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anonymous 2012-05-25 03:56:31

Definition of "THE BEST MOVIE" - The English Patient

What a wonderful and moving movie it is! I can watch TEP as many times as Icould. The best would be its cinematograhy and the score that I refer asthe best soundtrack in history, much better than Titanic. Juliette Binocheis absolutely fabulous. Ralph Fiennes is great too! Till now, there is nota movie that can be compared with TEP!

2012-05-24 07:35:49

One of the best movies I have ever seen

This movie is definitely haunting but each time I have watched it I have come away with a good feeling because the movie is so beautiful. It always makes me appreciate the simple beauty in the world especially having to do with facets of love and loss.Some say this movie is too long. They remind me of the critics that claimed Mozart's music had too many notes. Drop anything and the movie would lose its balance. The characters are complex and nothing is overdone. The scenery and cinematography is stunning. I agree with the other reviewers - if you don't like this movie, you just don't get it. It is a thoughtful movie that moves at the perfect pace to follow the story as you think about the situations in your mind. Ralph Fienes is perfect in his role as he faces the many Catch 22's about his work, the war, and his love.Watch this movie on DVD on a big screen TV hooked up to stereo speakers and spend 2+ hours in another world and another time and be the better for it.

2012-05-22 04:25:53

The best movie of the '90's

If any movie could ever come close to being in the same class as Casablanca, this movie is it. I'll admit this movie is not for everybody, but the finest effort I have seen since Rain Man.

ciocc1001 2012-05-21 15:54:12

Where's the story?

Spoiler alert: This movie is like a picture of a desert. In a sandstorm. Made into a jigsawpuzzle. There is no story, at least not enough of one to hold your attention formore than five or 10 minutes. So they took the movie and chopped it up intolittle bits, tossed it on the floor, and spliced it back togetheragain.This is to confuse you into thinking it is art.Now here is the ending:There is no story.

2012-05-19 02:49:07

5 stars for the film, 3 stars for the DVD

This review is from: The English Patient (DVD) I just want to make a comment on the picture quality of the DVD as the 5/5 picture quality rating is misleading. I watched it in a theatre and was impressed with the quality of the film in every aspect. The DVD is in widescreen letterbox format -- standard 4:3 screen with top and bottom chopped off to achieve 16:9. The resolution and details really suffer compared with anamorphic DVDs (a good reference is The Fifth Element, superbit version). The picture noise and artifacts are apparent through out the scenes, especially if you watch it on a big screen HDTV, though overall color reproduction is close to the film. The DD 5.1 sound is excellent -- I'd rather watch the DVD with my eyes closed, as the resolution of my mind is almost infinite (though not very accurate. The original theatrical experience helped :) This film deserves a DVD re-release with better picture encoding/compression, which I hear is coming "Real Soon Now".

katc 2012-05-18 06:34:23

Once is enough for this one

I was so looking forward to seeing this when it came out because I'd heardso many good things about it, but I can honestly say, I have never been solet down by a film in all my life.Oh it's a beautiful film, well made with great cinematography and two verybeautiful actresses but that's not enough to make me like this overratedpiece of cinema.Don't get me wrong, I thought Juliette Binoche was wonderful and shethoroughly deserved her Oscar. I really connected with her character'sstorybut unfortunately Hana's story was only a sub-plot to the Count andKatherine's doomed love story.I have to say, nothing surprised me about this film, doomed love and lovetriangles have been done before, a thousand times. I felt no sympathy forthe Count or Katherine, at the end of the film I felt that they had gottenwhat they deserved. I think for someone to feel that way about a lovestoryis a damning testament to the way a film is made, particularly this one. Iended up feeling more sorry for Katherine's husband (played admirably byColin Firth) than for the Count or Katherine.I'm a great fan of love stories and romance but this just didn't doanythingfor me. I didn't like the two leads at all and I certainly didn't connectwith them. I found the sub-plots far more interesting than the main storyline. Defoe, Firth and Binoche were great and I was far more compelled bythem than by Fiennes or Scott Thomas.In short I'd just like to say that once is enough to watch this film. I'veonly seen it once and I have to say, my time could have been better spent.Not a deserving Oscar winner by any stretch of the imagination.

