The English Patient

The English Patient
by Anthony Minghella

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DVD details

Actor: Juliette Binoche, Kristin Scott Thomas, Naveen Andrews, Ralph Fiennes, Willem Dafoe
Director: Anthony Minghella
Writer: Anthony Minghella
Producer: Alessandro von Norman
Producer: Bob Weinstein
Producer: Harvey Weinstein
Producer: Paul Zaentz
Producer: Saul Zaentz
Writer: Michael Ondaatje
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 162 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1998-03-25
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Walt Disney Video

DVD Reviews of The English Patient

DVD Review: 3 stars out of 4
Summary: 4 Stars

The Bottom Line:

A weighty, somewhat self-important adaptation of an acclaimed novel, The English Patient (along with other movies that fit that description, like Sophie's Choice and Cold Mountain) was pure Oscar bait but it's also a suitably epic romance that will no doubt appeal to those who like this sort of thing.

DVD Review: Breathtaking to look at, but easily forgotten...
Summary: 4 Stars

I really liked this movie. I think it's best to start with that. I gave it four stars (which translates into a `B' rating or sorts from me) so you know that I liked it. That said, it is not the emotional rollercoaster of a film I was really expecting. Part of that may come from the fact that I felt this was Fiennes' weaker performance and that his character didn't really resonate with me, which is a shame because aside from his personal contribution to the film I really, really enjoyed myself. I love Ralph Fiennes and do consider him one of our finest working actors, but I felt something missing in his performance here.

Just for a quick overview:

`The English Patient' is told over a collage of flashbacks as injured Almasy recalls his love affair with the married Katherine. His nurse Hana struggles to connect with Almasy as she weeds out her own issues, especially when it comes to love and her recent yearnings for Kip, a bomb diffuser.

That's basically it. The film is of course littered with a few side plots and a slew of characters that pepper in some charm and energy into the film, but for the most part the above synopsis covers it really. That's not a bad thing at all, for the simpler the plot the more opportunity the director and actors have to embellish. For the most part `The English Patient' works. It is a very nicely crafted and developed film and the acting is all decent (no, I'm not contradicting myself), in parts even spectacular. The story is beautifully tragic and Minghella's adaptation is very rewarding. He is a visually commanding director (his work in `Cold Mountain' is just as spectacular, and his work on `The Talented Mr. Ripley' is one of the best directorial achievements in modern cinema) and so it is no surprise that this film is captivating from start to finish.

Don't listen to the naysayers; the pace of this film is perfect.

The problem I have with this film is that it is not emotionally investing. What I mean is that, while the ending is enough to make anyone cry regardless of their feelings on the film in general, it doesn't stay with you. The next day or even later that evening your emotions will have subsided and you'll all but forget that you were moved. I don't often like to compare films, because I feel that every film deserves its own individual analysis, but I'm forced to give an example. A whole month after watching `Brokeback Mountain' I was pumping gas and an image of Ennis came into my head and my stomach tightened as I felt the emotional punch to the gut that that particular film left me. You don't get that with this movie. Another example; a few weeks after I saw `Atonement' (a film that is often likened to this movie) I saw a trailer for the film and I started to cry. Again, you don't get that with this movie.

That isn't to say that `The English Patient' will not touch you or that the story is not moving. While you are watching the film you will feel moved and touched, that is for certain, but like I said; it's not a lasting feeling.

I credit a lot of that to Fiennes, who I felt performed rather underwhelming here. He was outshone completely by his co-stars, the luminescent Kristin Scott Thomas and the Oscar winning Juliette Binoche. Both actresses transcend their characters and become a part of us. Thomas is probably best in show here; her body language alone is just mesmerizing. Standing next to her, Fiennes is almost invisible.

In the end I highly recommend this one, but if you are looking for a film that will stay with you a lifetime this may not be that film. I know that a lot of people feel differently than I do, and you may be one of them. Please remember that film is art and that we all see things differently, which is a good thing. One reviewer commented on a recent review of mine, stating that I should try to enjoy films and not pollute my reviews with my opinions (not those exact words, but that was his gist). Why review a film if we cannot be honest and let others know exactly how we feel? I am not here trying to persuade you away from a movie, but just trying to give you my perspective. If it's helpful then great, if not then I'm sorry.

Anyways, I just wanted to say that.

DVD Review: LUSCIOUS
Summary: 5 Stars

Most of the time retelling a story ( and a masterpiece, at that ) in a different medium results in disappointment, but not only did Anthony Minghella's screenplay live up to the expectations of Ondaatje's incredible book, his direction was so fluid that I could, not only see, but almost feel the ancient, sun-heated sand of the North African desert. Then, of course, there was Gabriel Yard's extraordinary score that was so luxuriously, sweeping and romantic, along with John Seale's breathtaking cinematography ( especially of the desert ) that helped the film to encapsulate the power and beauty of Count Almasy's ( Ralph Fiennes ), and Katherine's ( Kristin Scott Thomas ) hopeless passion, along with the tragedies, and loss that Hana ( Juliette Binoche ), and Almasy have experienced during the course of WW II. The acting was also exceptional- across the board. This is a movie for people that actually do know how insane, absurd, and all-encompassing real love, and real life, particularly during times of great stress ( world-wide wars, and such... ) can get. It's just nice, once in awhile, to find a film that requires the use of a heart, and brain. In short I love it.

DVD Review: Borefest not much here don't waste your time
Summary: 2 Stars

Movie started out great, got me excited, the first 30 minutes was good. Then all of the sudden, boring and trite plot and subplot making me want to walk out of the movie all together.

DVD Review: So did you like it or not?
Summary: 5 Stars

I cannot believe all these interminable reviews. Do these people actually think anyone has time to read their massive missives?

Here's the thing, buy the DVD. Watch it lots of times. I've seen it maybe 50 times and just the last time I saw it did I catch the last thing that Katherine wrote in Almasys' Herodotus as she died.
And then I noticed Minghella's shot after Almasy jumps from the train, how he's framed against the blue sky as the music swells and then there's Fiennes fierce face.
Every time I see it, I catch something new, there's so much going on that it's like a piece of music for me, it keeps revealing itself. Maybe that was Minghella's gift.
I love this movie slavishly, the way some love Casablanca or Star Wars.

Description of The English Patient

Winner of nine Academy Awards and almost every critic's heart, The English Patient (based on Michael Ondaatje's prizewinning novel of love and loss during World War?II) is one of the most acclaimed films of modern times. Hana, a nurse (Juliette Binoche), tends to an archaeologist (Ralph Fiennes) who has been burnt to a crisp in a plane crash. As their relationship intensifies, he flashes back to his overwhelming passion for a married woman (Kristin Scott Thomas). Meanwhile, Hana begins a new romance with a man who defuses bombs (Naveen Andrews) and Willem Dafoe almost steals the show as the thumbless thief Caravaggio. The intricately layered flashback narrative, sounding the depths of the lovers' hearts, improves with repeated viewings--especially with the sharp picture and digital sound of the digital video disc.

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