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America’s Patriots & Veterans: Help Us Make the Movie That Hollywood Won’t!
AN INDEPENDENT FEATURE FILM PROJECT

Saratoga: The Turning Point

This noble, veteran-owned independent feature film project is dedicated to bringing the compelling story of how victories at Bennington and Saratoga kept the sacred flame from being extinguished during one of the darkest hours of the American War for Independence. We need a miracle just as America needed a miracle in the early autumn of 1777.

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We Need Your Help

Our Mission

This story must be expertly brought to the silver screen to the widest possible audience.

The development of a motion picture that evocatively and compellingly tells the story of the Battles of Saratoga in a way that rivals iconic masterpieces such as “Last of the Mohicans”, “Dances with Wolves”, “Glory”, and “Saving Private Ryan”. This film will aim to vividly depict the dramatic events and autumn grandeur that set New York’s Upper Hudson Valley ablaze in 1777.

About the Project

Support

They did their part… Now, we must do our part. We owe it to them to tell their story.

To my fellow veterans: Your help is urgently needed to complete an important mission. We can’t do it without you. We need to share our Revolutionary War history and commemorate the 250th anniversary of the turning point of the American War for Independence.

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Spread the Word

We need your help to raise the film’s budget of $125 million over next 18 to 24 months.

What could be better than America’s veterans and fellow patriots banding together to tell the compelling story of the turning point of the American War for Independence? Please spread the word. Your help will be the difference as I simply can’t do this without you. Together, we can do this.

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Sizzle Reel

The compelling story of how citizen soldiers rallied to reinforce the American Army in New York’s Upper Hudson Valley and heroically helped save the American War for Independence in the Fall of 1777.

  • Duration

    4 min. 24 sec.
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Read Script Summary

  • Duration

    4 min. 24 sec.
Watch Longer Reel
Read Script Summary

Calling All Veterans & Patriots

Hello, I’m Mark O’Rourke. I’m a proud United States Army veteran and history buff.

I’d like to briefly share some of my background so that you can hopefully gain a clear sense as to why I urgently need the help of my fellow veterans as well as from my fellow patriots across the nation. I sincerely want to establish an ironclad trust with you by sharing who I am and why I have an important mission that I am asking my fellow veterans and patriots across the nation to help me complete.

As an attorney and veteran, I have proudly taken numerous oaths to support and defend The Constitution of the United States. And, I rightfully take these solemn pledges and ethical obligations very seriously. 

We Need You

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THE STORY

Timeline of Events

The Turning Point of the Revolution

Saratoga is one of the most important victories in both western civilization and world history.

In 1777, the American Revolution was on the brink of collapse. The British had delivered crushing defeats to the American Army at Quebec and Long Island that left them in control of Canada to the North and New York City to the South. They devised a complex plan to help end the rebellion once and for all which called for the British army to seize control of the entirety of the State of New York.

With a renewed vigor, militias from all across New England and New York converged and poured in to a small town along the Hudson River, Saratoga. In a miraculous event, the Americans delivered a stunning defeat to the British. For the first time, the mightiest army in the world had surrendered to the newest. Ceremoniously, British General John Burgoyne was forced to hand over his sword to American General Horatio Gates.

Don’t the soldiers who played crucial roles in the decisive Battles of Bennington and Saratoga deserve to be recognized? These heroes demonstrated remarkable courage during this pivotal moment in history as they answered the call when their nation needed them most. Countless patriots served and sacrificed on the hallowed ground above the Upper Hudson River in the early autumn of 1777. Shouldn’t this incredible victory be brought to the widest possible audience? 

Scroll through the timeline below to read about the crucial points that occur throughout the Battles of Saratoga.

Click here for more about the story.

May 1776

Gen. John Burgoyne arrives in Canada with British reinforcements.

February – March 1777

Gen. John Burgoyne submits his battle plans, which are ultimately approved on March 2, 1777.

June 30, 1777

British forces appear near Fort Ticonderoga.

July 5, 1777

American forces evacuate peacefully, and the British take control of the fort.

August 1777

Burgoyne attempts to raid the supply depot in Bennington, Vermont and the British are ultimately defeated.

September 19, 1777

Burgoyne divides his army, numbering about 7,500, into three columns to probe American defenses at Freeman’s Farm. The British sustains heavy casualties, losing twice as many soldiers as the Americans. The American army is replenished and grows to 13,000 strong.

October 7, 1777

Burgoyne sends a reconnaissance force to attack Americans at Bemis Heights, but the patriots get wind of the plan and force the British to withdraw to their well-defended Balcarres Redoubt.

October 8, 1777

Burgoyne retreats and the British army attempts to escape north, but a cold, hard rain forces them to stop and encamp near the town of Saratoga. Hungry, weary, and out of options, they dig in and prepare to defend themselves.

