The Patriot (1998 film)

Last updated
The Patriot
The Patriot.jpg
Official DVD cover
Directed by Dean Semler
Written by
  • M. Sussman
  • John Kingswell
Based on The Last Canadian by William C. Heine
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Stephen F. Windon
Edited byDerek Brechin
Music byStephen Edwards
Production
companies
Touchstone Pictures
Interlight Pictures
Distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment (USA)
Release dates
  • July 10, 1998 (1998-07-10)(worldwide)
  • February 6, 1999 (1999-02-06)(U.S.)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25,000,000 [1]

The Patriot is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by Dean Semler. Starring Steven Seagal, the film is loosely based on the novel The Last Canadian by William C. Heine. Seagal's first direct-to-video film, it features him as a local doctor and former immunologist who races against time to find a cure for an active viral outbreak, the origins of which trace back to a militia leader who injected himself with a deadly virus.

Contents

The film was released worldwide on July 10, 1998 and in the United States on February 6, 1999.

Plot

Near the town of Ennis, Montana, local doctor and former government research immunologist Wesley McClaren (Steven Seagal) who has an interest in herbal medicine and is also a weapons and self-defense expert, is called to a hospital when people start dying from an unknown but very deadly disease. He determines that the cause is a highly dangerous airborne virus and calls in a Biological Response team, who seal off the town while doctors start treating sufferers with a vaccine. Unfortunately for them, several have already died.

The source of the virus is traced to a local self-styled rebel militia leader, Floyd Chisholm (Gailard Sartain), who has given himself up after a long siege and has been arrested on weapons charges. In court, having ingested the virus himself (believing that he also possesses the vaccine) he spits at the judge, and starts the rapid spread of the disease.

Floyd's militia followers, who have been allowed to go free, attack the prison and rescue Floyd. They then proceed to invade and besiege the hospital, with much loss of life, and take medical personnel hostage including Wesley and his daughter Holly (Camilla Belle). But too late, they realize that the vaccine they were seeking at the hospital is the same as the one they possess which only delays the effect of the deadly virus. Working at gunpoint, Wesley takes a sample of Holly's blood; it shows that Holly has been infected, but somehow her body is fighting it off. Wesley and Holly contrive to escape and travel to a farm where Holly's grandfather lives. Wesley takes a blood sample from his friend Dr. Ann White Cloud (Whitney Yellow Robe), and realizes that her body is also fighting off the infection.

Wesley and Ann gain access to a secret underground laboratory where Wesley used to work, where they hope to come up with a cure. Wesley finds out why Ann and Holly are not being affected by the virus: they have been drinking tea made with a specific wild herb that is known to Native American healers.

Back at the home, Wesley and Holly are captured by the militia and taken at the hospital, but he manages to kill Floyd and disable the other soldiers. As soon as the biological protection team learn of the cure, they go out and pick all the flowers they can find and drop them by helicopter over the town, telling the people to boil them and drink the liquid.

Cast

Production

The film, directed by Academy Award winning cinematographer Dean Semler, was reportedly originally intended as a theatrical release worldwide, but it was ultimately released direct-to-video in America with select countries like Spain in 1998 seeing it as a theatrical release, the first Seagal film to skip most theaters. [2] It was shot over eight weeks in Ennis and Virginia City, Montana, and for three days on the campus of Montana State University. Filming was briefly halted to remove snow from the ground during shooting in Virginia City, to maintain continuity. [3]

The screenplay is credited to M. Sussman and John Kingswell (neither has any other film credit of any kind). Several writers, including David Ayer and Paul Mones [2] were rumored to be working on the script prior to its release; Mones was ultimately credited as a producer. Though the movie is credited as an adaptation of William C. Heine's novel The Last Canadian , it shares virtually no similarities with the novel except the idea of a deadly virus. No character names, events, or even locations appear in both the book and the film. [2]

The film is Seagal's only effort to date in which he co-stars with his daughter, actress Ayako Fujitani, and is notable for an extremely low amount of action scenes compared to Seagal's other work.

Reception

Critical response

The film has received generally negative reviews.

