The opening scene, visualized by writer Francis Ford Coppola, of George C. Scott as General Patton standing on a stage in front of a gigantic American flag, giving a speech composed of actual Patton quotes, is so memorable that people often forget how wonderfully epic the film that follows actually is. Director Franklin J. Schaffner portrays Patton as a flawed man of odd seeming contradictions, but one born on the battlefield with a keen sense of history and a poet’s perspective. Entertaining no matter what your political convictions are, Patton is a rich and visually impressive war film.