Patriot

How many people can say they were part of an epic film like The Patriot? Well, okay, beside those thousand or so reenactors and extra's hired by the studio, we were fortunate to include three from our own unit ... plus Brian (who normally does WWII reenacting). Filming was supposed to be completed before Thanksgiving 1999, but when filming went over schedule, the call went out to all reenacting units that people were still needed for the shooting. A few of us managed to get time off from our 20th century commitments. Early December was getting pretty cold as we spent a week on the set filming the latter portion of the Battle of Cowpens. The result is the pictures below.

After all the computer magic of post-production was completed, several of us were given the opportunity to attend the prescreening in Philadelphia on June 21, 2000, at the United Artists Riverview theater, as invited guests of Sony/Columbia studios. It was everything we had been expecting, and more. Although there are the inevitable historic inaccuracies, most were very pleased with it. When it hit the theaters in force the next week, we had a display table and demonstration set up at the Regal Cinema theaters in Burlington, NJ, for three days - June 28-30.

Our photo section shows you ALL the pictures shot on-location in South Carolina last November/December. Yes ... we even have a few pictures of MEL (the pictures framed in yellow). Pictures 26-47 belonged to another site, but it is no longer active. We included them here because we thought them interesting enough to replay. Enjoy.

*- - - ON LOCATION - ROCK HILL, SC, NOV - DEC 1999 - - -*
Gordon is ready for his first day on-set	Bombs go off as filming takes place	Getting ready - cameras in the background	After a hard days work, it's time for a hot supper	Ready for action? Note the camera on the boom at the top right
Blue & red mingling together ... tell me it isn't so	What happens when you get carried away	James with a stuffed stunt-horse	Mel prepares to shoot the "Grab the flag" scene	ROLLING ... Mel charges through a dust bomb
A burned out structure ... with modern machinery	Peat Moss and flour make a nice looking explosion	The "Alamo" structure - Harry Wo, armorer on right	The line of British soldiers that Mel crushes	Preparing for another shoot
Even modern day soldiers need food and medical care	James poses with Major Jean Villeneuve	Gordon poses with proud mother, Donah	Gordon and James finished with makeup, ready to go	James poses on steps of "Alamo"
What happens when you get carried away with a rubber bayonet	Stunt double Lance maneuvers through the "Alamo" rubble	Roland Emmerich outlines the scene to everyone ... Mel included	The peaceful back porch of the Martin household ...	... then it gets torched by those confounded, nasty ole' British
Cannons protected from the early morning dew	So that's how they got that cannon-ball-to-the-head shot	Lots of fake snow for the Valley Forge scene	... with a little fog for good measure	Can you tell which one is Donah?