October 13, 1777

The Americans have the British surrounded.

October 17, 1777

After negotiations, Burgoyne’s army surrenders. The American defeat of the British army lifted patriot morale, furthered the hope for independence, and helped to secure the foreign support needed to win the war.

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The Timeline

Why?

To date, there has surprisingly not been a major motion picture or feature film that compellingly presents the fascinating story of the stirring triumphs at Bennington and Saratoga and their profound, enduring impact on American and world history. While iconic battles such as Bunker Hill, Lexington, Concord, Trenton, Yorktown, Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor, Midway, D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, and Iwo Jima are well-known, Saratoga’s singular importance – as the crucial victory which helped preserve America’s bold experiment in limited government – is unfortunately less understood. The complete victories that occurred in the Upper Hudson Valley in the late summer and early autumn of 1777 is nevertheless one of the most consequential victories in world history as its significance as the decisive turning point of the American War for Independence is transcended by the fact that it also marked the beginning of the end of centuries of repressive rule by despots and tyrants around the globe.

INSIGHTS FROM LEADERSHIP

Courage, Faith, Wisdom, and the Call to Preserve Freedom

  • I congratulate you upon the glorious successes

    of our Arms in the North. [T]his singular favour of Providence is to be received with thankfulness and the happy moment which Heaven has pointed out for the firm establishment of American Liberty ought to be embraced with becoming spirit.

    —letter written on October 18, 1777 by Gen. George Washington the day he first received news of the complete victory at Saratoga.

  • The glorious work we have in hand.

    Note: Upon receiving news of the stunning victory at Saratoga, Washington referred to the American Revolution as “the glorious work we have in hand” and acknowledged freedom and the American victory in the Upper Hudson Valley as unique gifts of the “Providence” of God.

    —General George Washington

  • The destiny of America was proclaimed in words of prophecy spoken by our first President in his first inaugural in 1789:

    “The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered … deeply, … finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.” If we lose that sacred fire – – if we let it be smothered with doubt and fear — then we shall reject the destiny which Washington strove so valiantly and so triumphantly to establish. The preservation of the spirit and faith of the nation does, and will, furnish the highest justification for every sacrifice that we may make in the cause of national defense. In the face of great perils never before encountered, our strong purpose is to protect and to perpetuate the integrity of democracy. For this we muster the spirit of America, and the faith of America. We do not retreat. We are not content to stand still. As Americans, we go forward, in the service of our country, by the will of God.

    —FDR, Third Inaugural Address, January 20, 1941

  • And so, my fellow Americans:

    ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.

    — President John F. Kennedy

  • We hold these truths to be self-evident,

    that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

    —Declaration of Independence

  • And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are

    still at issue around the globe — the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.

    —PRESIDENT John F. Kennedy

  • Let the word go forth from this time and place,

    to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans — born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage — and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world… Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

    —PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY

  • And where the body of the people, or any single man, is deprived of the right,

    or is under the exercise of a power without right, and have no appeal on earth, then they have a liberty to appeal to heaven, whenever they judge the cause of sufficient moment.

    —British philosopher John Locke’s expression of the right of revolution used in his Second Treatise on Civil Government (as part of Two Treatises of Government refuting the theory of the divine right of kings)

Key Facts About the Project

Veteran-owned and operated project advised by the nation’s most preeminent military historians and institutions.

Screenplay written by veteran industry screenwriter and was carefully composed to be faithful to the actual history.

Movie is planned to be released in time for 250th anniversary of the Battles and Siege of Saratoga in Sept. and Oct. of 2027.
Movie is planned to be filmed on or close to the location where the actual history occurred including: the Adirondack Mountains, Champlain, Hudson, and Mohawk Valleys and Lake George including Fort Crown Point, Fort Ticonderoga, and the Saratoga National Historical Park (Saratoga Battlefield) .
Movie is planned to be a major motion picture masterpiece with breathtaking cinematography that captures the autumn grandeur of the foothills of the Adirondacks and the Hudson Valley; an ethereal and inspiring soundtrack; A-List talent and a recognized and acclaimed director.  
Project will mark the first time that America’s veterans are being asked to directly support the creation of a movie focused on telling the story of the American Army’s first strategic victory that became the turning point of the American War for Independence.
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And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.

— PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY

May all of you, as Americans, never forget your heroic origins and never fail to seek divine guidance… We are forever indebted to those that have given their lives that we might be free.

— PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN

Join Our Mission

Our crucial mission cannot be completed without your help. Let’s do our part, together.

We are calling on America’s Patriots & Veterans to make a donation towards this worthy project which was started more than 10 years ago.

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