Braveheart

Braveheart (1995) is Mel Gibson's historical war drama, and you can watch it online on iFILM. Late-13th-century Scotland groans under English taxes and English swords, while a farmer named William Wallace wants nothing but a quiet life and a family.

Gibson directs and stars as Wallace. When the local lord's soldiers kill his secret bride Murron, the quiet life ends. Wallace arms a village, then a clan, then half the country. King Edward the Longshanks answers with heavy cavalry, French princess Isabella (Sophie Marceau) plays her own quiet game, and the Scottish nobles bargain with whoever pays best. The battle of Stirling, the blue war paint, long spears against charging knights — it was all shot with real crowds and almost no digital tricks.

The film took five Academy Awards, among them Best Picture and Best Director, with a score by James Horner. Three hours long, it keeps circling one question: what is a man willing to die for. Stream Braveheart (1995) online on iFILM.