The Bruce

1996
15
1h 47m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

In the early 14th century, Scottish warrior and Earl Robert the Bruce is crowned King of Scots, leading Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England.In the early 14th century, Scottish warrior and Earl Robert the Bruce is crowned King of Scots, leading Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England.In the early 14th century, Scottish warrior and Earl Robert the Bruce is crowned King of Scots, leading Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

4.6/10

631

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

User reviews12

Featured review

5/10

Now's The Time...And Now's The Hour...

I got this film (and an exclusive baseball cap - hence the snazzy tagline above) back in 1996 when I turned 20. Given that Braveheart dominated Scottish cinema - even overshadowing the superior Rob Roy with Liam Neeson and Jessica Lang - a crowd funded production with distinct my mixed values was always going to struggle, no matter how well intentioned.

So I have a little soft spot for an amatuerish, threadbare movie that made a deeply flawed, if honest, attempt to accurately address the historical record during a crucial period of Scotland's history - no easy feat given the fragmented, contradictory, mythical or non - existent accounts of these times. A straightforward telling was never going to be possible.

Although it was a bit of fun watching 1990s pop culture icon Michael Van Wijk aka the villianeous Wolf from ITV's Gladiators, and Scottish folk singer Ronnie Brown (the surviving Corrie), a special nod must be given to Oliver Reed - head and shoulders the best thing about The Bruce. With his quiet, dignified and restrained performance was Reed showing us what he was capable of as an actor - preparation for an first class swansong with a Gladiator of a different kind?

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Trivia
A Dunfermline schoolgirl skipped school one day and landed a part in this, crowning Robert the Bruce. She went on to film other scenes, including a corpse. Although she never got paid, she claims it was the most exciting thing that happened. She was shy because she'd never been in front of a camera before, but she found it easy, as the set was closed when Oliver Reed was in the coronation scene. The crown on Sandy (Robert The Bruce) kept slipping off his wig . He told the girl that inside was a dot which was supposed to sit at the back. This helped. The next scene was perfect and they kept it in the film, where she smiles at her friends next to her, happy that it stayed on.

Crazy credits
"This film was only made possible by the faith and courage of the Associate Producers". This is followed by a list of the names of over 200 individuals and organisations.