David Nusair of Reel Film Reviews called it "dull" and criticized its lack of action (he claims, "Out of a 90 minute movie, there's maybe 10 minutes of actual Seagal hand-to-hand combat") and unwelcome political messages. [4] Seagalogy author Vern argues that "in many ways The Patriot is an admirable effort," noting "The production values and acting are better than some of Seagal's subsequent movies," but going on to point out that due to its "ridiculously low action quotient it is a least-favorite of many Seagal fans." [2] As of 2 October 2014, the film has a 22% "rotten" critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes (based on 9 reviews). [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Seagal</span> American actor, martial artist, and filmmaker (born 1952)

Steven Frederic Seagal is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, martial artist, and musician. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-law's dojo. He later moved to Los Angeles where he had the same profession. In 1988, Seagal made his acting debut in Above the Law. By 1991, he had starred in four films.

<i>On Deadly Ground</i> 1994 film

On Deadly Ground is a 1994 American environmental action adventure film directed, co-produced by, and starring Steven Seagal, and co-starring Michael Caine, Joan Chen, John C. McGinley and R. Lee Ermey. As of 2024, it is Seagal's only directorial effort and features a minor appearance by Billy Bob Thornton in one of his early roles. Seagal plays Forrest Taft, an expert firefighter who chooses to fight back against the environmental destruction caused by his ruthless former employer (Caine). On Deadly Ground was theatrically released in the United States on February 18, 1994, by Warner Bros. It garnered negative reviews from critics and grossed $78.1 million worldwide on a $50 million production budget.

<i>Executive Decision</i> 1996 US action film by Stuart Baird

Executive Decision is a 1996 American action thriller film directed by Stuart Baird in his directorial debut. It stars Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal, Halle Berry, John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt, Joe Morton, David Suchet and B.D. Wong. It depicts the rescue of an airliner hijacked by terrorists, by a small team placed on the plane in mid-flight. The film was released in the United States on March 15, 1996 and grossed $122 million against a $55 million budget.

<i>Nurse Betty</i> 2000 American black comedy film

Nurse Betty is a 2000 American black comedy film directed by Neil LaBute and starring Renée Zellweger as the title character, a small town, Kansas housewife-waitress who suffers a nervous breakdown after witnessing her husband's torture murder, and starts obsessively pursuing her favorite television soap opera character, while in a fugue state. Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock play the hitmen who killed her husband and subsequently pursue her to Los Angeles.

<i>Drop Zone</i> (film) 1994 American film

Drop Zone is a 1994 American action thriller film directed by John Badham, starring Wesley Snipes, Gary Busey, Yancy Butler, Michael Jeter, Sam Hennings, Luca Bercovici and Kyle Secor. When a U.S. Marshal has to break up a drug smuggling gang, he has to take to the skies. Drop Zone was released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on December 9, 1994.

Gailard Sartain is a retired American actor who frequently played characters with roots in the South. He was a regular on the country music variety series Hee Haw. He is also known for his roles in three of the Ernest movies and the TV series Hey Vern, It's Ernest!, which ran for one season on CBS in 1988. He is also an accomplished and successful painter and illustrator.

<i>Blade: The Series</i> American superhero television series

Blade: The Series is an American television series created by David S. Goyer for Spike based on the Marvel Comics character Blade. Sharing continuity with New Line Cinema's Blade film series, it was produced by New Line Television in association with Marvel Entertainment. The series takes place after the events of the film Blade: Trinity (2004) and stars Sticky Fingaz as Eric Brooks / Blade, with Jill Wagner, Neil Jackson, Jessica Gower, and Nelson Lee also starring. The two-hour pilot was directed by Peter O'Fallon from a script by Goyer and Geoff Johns.

<i>Clean Slate</i> (1994 film) 1994 American film

Clean Slate is a 1994 American comedy film directed by Mick Jackson. The film stars Dana Carvey as a private investigator who is the key witness in a murder case. After suffering a head injury, however, he has developed a rare form of amnesia that causes him to forget anything that happened to him the previous day, which makes it hard for him to know whom to trust, or if he even knows them at all. Valeria Golino, James Earl Jones, Michael Murphy, Michael Gambon, Bryan Cranston, and Kevin Pollak co-star.

