The English Patient (1996)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Anthony Minghella

Writers (WGA):

Michael Ondaatje (novel)
Anthony Minghella (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 November 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Drama | War

Tagline:

In love, there are no boundaries.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Crash | Nurse | Love | WWII | Flashback

Awards:

Won 9 Oscars. Another 41 wins & 37 nominations

Cast

Ralph Fiennes	...	Count Laszlo de Almásy
Juliette Binoche	...	Hana
Willem Dafoe	...	David Caravaggio
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Katharine Clifton
Naveen Andrews	...	Kip
Colin Firth	...	Geoffrey Clifton
Julian Wadham	...	Madox
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Major Muller
Kevin Whately	...	Hardy
Clive Merrison	...	Fenelon-Barnes
Nino Castelnuovo	...	D'Agostino
Hichem Rostom	...	Fouad
Peter Rühring	...	Bermann
Geordie Johnson	...	Oliver
Torri Higginson	...	Mary

Also Known As:

El paciente inglés (Argentina) (Peru) (Spain) [es]
Der englische Patient (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Le patient anglais (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
O Paciente Inglês (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Angielski pacjent (Poland) [pl]
Angleski pacient (Slovenia) [sl]
Az angol beteg (Hungary) [hu]
Den engelske patient (Denmark) [da]
Den engelske patienten (Sweden) [sv]
El pacient anglès (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Englantilainen potilas (Finland) [fi]
Il paziente inglese (Italy) [it]
Ingiliz hasta (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
O anglos asthenis (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality, some violence and language.

Runtime:

162 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | German | Italian | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #34884) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Denmark:15 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:PG-13 | Brazil:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

From first draft of the screenplay to final cut took four years.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The intervals of lightening seen as Kip, Caravaggio and Hardy carry Almásy around the well are too quick for a thunderstorm.

Quotes:

Almásy: When were you most happy?
Katharine Clifton: Now.
Almásy: And when were you least happy?
Katharine Clifton: Now.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Beauty and the Beasts (#3.4)" (1998)

Soundtrack:

It's Only a Paper Moon

Absolute Perfection!

TEP is like a long cool drink of water after crawling across the Sahara to classic film buffs who have been too long deprived of that certain cinematic magic! Not only is it beautifully photographed, but the characters are perfectly portrayed. If you're looking for the film to be a mirror of the book, you will be seriously disappointed. Instead, it is an excellent "companion" to the book, and I think that is what Anthony Minghella intended. Ralph Fiennes is probably the most beautiful man in the world; not to mention a brilliant actor. Juliette Binoche is the posterchild for vulnerability and childlike enthusiasm. And, of course, I'll go see any film in which Kristin Scott Thomas is featured. She simply must be THE best actress since the likes of Deborah Kerr. So much was promised with this film, and so much is delivered!