The only supplements on the first disc are an introduction from and a commentary track by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay for the film and has obviously gone on to become a great director in his own right. The introduction briefly covers how Coppola was given the job of writing the movie, and how he figured it would be a pretty interesting challenge. He explains his take on the character and how he wound up being pulled off the project and it's a nice way of putting the movie into some sort of context before the film starts this introduction runs four minutes and fifty four seconds in length..

Coppola's commentary begins by explaining the opening of the film, which he wrote, and what he was trying to get across with it and how that same opening, which is probably the most famous part of the movie, got him into trouble. He also covers how he wanted the dialogue to be realistic and how he wanted to keep the historical side of the film as accurate as possible, going into detail on little things like the fact that American tanks at the beginning of the Second World War were gasoline powered and not diesel powered. He discusses Patton's obsession with the 'pageantry of war' and why he feels it meant so much to him, and he also talks about North's contributions to the script and how he never actually directly worked with him on the movie. Coppola also details how some of the battle scenes were done, and how the scene where Patton shoots at the enemy planes with his revolver was based on an actual event. He also covers how he needed to emphasize certain aspects of Patton's biography to get his point across and how certain events in his military career carried more importance than others and as such they logically get more focus in the film. It's a good commentary and an informative one – at least the first half of it is - but as the movie hits the ninety minute mark, Coppola runs out of things to say and as such more and more dead air creeps into the track and it turns into less a reflection of Coppola's experiences on the film and more an explanation of certain events that unfold on the screen with a few anecdotes tossed in. That being said, as the movie gets closer to the finale, Coppola finds his inspiration again and the track picks back up.

The rest of the extra features are found on the second disc where things start off with a documentary entitled History Through The Lens: Patton – A Rebel Revisited. This hour and a half long feature length look at the real life Patton and how his life was adopted for the big screen is a very comprehensive and interesting examination of the man behind the film. A lot of what makes this interesting is the interviews with the military officers who have been inspired by Patton, as well as Patton's son, as we get a first hand look at the man that the movie was based on. It's fascinating to hear how a film about Patton was first proposed in the fifties and how the filmmaker's wanted to get Patton's cooperation in making the movie but didn't get it. Instead opted to put the focus on Patton's military career rather than his personal life. They went about doing this by researching a lot of old newsreels and archival material. From here we learn how it was brought back and how Coppola handled the first draft of the screenplay, and from here we go on to learn about Patton's childhood and how he got into the military. Through clips from the movie, old photographs, interviews and other details we learn how the real George Patton was recreated through Scott's performance. This is interesting stuff and its sure to please fans of the film – they even cover his poetry and why he wrote it in the first place, which seems to atypical of a tough man such as Patton.

A second documentary entitled Patton's Ghost Corps focuses on the veterans who served under George Patton during the Second World War in Germany. Their stories are pretty harrowing, the documentary starts off with a few of the interviewees discussing how their men were killed and how Patton was responsible for a lot of unnecessary deaths out on the battlefield because of his bravado and ego. There are a lot of archival pictures and film clips in here to illustrate what the interviewees are talking about as they cover how they got involved in the army and what their experiences were like once they got to Europe. Some stoic narration fills in the blanks, discussing the strategy that we hear about from those who were involved in its execution, as well as the results. There are some really touching stories in here to compliment the more horrifying ones and it's nice to see the men who served under Patton and who made him the man that history sees him as get some credit. This documentary runs just over forty-six minutes in length.

The Making Of Patton is a third documentary that, as the title states, explores the making of the movie. This lengthy fifty minute look at how the film was put together is pretty interesting although there's definitely some cross over here in content with the first History Through The Lens piece. Almost everyone who worked with director Franklin J. Schaeffer on the film is interviewed here, including George C. Scott (this piece was done before he died in 1999) and they all seem to unanimously agree that he was a complete and total gentleman to work with. Oliver Stone shows up here to give us his thoughts on the film and accuse it for being in some part responsible for the bombing of Cambodia, which is an interesting theory if perhaps a little misguided (he claims that Nixon was so influenced by Patton that it resulted in his decision to launch that first attack which in turn resulted in the bombing). Other interviewees in this piece include Richard Zanuck, Jerry Goldsmith, Fred Koenekamp, Franklin J. Schaeffer himself, and the film's producer, Frank McCarthy. The interviews are nicely complimented by some behind the scenes clips as well as a small assortment of camera tests.

Fox has also included two still galleries on this disc. The first gallery is a huge selection of production stills that play out in slide show format with Goldsmith's complete score over top (thirty-six minutes in length). The second gallery features a selection of behind the scenes photographs and it's accompanied by an audio essay entitled The Historical Patton by Charles M. Province of the General George S. Patton Historical Society. Through this fifty-three minute speech (the same one that was on previous releases of the movie on DVD) is very comprehensive if a bit dry. Province does a fine job of explaining how accurate the movie is and in detailing some little bits and pieces about Patton that the film isn't really able to touch on as well. This guy knows his stuff and if you want to know even more about the real life man behind the inspiration for the film, you'll get it here.

Rounding out the supplements on the second disc is the original theatrical trailer for the feature. Both discs include animated menus and chapter selection options. The review copy provided did not contain an insert of any kind though it did have the two discs housed inside a keepcase which in turn was housed inside an attractive slip case – a nice touch.

While the first two domestic releases of the film were nice, this new Fox Cinema Classics Collection two disc special edition release of Patton trumps them (or, in the case of the audio, at least matches them) in pretty much every way possible, especially when one looks at the supplements provided. The movie looks and sounds terrific but the real reason to upgrade (if you have a previous version) is the extras as they are as interesting as they are informative and, dare I say it, educational. Highly recommended!

Ian lives in NYC with his wife where he writes for DVD Talk, runs Rock! Shock! Pop!. He likes NYC a lot, even if it is expensive and loud.