Amy Adler 2012-05-17 15:30:51

One of the greatest achievements in all of cinema, peerlessly beautiful

Count Laszlo (Ralph Fiennes) has just been transferred to a hospital inItaly during World War II. He is horrifically burned from an ambush.His nurse Hana (Juliette Binoche) tends to him, body and mind, for shefears, quite rightly, that he may be a very troubled soul. In thecourse of his care, the Count starts to tell Hana of his recent past.It seems he worked in a government capacity in Africa, where he met abeautiful married lady named Katherine (Kristin Scott Thomas). Althoughthey tried to avoid each other, they fell in love. After a briefaffair, Katherine called it quits, leaving the Count desolate. Even so,the two would meet again, under heart-wrenching circumstances.Meanwhile, Hana herself falls for a Sihk man in the British bomb squad.Yet, the war is raging relentlessly. Can love exist when the world isin turmoil? This is a tremendous film, based on an equally fine butcomplex novel. The plot has many story lines that are woven togetherbeautifully, each of them poignant beyond description. The scriptitself is elegant and contains many memorable lines. Fiennes ismagnificent, both as the burn victim and as the man who thought lovewas a myth. Scott Thomas is also quite fine as the woman who fightsagainst her passions. As for Binoche, she richly deserved the Oscarthat she was presented, as her nurse is a shining example of hope in ahopeless situation. The scenery is utterly gorgeous, as are thecostumes, the direction, and the production. If you have missed out onviewing this film, rectify that soon, very soon. The English Patientwill remain one of the greatest achievements in film for centuries tocome.

KinHo 2012-05-16 19:49:59

Beautiful epic scale drama.

Great acting. Great character development. Great visuals. A very sophisticated plot surrounding the romance between two individuals and the consequences of their decisions. The story explores many areas of moral ambiguity through the life of the English patient. The audience is left to wonder what choices they would made if they were in his place. In the end, each viewer must decide if the English patient is a hero or a traitor. Thought provoking.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU 2012-05-09 08:52:52

The film has aged ideologically

It is an interesting film, but not more than that. What does it shows?That the English were particularly sectarian during WW2 on the Africanfront. Nothing new under the sun. Anyone who had a slightly differentname or a slightly surprising or uncommon attitude was at onceconsidered as a spy unworthy of any trust. This created myriads or evenlegions of misunderstandings and human errors along with cruelty,barbaric acts, violence, etc. The only interest of this film is thetechnical brilliance in the use of flashbacks that only happen in thehead of this English patient who plays the loss of his memory toprotect himself against his own name and his own ascendants. Yet hissurvival is not possible and the nurse who is looking after him islittle by little led to being convinced by him that she has to overdosehim with morphine, which she does. The sentimental elements along theway for the nurse or the Sikh bomb and mine technician are there onlyto provide a present time line onto which the flashbacks can be wovenand attached. The acting is absolutely outstanding, even if the storyis rather trite.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines

Benjamin Wolfe 2012-05-09 00:40:39

"Enthralling"...

I won't go to a generalization, and say it's the best love story of alltime, as some have said. That's fine, people feel very deeply aboutthis film, you either love it I believe...or you simply hate it. Idon't want to say, the best of all,because that is simply too 'broad'for me to make a statement like that. However, I feel very passionatelyabout The English Patient, as well as millions of other people do. The awards say it all. I don't agree with critics, on many levels, however, the ones thatpicked this one, I couldn't agree more.9-Oscars. 41-wins.37-other nominations, makes this love story,on the top of the bunch. From the director, Anthony Minghella, the story that bursts onto thescreen and as Mr. Peterman (from T.V.s Seinfeld) said, "Elaine, Isimply can't take my eyes off of it!" In this instance, I don't agreewith Elaine's response. But the story builds and takes the right time,needed to make it's case beautifully. The cinematography,(John Seale)won multiple awards as well, as it ought too. I have not really paidmuch attention to Juliette Binoche, until now. Well, not entirely trueI loved her performance in "Sabrina" Lovely story of a somewhatcomplicated relationship, next to Harrison Ford. But this was simply anincredibly differing character for her, and as deeply talented as sheis, she simply shined in her own subtle and graceful way, she was justwhat this film was looking for, I'm truly glad that it was herperformance and not another actress. Ralph Fiennes, was alsospectacular in portraying Count Laszlo De Almasy. I had a new respectfor his ability, after seeing this one! What can you say except, seethis picture again. (*****)

fran15 2012-05-02 21:17:20

A stunning moving love story

Anthony Minghella's tragic love story should be seen by everyone its aslow pace but the performances from Fiennes and Thomas are superbFiennes as the brooding British type and Thomas as the upper class ladywho sits around in the company of men. But its Julliet Binoche'sstunning portrayal of the nurse which deserves more of the acclaim atruly heartfelt performance. Some scenes of this film are genuinelymoving IE the scene in the church, the scene between Fiennes andBinoche at the end also springs to mind as does Thomas' scene in thecave. Willem Defoe is also very good. To sum up a classic film withemotion all over the place highly recommended but at times can be alittle slow.

