At the close of WWII, a young nurse tends to a badly-burned plane crash victim. His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair.
Beginning in the 1930's, "The English Patient" tells the story of Count Almásy who is a Hungarian map maker employed by the Royal Geographical Society to chart the vast expanses of the Sahara Desert along with several other prominent explorers. As World War II unfolds, Almásy enters into a world of love, betrayal, and politics that is later revealed in a series of flashbacks while Almásy is on his death bed after being horribly burned in a plane crash.
Written by Anthony Hughes <husnock31@hotmail.com>
The Germans who shoot at Almásy's plane at the beginning were actually tourists roped into the production because they couldn't afford any more extras.
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Goofs
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers):
Katherine's husband has taken off to take pictures for the British Army because, "They want maps of all North Africa, That's why he is in Ethiopia." Ethiopia is located in Eastern Africa, not in North Africa.
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Quotes
Caravaggio:
You're in love with him, aren't you? Your poor patient. You think he's a saint because of the way he looks? I don't think he is. Hana:
I'm not in love with him. I'm in love with ghosts. So is he, he's in love with ghosts. See more »
Crazy Credits
Disclaimer in end credits: "While a number of the characters who appear in this film are based on historical figures, and while many of the areas described - such as the Cave of Swimmers and its surrounding desert - exist and were explored in the 1930s, it is important to stress that this story is a fiction and that the portraits of the characters who appear in it are fictional, as are some of the events and journeys."
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"It's Only a Paper Moon"
(1933) Music by Harold Arlen Lyrics by Billy Rose and E.Y. Harburg Published by Warner Bros., Inc. & Chappell & Co., and Glocca Morra Music Corp.
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