Braveheart (1995) - 5 trivia entries

Perhaps you're wondering what William Wallace shouts after delivering his speech just prior to the Battle of Stirling. It's "Alba gu brath," which means "Scotland forever."

The men standing behind Hamish and Stephen in the last scene are descendants of men from the real Wallace clan.

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.

Mel Gibson did such a good job on shooting and editing the battle scenes that many were convinced that the fake horses he used were real, including the RSPCA who investigated the movie.

Wallace - Sir William Wallace - was a noble, not a scruffy tribesman as shown in this film. As such, his trial (such as it was) and execution were detailed in the court records of the day and they still exist. He was dragged the three and a half miles from the Tower to Aldgate chained (not tied) to a piece of fencing, not on a wheeled cart, and he was never 'racked', just hanged vertically. He was never offered a chance to recant his beliefs in exchange for a quicker, more merciful death. While hanging, still alive, he was emasculated ('his privy parts cut away') and his genitals burnt on a brazier in front of him. The executioner then slit open his abdomen and disemboweled him, then his chest was cut open and his heart torn out. He was never allowed to speak, was not tied to a flat table and was beheaded after he was dead. The film gets all of this wrong.