Lee-107 2012-05-02 13:02:47

An Inspirational Masterpiece!

"I wanted to meet the man who could write such a long paper with so fewadjectives." This is what Katherine Clifton tells Almasy on their firstmeeting. Without sounding too rapturous, I have to say that adjectives fallshort of describing the beauty and magnificence of this movie! Lately we'vehad quite a few movies which have been touted by the media and the variousawards alike as great, but which have not seemed so on viewing after all...This is one movie which deserved all the encomium and awards it received. Asa matter of fact, I think it was a case of oversight on the part of the juryto not hand over the Best Acting Oscars to Kristin Scott Thomas and RalphFiennes. Extra-marital affairs have been the subject of quite a fewbooks and movies(Fiennes, coincidentally is in 'The End of the Affair' whichdeals with the same subject), but what makes this movie an exception is thevivid way in which the story unfolds. The opening shot, of the plane glidingover the desert is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful I've seen. The twoparallel stories, Hana and Almasy's stay in the dilapidated house and theflashback of Almasy's meeting and affair with Katherine blend effortlessly,culminating into a truly inspiring end. Both these parallel pieces areaccentuated by great acting, not only by the leads, but by the supportingactors like Naveen Andrews, Willem Dafoe and Colin Firth. Colin Firth,incidentally, in his huge repertoire of movies has never looked as good ashe does in this movie! Not even when he played Mr. Darcy in 'Pride andPrejudice'! Juliette Binoche renders with subtlety and grace the characterof Hana who evolves emotionally through her interaction with Almasy, Kip andCaravaggio. She deserved the Best Supporting Actress Oscar hands down...Eventhough I have great respect for Lauren Bacall(nominated in the same categoryfor 'The Mirror Has Two Faces' and a favorite for the Oscar), I'm glad foronce the jury gave the Oscar to someone who truly deserved it.I think the show-stealer, apart from the great cinematography is RalphFiennes! He gives an incredibly moving and sympathetic performance, both asthe lover who loses the one he most loves and as the invalid whose only hopeis a union with Katherine after death. With Binoche, he's the one who movesthe story forward, doing justice not only to his character but also doingcredit to his drop-dead good looks! This is the kind of movie which shouldgo into cinematic history as one of the Best ever. It's time we stopconsidering just 'Casablanca' or 'Gone With The Wind' as the yardstick forgreat film-making or acting, 'The English Patient' is a modern classic...andAnthony Minghella, a real genius! One only hopes that the kind of greatnessdisplayed in this movie can be seen in many more contemporary movies...

Boyo-2 2012-04-30 08:01:12

Great movie

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to. Juliette Binoche provided themovie with a heart. She is breathtakingly beautiful and extremely talentedtoo.

2012-04-29 16:07:51

The best movie I have ever seen

If you have ever loved someone, you can feel the pain in the ending scenes when he goes back to find her dead body, it blew my mind away... it is a passionate love story that you must watch with your loved one. It is a remarkable story with many underlying threads, all of which come together in the end. I guess that is the definition of a masterpiece. Visually ,it is lyrical; beautiful photographic touches like when they show the lower part of her neck as an abstract piece of art... Highly recommended.

Fifi 2012-04-28 19:33:03

Absolute Perfection!

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

catherine desgranges 2012-04-28 11:33:54

A love story that doesn't make any sense!

