Yes, 'Braveheart' was both a critical and commercial success. It won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and grossed over $210 million worldwide.

In late 1290s Scotland, a time when the Scottish people were under the tyranny of King Edward I of England (aka Edward the Longshanks), William Wallace (Mel Gibson) rises as a Scottish rebel and leads his people in the First War of Scottish Independence. He is set on this journey upon the execution of his wife with whom he secretly married in conspiring to circumvent a jus primae noctis policy sanctioned by the crown.

Braveheart is based on a script written for the screen and then novelized by American screenwriter Randall Wallace. However, the script was based partly on a 15th century poem, "The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace" (aka "The Wallace"), by a minstrel known as Blind Harry (1440-1492). "The William" recounts the life of William Wallace (died 1305), a Scottish freedom fighter during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Braveheart won the 1996 Academy Award for Best Motion Picture.

Following the death of Murron MacClannough (Catherine McCormack), when the Scots took out the very first garrison of English soldiers, the crowd starts chanting, "MacAulish...MacAulish!", then changes to "Aulish...Aulish!" (or "Wallace...Wallace!"). The "Mac" in Scottish surnames beginning with "Mac" means "son of". Thus, MacAulish means "son of Wallace." The crowd is, in essence, cheering William as the "son of Wallace" (referring to his father) and then Wallace himself.

When Wallace goes to Edinburgh to meet with Robert the Bruce (Angus Macfadyen), who wishes to join with Wallace, he is taken captive by Robert's father and sent to London where the magistrate finds him guilty of high treason and sentences him to be tortured and beheaded. Princess Isabelle (Sophie Marceau), who is in love with Wallace, begs for his life to no avail and tries to slip him something "to ease the pain," but Wallace refuses it. The next morning, he is led out of the Tower of London where he is publicly hanged, racked, and disemboweled in an attempt to make him swear allegiance to the King of England. As the crowd begins to yell for mercy, Wallace shouts, "Freedom!" Just before he is beheaded, he looks out at the crowd and has a vision of Murron. Nine years later, in 1314, Robert the Bruce has been declared King of Scotland. In what is supposed to be his ceremonial acceptance of English rule, he and his troops ride out on the fields of Bannockburn and, instead, attack the English army. In a voiceover, Mel Gibson says, In the year of our Lord 1314, patriots of Scotland, starving and outnumbered, charged the fields of Bannockburn. They fought like warrior poets. They fought like Scotsmen and won their freedom.

Neither. Historically, there is no doubt that it was Edward II, despite his alleged homosexuality. In real life, Princess Isabelle was only nine years old at the time of Wallace's death, and Isabella and Edward II's son (later Edward III) was born in 1312—seven years after the death of Wallace and five years after the death of Edward I. This is a case of legendary stories conflating historical figures. Edward I did, in fact, take a young French wife after his first wife died. However, Edward II married his young wife, Isabella of France, in 1308—after his father's death. If there is historical accuracy to the character sent to offer a truce to Wallace, she would have been the King's wife. Edward II succeeded to the throne in 1307.

None, although the scenes of horses being wounded were so real it is said that Mel Gibson was investigated by an animal welfare organization. The American Humane Film/TV Organization issued the following report describing how fake horses on tracks were used in the various scenes: Horses were used throughout, both as a means of transportation and in the battle scenes. The battle scenes were all shot with pockets of people fighting in different areas, with the horses having their own area. The ground had been dug up and filled with sand for the horse falls. By using a long lens, it pulled the groups of people and animals together for the scenes. Then by adding some cutting and splicing of the film in post production, the scenes appeared very violent with horses in the middle of all the fighting.

In one scene there were several horses lined up and then charged into a group of warriors. Three of the horses fell head first into the fighters. These were fake horses on tracks. When they got to the end of the tracks they merely somersaulted throwing their stuntriders forward. This was also how a very dramatic scene was accomplished when William is hit by an arrow. He stops fighting, jumps on his horse and rides across the field to attack the King. On his way, the King's protector attacks William and his horse somersaults forward throwing William over his head. The ride across the field was done on a real horse, but the horse that took the fall was, here again, a fake horse on tracks.

In another scene a horse appears to be stabbed. This was accomplished with a fake retractable knife. Several scenes show horses that appear to be either in or near fire. This was accomplished both by filming through the fire, which made the fire appear closer to the animals than it was, and with special lenses. Fire was both in front of and behind the horses, but never near them. The horses were used to being around fire, but for extra precautions, total fireproof body suits were made for each horse.

In one scene, William rides his horse into a tower to kill the Earl of Bruce. Then he rides it out of the tower window into the water 30 feet below. The horse ridden into the tower was real, but the horse who rode out of the window falling into the water below was another fake horse on tracks. Other animal action includes a flock of sheep crossing a road, oxen pulling a cart, a flock of birds, farm animals in the background and a deer grazing in the forest.

Braveheart was filmed entirely on location in Scotland, England and Ireland. American Humane Society was not on the set. They reviewed outtakes of questionable animal action frame by frame, while at the same time, on another screen, viewed frame by frame the actual scenes in the picture.

Another film where alleged animal deaths were investigated was O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000). In one scene a cow is hit by a car. The effect was realistic enough that the Humane Society demanded to see how the effect was achieved and the Coen Brothers were more than happy to show them.

The UK version (rated 15) is slightly censored in the scene where Wallace slits the Magistrate's throat.

Not at all. As with the majority of films, they are fiction inspired by historical events and not intended to be a documentary.