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Movies / On DVD / The English Patient
The English Patient

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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

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Reviews for The English Patient

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1 - 9 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Gorgeous looking and achingly romantic literary adaptation that showcases expert performances by Fiennes and Scott Thomas.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
01/29/08
Channel 4 Film
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Needless to say, the performances are flawless; more surprising is the fluency, poetry and scale of Minghella's direction.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
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A must see film for all lovers of cinema on a grand and sweeping scale.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
12/17/01
Ali Barclay
Ali Barclay
BBC
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It does not deserve limitless adoration. Just quiet, reasoned admiration.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Hemblade
Christopher Hemblade
Empire Magazine
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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.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
01/29/08
Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
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A respectable, intelligent but less than stirring adaptation of an imposingly dense and layered novel.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
01/29/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
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The English Patient captivates as only the grandest and most consuming passions can.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/14/01
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
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A stunning feat of literary adaptation as well as a purely cinematic triumph.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
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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.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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1 - 9 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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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...

December 12, 2007: Walter Murch on Youth Without Youth: The RT Interview (With Exclusive Photos and Clips!)
This week, Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth hits theaters in limited release. The tale of a writer who becomes young again after being struck by lightning is a... More...

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Bruce Willis has been chatting up some lucky web readers over his upcoming reemergence in "Live Free or Die Hard," talking movies and alienating "Armageddon"... More...

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