When I was but a mere movie writer sapling I was all about Braveheart. I think it was my first real dip into an effective historical narrative, and the idea that it was all true made the film seem even more relevant and interesting. However, as I've grown I think my relationship with Mel and Braveheart has soured. The film is still great... it's just not as important as it used to be.

Back in 1995 Braveheart pulled down five, count 'em, five Oscars including Best Picture. The movie itself, separated from outside perspective, is a great one, well deserving of a Special Collector's Edition. Watching the film again I remembered why I liked it so much in the theater - it's epic, action packed, and brutally straightforward. The "Anglish" are bastards, the Scots want to be free, you can't help but buy in to the sweeping tale. The problem for me is not the movie itself, it's everything that came afterwards.

Perhaps it's unfair to mention that Braveheart stands on shaky historical ground. It's probably also unfair to point out that it's hard to see Gibson these days as anything else besides a drunken racist. I know intellectually he's much more than that, he's a talented director who probably is heavily misunderstood, but these easy characterizations of people do have a certain emotional comfort. Plus seeing a movie like Apocalypto, with its overly simplistic portrayal of the Mayan culture makes you wonder where the artist ends and the art begins. Again, not fair game in a DVD review but these were the thoughts I had as I watched the special features.

Speaking of, I'll get back to the disc itself. This edition includes a historical "Tales of William Wallace" piece that feels a bit tenuous on the accuracy front. They're clearly doing their best not to shame the source material but pesky little veracity issues are never broached. It's clear they've taken literary liberties with historical facts but though that's mentioned they never really talk about what specifically probably didn't happen. For me, a true documentary on William Wallace, what we do know for certain, would have gone a lot further than the theme of "William Wallace is shrouded in mystery..." However, a full length documentary is indeed a lot to ask of a DVD where primary goal is the delivery of Braveheart.

My advice, if you don't own Braveheart, would be to pick this disc up. Despite everything the story is a worthy one. However, I wouldn't suggest buying this if you already own the DVD because it doesn't mine enough new ground. As for the rest of it, the "truth" of the story and of Gibson... well, hopefully you'll do a better job of me in pushing that to the back of your mind.