Perhaps it is to their credit that they played it down the line.
shareFrom Coppola's standpoint, anyway, having read interviews with him, I would say he had mixed feelings of admiration and criticism toward Patton. That's one thing that makes this such an interesting film, it presents its subject as textured and complex.
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I just saw this for the first time late last night and I think they're leaning more toward a dislike. There were only minor hints of likability such as when he discovers one of his men lying dead on the gurney. Then again, you've seen the film more than once so I'm sure your opinion on the matter is better than mine as it may be more clear with multiple viewings.
shareI think the writers probably wanted him to be disliked but the audience came to like him, kind of like Archie Bunker. Also, considering that Oliver Stone was involved, I can't think of him as a fan of Patton.
"No! That’s not true at all. Elvis takes fifty percent of everything I earn." Col. Parker
Oliver Stone? Where are you finding a credit for him on this film?
shareSorry, I could have sworn that Coppola and him wrote the screenplay but I'm wrong.
"No! That’s not true at all. Elvis takes fifty percent of everything I earn." Col. Parker
Oliver Stone wasn't involved in "Patton." You may be confused because he participated in a documentary about "Patton" which was included in one or more of the DVD editions.
Stone actually claims in the doc that "Patton" was responsible for extending the war in Vietnam because President Nixon watched it and was inspired from it to invade Cambodia and Laos. I remember it because it was pretty startling commentary to see "Patton's" producers accused of complicity in what Stone described as war crimes included in a DVD package of the movie.
Historically, Nixon did end U. S. involvement in Vietnam within three years of "Patton's" release, and U. S. troop commitments and casualties fell off significantly from where they were in the 1960s. But Stone was talking more from the Vietnamese perspective.
I don't it matters to the writers if they "liked," Patton or not. Their job is to create as interesting, complex, and compelling character as possible, which usually means there is a lot to "like," and to not "like."
Whether or not they succeeded on that point is obvious.