Gorgeous looking and achingly romantic literary adaptation that showcases expert performances by Fiennes and Scott Thomas.
The English Patient (1996)
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Reviews Counted:9
Fresh:8
Rotten:1
Average Rating:8.2/10
Consensus: Though it suffers from excessive length and ambition, director Minghella's adaptation of the Michael Ondaatje novel is complex, powerful, and moving.
Runtime: 2 hrs 42 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Set during World War II, this film adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's novel concerns a horribly scarred, amnesiac mapmaker (Ralph Fiennes) who is found by Bedouins in the desert and then transported... Set during World War II, this film adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's novel concerns a horribly scarred, amnesiac mapmaker (Ralph Fiennes) who is found by Bedouins in the desert and then transported to Italy. When Allied nurse Hana (Juliette Binoche) devotes herself to caring for the mysterious patient in an abandoned monastery, his story of a intense love affair with a colleague's wife (Kristin Scott Thomas) begins to unfold in a series of flashbacks. Hana, meanwhile, faces her own demons and explores her attraction to a Sikh bomb expert (Naveen Andrews). Tensions escalate at the monastery following the appearance of Caravaggio (Willem Dafoe), a thumbless thief who knows the identity of the mysterious patient. Anthony Minghella's (TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY) award winning epic is beautifully filmed with awe-inspiring scenery that includes sweeping desert vistas, crowded village markets, and serene Tuscany roads. The superb supporting cast, which includes Willem Dafoe, Colin Firth and Naveen Andrews, matches flawless performances by Fiennes, Thomas, and Binoche. [More]
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Kristin Scott Thomas, Willem Dafoe
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Kristin Scott Thomas, Willem Dafoe, Naveen Andrews, Colin Firth, Julian Wadham, Jürgen Prochnow, Kevin Whately, Clive Merrison, Nino Castelnuovo, Hichem Rostom, Peter Ruhring, Geordie Johnson, Torri Higginson, Lusa Repo-Martell, Raymond Coulthard, Philip Whitchurch, Lee Ross, Anthony Smee, Michael Ferguson, Jason Done, Roger Morlidge, Sebastian Sherlock, Fritz Eggert, Sebastian Schipper, Sonia Mankai, Rim Turki, Sebastian Rudolph, Thoraya Sehill, Sondess Belhassen, Dominic Mafham, Gregor Truter, Salah Miled, Abdellatif Hamrouni, Samy Azaiez, Habib Chetoui, Phillipa Day, Amanda Walker, Paul Kant
Director: Anthony Minghella
Director: Anthony Minghella
Producer: Saul Zaentz
Screenwriter: Anthony Minghella
Story: Michael Ondaatje
Composer: Gabriel Yared
Reviews for The English Patient
Needless to say, the performances are flawless; more surprising is the fluency, poetry and scale of Minghella's direction.
A must see film for all lovers of cinema on a grand and sweeping scale.
It does not deserve limitless adoration. Just quiet, reasoned admiration.
The cast is superb: Binoche, with her thin, seraphic smile; Scott Thomas, aware of the spell she casts but not flaunting it; Fiennes, especially, radiating sexy mystery, threat shrouded in hauteur. Doom and drive rarely have so much stately star quality.
A respectable, intelligent but less than stirring adaptation of an imposingly dense and layered novel.
The English Patient captivates as only the grandest and most consuming passions can.
A stunning feat of literary adaptation as well as a purely cinematic triumph.
This poetic, evocative film version of the famous novel by Michael Ondaatje circles down through layers of mystery until all of the puzzles in the story have been solved, and only the great wound of a doomed love remains.
Latest News for The English Patient
March 18, 2008:
Anthony Minghella: A Tomatometer Retrospective
English filmmaker Anthony Minghella had a sparse but critically acclaimed career by the time of his passing today at the age of 54. We turn to the six films Minghella directed,... More...
March 18, 2008:
Anthony Minghella: 1954-2008
Anthony Minghella, the Oscar-winning director of The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Cold Mountain, has passed away at the age of 54. More...
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