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Quotes

Robert's Father: At last, you know what it means to hate. Now you're ready to be a king.

Robert the Bruce: My hate will die with you.

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Mistakes

During the scene in which William Wallace is being executed, the camera pans the crowd and shows the ragged peasants staring in silence.  An extra, who is a young woman with light hair and a dirty face and is standing near the front of the shot, stares directly at the camera for a few seconds while all the other extras look in a different direction towards the execution. See more...

Trivia

The Irish Army personnel, who were used as extras in the battle scenes, had an unfortunate habit of wearing wristwatches and sunglasses, causing several scenes to be re-shot. See more...

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Movie Mistakes blog

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Braveheart (1995) - 21 corrections

Directed by Mel Gibson, starring Brendan Gleeson, Brian Cox, Catherine McCormack, Mel Gibson, Patrick McGoohan, Sophie Marceau (add more)

Genres: Action, Biography, Drama, War

Comments made in brackets are corrections from other visitors. To submit your own corrections for mistakes, just click "edit" under an entry, then choose "correct entry". You can also submit corrections for corrections, if you think a mistake has been unfairly removed.

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The reason why it is called the Battle of Stirling is because it was fought on Stirling Bridge, in mud.  The English had to file down into small ranks so they could cross the bridge, while William Wallace came in with full plate armour, not kilts, and butchered them with the rest of the Scots. [An amusing addition off the DVD to add to this mistake. Mel Gibson originally planned to film the battle of Stirling Bridge at the actual site. He had to scrap that idea because the bridge kept getting in the way. When he mentioned this to one of the Scottish history advisors on the film, the man's reply was "Aye, that's what the English found." ] [The Stirling bridge that stands today was not the bridge that stood in William Wallace's day (that bridge was wooden, and at a different site to the present day version).]
Edit
When William goes back to his village, the surroundings consist of big mountains and deep valleys when, in fact, William Wallace was said to be from a village called Elderslie which is in the Lowlands. I live two minutes outside Elderslie and there are some nice hills around here but the nearest mountain is Ben Lomond and that's about half an hour away. [There is no definitive proof of Wallace's birthplace - tradition suggests that he may have been born in Elderslie, but this is based entirely on circumstantial evidence; other locations have also been suggested over the years. As such, no factual error can realistically be presented regarding the depiction of his birthplace.]
Edit Corrected by Tailkinker
When Stephen and the other Scot come to join Wallace's army, watch Stephen as the other man speaks first, he has only slight beard stubble. As Stephen speaks and helps himself to food, he has suddenly grown a goatee beard, which stays for the remainder of the film. [This entry confuses two separate but similar looking characters. As Stephen and the other volunteer approach, Stephen is well behind and dressed in a multi-colored tunic. He does have the beard. The other character who has very similar facial features is dressed in a brown tunic and a kilt. When the volunteer reaches for the gift in his tunic, the man that looks like Stephen is the one that says, "We checked them for arms." Stephen is behind the volunteer and to his left, just off camera.]
Edit
In the rock throwing scene as a boy, Wallace throws left handed. When he returns as an adult, Wallace throws right handed. [Many people throw easily with either hand.]
Edit Corrected by jhoffman100@yahoo.com
After the Englishman slits Murron's throat, he wipes the blade, but there wasn't any blood on it. [Wiping the blade after using it was likely something he did as a reflex.]
Edit
After the battle where the British guy is thrown over the castle and impaled into a spike, when Wallace is walking through the dead bodies to kill the British leader, to the left there is a dead man who scratches his leg with his other leg. [1) He might not be dead yet, but dying a slow, painful death, and can still move a bit. 2) Dead bodies can still "twitch" and spasm after death as electrical energy stored in the brain is released through the nervous system.]
Edit Corrected by Jazetopher
At the execution scene near the end of the movie, the main executioner (the one in the red clothing) turns around and raises his hand to silence the crowd in one shot and then performs this exact same motion in the very next shot. [It's perfectly reasonable that the executioner would have to try and silence the crowd more than once; it was a large and noisy crowd.]
Edit
When Murron is in the forest in William's dream, and she says "Wake up, William", a figure in black passes on one side of her briefly, possibly a crew member. It happens quickly but is noticeable. [Looks like nothing but fog behind her to me.]
Edit Corrected by RLN
When Wallace attacks the English to avenge his wife one soldier has his whole leg cut off - yet no blood squirts even though an artery has been severed. [Sometimes, if a limb has been severed quickly, the vein or artery can be sealed. Rare, but it happens.]
