The Bruce [VHS] [1996]: Brian Blessed, Richard Brimblecombe, Conor Chamberlain, Steven Clark, Pavel Douglas, Ross Dunsmore, Vincent Faber, Heather Flannagan, Dee Hepburn, John Hoye, Michael Leighton, Hildegarde Neil, Bob Carruthers, David McWhinnie, Owen Parker: Amazon.co.uk: Video

I invested hard cash in this production and will therefore be biast in my opinion; so if I say this is the worst film you'll ever see, the worst scripted, cast (except for Oliver Reid), edited and most of all DIRECTED, you'll probably get my message! I am a Scot as well as a first class honours graduate in Film Production so maybe I know what I'm talking about. How I would love to meet the Producer/Director Bob Carruthers, of this appalling rubbish, the man who took my thousands of pounds, and managed to turn the greatest story in Scottish History into the most embarrassing production you could never imaging, so that I could tell him to move over and let someone who knows how to make a real film take over - and even give me my money back!

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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sadly, an embarrasingly bad film, 26 Oct 2004

By	E. Burt (Gainesville, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Bruce [DVD] [1996] (DVD)

Though there seems to be some interesting ideas in this film (beginning it in Egypt during the Crusades, for example), and though Brian Blessed and Reed turn in good performances, the film is utterly inept, an embarrasment to both men. The opening scene, for example, has only eight crusaders charging about ten saarcens. The actors tap each other's swords unconvincingly. The cinematography an dediting are awful. The camera is too far away from the fighting and has only limited movement. We don't know who the Crusaders are or why they are fighting this particular battle. The costumes, hopelessly fake stage blood, and terrible cinematography make the film look like a documentary of a present day re-enactments of various medieval battles. Even worse is the relentlessly bad soundtrack. The screenplay is minimalist (no explanation is given of events, and characters aren't developed. Unless you already know the history, you'll have no idea as to what is happening.) It is also frequently bad. Mel Gibson's hackneyed Braveheart, which this film imitates in parts (the Bruce gives a speech about freedom to his men before a battle), looks like a work of genius. The Bruce is worth seeing only if you want to see just how bad movie making can be. May Oliver Reed rest in peace.

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, 3 Jun 2004

By	M. Dench "setnakht" (UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Bruce [DVD] [1996] (DVD)

Okay, you watch Braveheart and you think to yourself, this just isn't how it was. Robert The Bruce was not indecisive, and certainly not ruled by his father. He may have changed sides, but this was political. Also, they didn't suddenly decide to round on the English at Bannockburn....So, this film seems like the perfect answer - wrong!

This is a poor film, with poor production values. It's made by Cromwell who produce so many battle documentaries, and to be fair, it comes across as part-documentary. Except that, like Braveheart, it's riddled with innacuracy. Take Elizabeth Bruce for example, she certainly wasn't a prisoner in Stirling Castle, and Bruce certainly didn't free her - she was part of a hostage deal after Bannockburn (she was being held in a public cage in England). And what about casting Gladiator Wolf as Henry de Bohun? Great move! And, as for de Bohun, what more dramatic entrance to Bannockburn could there be than de Bohun chancing on Bruce alone and charging full-pelt at him and losing his head? Does this film include this dramatic moment? No, it doesn't. So much for historical accuracy.

It says much for the film that Oliver Reed's performance stands out as quality. No disrespect to Oliver, but he's not always the stand-out in a film. And Brian Blessed as Edward I? Please! I thought one of the best things about Braveheart was Patrick McGoohan as Edward - very powerful. Whenever I see Brian Blessed I can only think of Z-Cars and Vultan in Flash Gordon....

This is not a good film, and I really only watched it because I'm such a diehard Scot and an optimist! It does Bruce some favours as compared to Braveheart, but it's really just too amateurish and innacurate to be enjoyable in any way.