<i>Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America</i> American TV series or program

Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America is an ABC two-hour TV movie which first aired May 9, 2006 in which an American businessman visiting China is infected and carries the deadly mutated bird flu virus back via jetliner to the USA, soon it spreads throughout the country then the rest of the world. Before the movie ends, riots erupt, armed mobs try to hijack vaccines and authorities predict that up to 350 million people will die worldwide."

"Back in the Red" is the opening three-part episode of series VIII of science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf. Part 1 was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 18 February 1999 followed by Part 2 on 25 February and Part 3 on 4 March.

<i>The Invasion</i> (film) 2007 American film by Oliver Hirschbiegel

The Invasion is a 2007 American science fiction horror film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, with additional scenes written by The Wachowskis and directed by James McTeigue, and starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. The plot follows a psychiatrist (Kidman) in Washington, D.C. who finds those around her turning into emotionless beings shortly after a major Space Shuttle crash.

<i>The Last Canadian</i> 1974 novel by William C. Heine

The Last Canadian is a 1974 science fiction novel by William C. Heine about the adventures of Eugene Arnprior after North America is devastated by a plague. The U.S. release of the novel was titled Death Wind.

<i>Shutter Island</i> (film) 2010 film by Martin Scorsese

Shutter Island is a 2010 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and adapted by Laeta Kalogridis, based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Deputy U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels, who is investigating a psychiatric facility on Shutter Island after one of the patients goes missing. Mark Ruffalo plays his partner and fellow deputy marshal, Ben Kingsley plays the facility's lead psychiatrist, Max von Sydow plays a German doctor, and Michelle Williams plays Daniels' wife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smallpox</span> Eradicated viral disease

Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) certified the global eradication of the disease in 1980, making smallpox the only human disease to be eradicated.

<i>Doctor in Distress</i> (film) 1963 British film by Ralph Thomas

Doctor in Distress is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde, James Robertson Justice, and Samantha Eggar. It is the fifth of the seven films in the Doctor series. After a one-film absence, it was the final return to the role of Simon Sparrow by Dirk Bogarde, and also the return of Donald Houston. The film uses some of the characters in Richard Gordon's Doctor novels, but is not based on any of them.

<i>Contagion</i> (2011 film) American medical disaster thriller film by Steven Soderbergh

Contagion is a 2011 American medical disaster thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Its ensemble cast includes Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Elliott Gould, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, Sanaa Lathan, and Gwyneth Paltrow. The plot concerns the spread of a highly contagious virus transmitted by respiratory droplets and fomites, attempts by medical researchers and public health officials to identify and contain the disease, the loss of social order as the virus turns into a worldwide pandemic, and the introduction of a vaccine to halt its spread. To follow several interacting plot lines, the film makes use of the multi-narrative "hyperlink cinema" style, popularized in several of Soderbergh's films. The film was inspired by real-life outbreaks such as the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak and the 2009 flu pandemic.

<i>Infected</i> (2012 film) 2012 American film

Infected is an American science-fiction action-horror film directed by Glenn Ciano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michele Gammino</span>

Michele Gammino is an Italian actor, voice actor and television presenter.

M. Juliana “Julie” McElrath is a senior vice president and director of the vaccine and infection disease division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the principal investigator of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network Laboratory Center in Seattle, Washington. She is also a professor at the University of Washington.

References

  1. ↑ Steven Seagal, dernière légende du film d'action? (novel) by Arnaud Niklaus, page 63, written in French, published January 29, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Vern (March 2012). Seagalogy: A Study of the Ass-Kicking Films of Steven Seagal. London: Titan Books. p. 123. ISBN   978-0857687227.
  3. ↑ Haines, Joan (November 11, 1997). "Seagal wraps up filming of 'The Patriot'". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Bozeman, MT. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  4. ↑ David Nusair. "Mini Reviews (January 2001)" . Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  5. ↑ "The Patriot - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 2 October 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.