This is about as bad as historical dramas get. Short of the casting, the film is pure dribble. Arnold was an arrogant, quick-tempered but enormously brave man who, indeed, did the soldierly acts referred to (the attack on Quebec (in December in the snow, by the way), the first US naval engagement on Lake Chhamplain and the heroic action at Saratoga but virtually everything else is invented. Sure enough he was passed over as political appointments of lesser generals occurred and sure enough the idiots in Congress jerked him around with his pay and expenses but there was no justification to betray his country other than a big cash payout and high commission from the British government. If you think that's just cause, then you'll enjoy the film. The true heroes were young men like the fellow who came into the room when Arnold was with Washington and told him he had the honor to fight with Arnold in Quebec and Lake Champlain and would shed his last drop of blood fighting for Arnold. Or the soldiers who suffered through the Valley Forge winter. One could argue that Arnold's rashness that made him a hero, also made him a traitor and no amount of revisionist story telling changes that,
Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor
(2003 TV Movie)
At least the uniforms were nice
18 January 2011