Braveheart

Braveheart is a 1995 historical drama epic film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence against King Edward I of England. The story is based on Blind Harry's epic poem The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace and was adapted for the screen by Randall Wallace.

The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards at the 68th Academy Awards and won five: Best Picture, Best Makeup, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, and Best Director.

Plot

In 1280, King Edward "Longshanks" (Patrick McGoohan) invades and conquers Scotland following the death of Alexander III of Scotland, who left no heir to the throne. Young William Wallace (James Robinson) witnesses Longshanks' treachery, survives the deaths of his father (Sean Lawlor) and brother (Sandy Nelson), and is taken abroad on a pilgrimage throughout Europe by his paternal Uncle Argyle (Brian Cox), where he is educated. Years later, Longshanks grants his noblemen land and privileges in Scotland, including Prima Nocte (or droit du seigneur, the right of the lord to have sex with female subjects on their wedding nights). Meanwhile, Wallace (Mel Gibson) returns to Scotland and is reunited with his childhood friend, Hamish Campbell (Brendan Gleeson). Wallace falls in love with his other childhood friend, Murron MacClannough (Catherine McCormack); they marry in secret so she will not have to spend the night with the local English lord. Wallace rescues Murron from being raped by English soldiers, but as she fights off their second attempt, Murron is captured and publicly executed by having her throat slit. In retribution, Wallace leads his clan to slaughter the English garrison in his hometown and send the occupying garrison at Lanark back to England.

William Wallace

Sir William Wallace (Gaelic: Uilleam Uallas; Norman French: William le Waleys; died 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence.

Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297. He was appointed Guardian of Scotland and served until his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in July 1298. In August 1305, Wallace was captured in Robroyston, near Glasgow, and handed over to King Edward I of England, who had him hanged, drawn, and quartered for high treason and crimes against English civilians.

Since his death, Wallace has obtained an iconic status far beyond his homeland. He is the protagonist of Blind Harry's 15th-century epic poem The Wallace and the subject of literary works by Sir Walter Scott and Jane Porter, and of the Academy Award-winning film Braveheart (1995).

Background

Neon Jungle

Neon Jungle were a British four-piece girl group consisting of Shereen Cutkelvin, Amira McCarthy, Jessica Plummer, and Asami Zdrenka. They were best known for their second single "Braveheart", which peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. Their 2014 debut and only album, Welcome to the Jungle, features "Braveheart" alongside fellow top 10 single "Welcome to the Jungle", as well as the top 20 entries "Trouble" and "Louder". The group separated in 2015.

History

The group were formed by music manager David Cooper of Eye of the Storm, who began a three-month process of auditions in November 2012. Amira McCarthy and Jessica Plummer were initially scouted separately while shopping in London, while Shereen Cutkelvin and Asami Zdrenka were found via their solo YouTube videos. Cutkelvin, McCarthy, Plummer, and Zdrenka were told in February 2013 that they had made the line-up, and the same week the group began recording material in the studio.RCA Records UK signed the group by June 2013 and showcased them at a press event, although they did not have a name at the time. They chose the name Neon Jungle, which was derived from their song "Welcome to the Jungle" and to reflect that the members were "all individual and quite different". According to Plummer, "it’s like neon is bold, bright, strong individual characters and then the jungle part is the madness".

Mel Gibson

Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson AO (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker (screenwriter, producer and director). He is most well known as an action hero, for roles such as Martin Riggs in the Lethal Weapon buddy cop film series and Max Rockatansky in the first three films in the Mad Max post-apocalyptic action series.

He was born in Peekskill, New York, and moved with his parents to Sydney when he was 12 years old. He studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art. During the 1980s, Gibson founded Icon Entertainment, a production company which independent film director Atom Egoyan has called, "an alternative to the studio system." Director Peter Weir cast Gibson as one of the leads in the critically acclaimed World War I drama Gallipoli (1981), which earned Gibson a Best Actor Award from the Australian Film Institute. The film also helped to earn Gibson the reputation of a serious, versatile actor.

In 1995, Gibson produced, directed, and starred in the epic historical drama film Braveheart, for which he won the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Director, along with the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2004, he directed and produced the financially successful, but controversial, biblical drama film The Passion of the Christ. Gibson received further critical notice for his directorial work of the 2006 action-adventure film Apocalypto, which is set in Mesoamerica during the early 16th century.

Blind Harry

Blind Harry (c. 1440 – 1492), also known as Harry, Hary or Henry the Minstrel, is renowned as the author of The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace, more commonly known as The Wallace. This was a lengthy poem recounting the life of William Wallace, the Scottish independence leader, written around 1477, 172 years after Wallace's death.

Biography

Little is known about Blind Harry's life. One source is the Lord High Treasurer's accounts of 1473–1492, which recorded payments to him for performances at the court of James IV. Blind Harry was given gifts of money by the King at New Year, as were other minor courtiers, but a payment on 2 January 1492 seems to relate to the singing of a ballad accompanied by two Gaelic harpers, "Ersche clareschaw", mentioned in adjacent entries. This is the last mention of Harry in the accounts.

He is mentioned by William Dunbar on line 69 of his Lament for the Makeris early in the 16th century. Historian John Major also wrote about Harry in 1518. These sources differed on whether or not he was blind from birth, but Harry almost certainly seems to have had a military background.