Hey Andrea,
I'll throw out my opinion on some of your questions. First of all, Rodat himself seems to have mentioned several times that the story is about the family set in the war. Yes, the war was integral to the story, but it was about a family, basically dealing with our version of Vietnam. The South was more like a Civil War with families fighting on different sides. Emmerich actually toned down the violence that was in early drafts of the script, making the main character more simpathetic.

If looked at as a revenge story, then its similar to Gladiator, only Gladiator was set in Ancient Rome.

As far as a different director... anyone not tied to Godzilla, which was a flop would have probably been better received if they had done the same exact movie, because of Emmerich's reputation. Other than perhaps choosing a different lead, which would have prevented the comparisons to Braveheart. I really can't (and probably don't want to) imagine this movie being done by anyone
else, Steven Speilberg included.

Basically, I think this movie wasn't treated fairly. It was all too quickly labeled as being from the "Godzilla" guys and a remake of Braveheart.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Scott

Follow Ups:

• Re: Directing The Patriot Andrea 08:12:42 12/25/00 (0)