Unleashing an epic

In order to avoid the dreaded NC-17 rating in the US, Gibson toned down the film's battle scenes and cut William Wallace's graphic disembowelment so it occurred out of frame.

With the final print locked, Braveheart premiered in the US in May, 1995, opening to generally favourable reviews and going on to a healthy box office take of $75million

But it wouldn’t be until the film’s Scottish premiere at Stirling, Edinburgh in September 1995 that Gibson would realise exactly what he had made, and what it meant to the people of Scotland.

“I couldn't believe it. I was actually shocked, I’ve never seen anything like it. It was from the entire drive from the hotel to the castle, which was quite a long drive, but they were fifty deep the whole way.

“I couldn’t believe it, you know, that there was so much feeling and fervor about the subject and about what it meant, and how they could feel it.”

The film would go on to take over £10million at the UK box-office, part of a worldwide gross of over $210million.

The reviews the film received in the UK were of a different tone to their trans-Atlantic counterparts however, and the film divided the Scots too over its depiction of their beloved historical figures.

That didn’t stop the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences rewarding the film with 10 Oscar nominations, of which it won 5; for Director, Cinematography, Make-up, Sound Editing and Picture.

With Hollywood and much of the world in love with the film's romanticised vision of Scotland, the country itself began to swell with pride.

It began to appear as though the film would have an effect on not just patriotism, but would arguably lead to something much, much bigger; an entire political movement.

Next: Sparking a revolution