Edit
In the scene where Longshanks is returning from overseas, he enters a room to talk with Edward. As he enters, Longshanks hands off his crown to a servant. Camera flashes to a nervous Edward, then back to Longshanks. He once again hands off his crown to a servant. [The first time we see Longshanks hand his crown to the servant. The second time Longshanks is motioning for the servant to leave the room and close the door. The crown can be seen in the servant's hands. It is not passed twice.]
Edit
In the scene when Wallace is being transported to the execution, and people are pelting him with vegetables, at one point he gets hit by a cabbage or something square in the knackers, and you can see him wincing in pain and coming loose from his bindings. [In the scene he is wincing in pain but never comes loose from the fittings holding his hands up.]
Edit Corrected by Lummie
As the battle of Stirling draws to a close and Wallace is inspecting the carnage, two extras far behind him can be seen swinging their swords lazily at each other. [More likely that its a representation of two opposing soldiers absolutely knackered but neither going to yeild. A fight to the death you could say.]
Edit
In the scene when young Wallace first meets his future wife (at the funeral after his Father and Brother are killed) her eyes are blue. Yet, when she is older, you can see her eyes are brown, hazel at the most. [There are cases as when people get older, their eye color changes.]
Edit
At the end of Murron's funeral as the people are leaving, William looks at Murron's parents. A white horse is clearly seen grazing over his left shoulder. The shot flashes to the parents and then back to William. The horse is gone. [It's true that the horse is gone, but that doesn't make it a mistake. To the right of the horse, you can see someone standing there. Presumably the owner of the horse, who attended the funeral and was now going home, taking his horse with him.]
Edit
Near the beginning, when the Premiere Nocta is being administered at the wedding, the bride comes close to her husband and mouths, "I'll be okay; everything will be okay." It's touching, but the term "okay" wasn't around in centuries-old Scotland. [Nor were almost all the terms used in the film: it is shot in modern English rather than the ancient forms of English and Celtic used at the time Wallace was alive. This is a straightforward film convention, not a mistake. ]
Edit Time
The Scottish flag of a white cross on a navy background is used in the film but this flag was not used until later. [This is probably the one bit of accurate history that Mel got right, and it was most likely an accident. In 909 A.D. the Scots prayed to St Columba for victory and bore his crozier before their army instead of a banner. This started a tradition, and 393 years later at the Battle of Roslin in 1302, this battle tradition was firmly in place and the Scots called on St Andrew, St Ninian and St Margaret, bearing their croziers before their army. Even at this early time, the crozier of St Andrew was a white diagonal cross on a blue background. Following this tradition, at Bannockburn, 1314, Robert the Bruce called on St Andrew again, using the same symbolism. The flag was not used to represent the country of Scotland though, confirming that which the previous submitter also mentions.]
Edit
In the movie, it seems like king Edward dies at the same time as Wallace. In reality, Edward I died in 1307, two years after Wallace. [Exactly - the movie only shows Edward I gravely ill. There's nothing in the film to suggest the king is dying as Wallace is being executed; rather he is suffering due to his illness.]
Edit
This happens in the scene where William is hunting with the other men. After the Irishman saves William's life, he pulls his sword out of the guy he just killed. It is very obvious that the sword is only half a sword. [The sword is a short sword, usually only a couple feet in length, not a prop mistake. You can see the same length sword when the Irishman runs up and pulls it out.]
Edit
At the battle of Falkirk, Robert the Bruce is revealed to be a traitor fighting for the English. In reality, the Bruce was not even present at the battle of Falkirk and even if he had been, he would not have betrayed his people. He was as ardent a patriot as Wallace ever was and actually achieved considerably more for his nation. [We don't know if Robert Bruce was present at Falkirk. But if he was he propably supported Edward I - we are sure that Bruce's father commanded English garrison in Carlisle. Robert the Bruce is without any discussion one of the greatest Scottish heroes. But that does not make him a saint - before he began his fight for the Scottish crown he did change sides a few times. We can't also forget that he murdered his rival John Comynn in the church in Dumfries. To kill someone on the sacred land was very severe crime - he was excommunicated.]
Edit
When the Duke of York's head is seen in the basket, the Prince takes off the cover. However after the king has thrown Phillip from the balcony he sits next to thebasket with the head still in it. The cover has magically placed itself back on the basket. [Prince Edward is off screen for a while, and given that he was repulsed by the sight of the head, he likely could have covered it back up himself.]
Edit Corrected by Krista

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