my William Wallace. He was the one I really wanted. It took over a year before he said, "Look, I want to do this, I'll do it, I'm ready to go." And that's when it all really started.
Mel's talked about a Director's Cut version of the film, that could be 4 hours long. Do you know anything about that, or is that all up to him?
There are many factors of why we might do that. The ball is certainly in his court. There's a lot of interesting material. The first assemblage of the movie was nearly 4 hours long. There were a lot of battle scenes shot, and there are other scenes in the movie that didn't make the final cut. I think people who love Braveheart would be fascinated to see them. I also believe the version that we have is the sweet spot of how the movie comes across. When you edit, you have to take out some things you love in the interest of flow. I've tended to make things tight and concise. I believe the less you say, the more people remember. But nobody seemed to feel the length of Braveheart, and it's nearly three hours. It's something that might happen. We discuss it, and I know Mel thinks about it. It could happen. We're in the middle of some other things, and we'll see how all that comes about.
Sure, I'm looking forward to that viking movie I was promised a few years ago, but that's a conversation for another day!
Absolutely, Zak, boy, I'd love to do that one, too!
The Braveheart 25th anniversary SteelBook 4K Blu-ray is out now.