Although the movie is well made, I'm not particularly fond of it. WhenJuliette Binoche and Colin Firth are around we assist to the best scenes ofthe film, as they are both absolutely excellent, and truly Juliette Binocheholds the movie on her shoulders. I guess Ralph Fiennes is good too in acertain way, but I find he lacks subtlety and is often cold ( he doesn'thave the delicacy of Colin Firth); he really is at his best when he has alot of make-up and he cannot rely on his looks.The photography is beautiful and I guess in a general way it deserved itsOscars (mostly because the other movies in contention where not very goodeither). But one of the major problem is the love story - whichunfortunately is the plot line - between the count and Mrs Clifton. It mayappeal to some, but to me it's completely histrionic that she willfullyleaves Colin Firth for Ralph Fiennes'character! Maybe I should read thenovel to see how Goeffrey is described, but the way Colin Firth plays it,Mrs Clifton is a fool to walk on him. Could it be possible that Colin Firthwas miscast because he was too charming for the part? Surely, in the script,Goeffrey's character is not enough developped, but to me there is no realvaluable reason why she needs to cheat on him, because she is not in lovewith the count, what ever happens between them is torrid sex! It's mostly aphysical fling which is not justified to me. Personnaly I would prefer ahusband who could sing with humor in front of a bunch of people than theguy who wonders all movie long how to call the little hole in the woman'sneck!I give it 6/10 because there are way too many scenes between the count andMrs Clifton that don't make any sense to me and because the story in itselfhas not touched me enough. If you fall for Ralph Fiennes' blue eyes, youwill probably adore this movie. Maybe I wasn't objective because I watchedit to see Colin Firth, be the judge!

2012-04-23 08:40:39

A Perfect Film

Superb acting( three oscar nominations:Fiennes, Scott Thomas,Binoche, the three main characters),outstanding musical score,breathtaking cinematography,perfect editing,excellent art direction and costumes,outstanding direction, are all present in this movie.When I saw this movie for the first time in 1996 ,a few months prior to it's winning a lot of awards ,I thought that it had been a while since I had seen a movie of this caliber.I sincerely recommend it without reservations.

justimarie 2012-04-22 23:50:53

No chemistry

I was looking forward to seeing this film as it was one I had heard a lotabout. But I was sadly disappointed, bored and depressed by the end. Ihavenever really understood before what is meant by 'chemistry' between theleadroles - this film explained it to me because they don't have any, so theirlove affair was for me utterly unconvincing.

2012-04-17 01:52:19

A Perfect Patient

Over the last several years as my love of film has increased steadily, I have become familiar with many films and their respective directors. One director I have curiously missed out on, however, is Academy-Award winner Anthony Minghella. My accidental evasion of his films is particularly peculiar because he is perhaps best known for his epic romances set during wars; a genre that has produced some of my favorite films. After learning of Minghella’s death, though, I finally corrected this injustice.Minghella’s best known film of his tragically short career is The English Patient, and there is a good reason for this. As wonderful as Minghella’s other films are The English Patient is a masterpiece, absolutely deserving of the Oscar sweep it was awarded. With a large scope, powerful emotions, and a tear-jerking score The English Patient may have been pure Oscar-bait, but first and foremost it was and is a great film. Based off a supposedly unadaptable novel by Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient weaves several stories together using an elliptical chronology. The story begins with a plane crash that turns Lazlo Almasy into an “English patient.” Almasy’s face is practically burned off; he is left with a mask of grotesque scars. He is slowly dying, and instead of transporting him further the French-Canadian nurse Hana (Juliet Binoche) takes him up to a monstery and cares for him there. A few other people come to stay at the monastery as well, including the mysterious Caravaggio (Willem Dafoe), and a Sikh bomb diffuser Kip (Naveen Andrews).The heart of the story is told in flashbacks though as Almasy and Katharine Clifton (Kristin Scott-Thomas) fall for each other. Almasy has a particularly hard exterior, but Katharine slowly melts him. She is also married, and though her husband George (Colin Firth) seems genial Katherine fears he will break if he were to discover the truth.Before The English Patient, Minghella was had only made two smaller films: Truly, Madly, Deeply, and Mr. Wonderful. He was also a playwright, but nothing in his career had prepared him to take on such a large scale project. He overcomes his inexperience easily though; the film has as much epic grandeur as any I have ever viewed. A significant chunk of the credit probably goes to the talented crew Minghella was able to assemble: cinematographer John Seale, composer Gabriel Yared, and legendary editor/sound mixer Walter Murch. All three do masterful jobs, and each deservedly won the Oscar for their accomplishments. Seale’s cinematography is consistently breathtaking; whether he is filming a tired man walking on a desert hill with a giant sun in the background, or he is shooting two lovers going at it in a small room while a Christmas party is going on outside, the one consistency is the pure beauty of each image. Minghella claimed Gabriel Yared’s score is one of the greats, and it is hard to disagree. Movie music often functions as an emotional cue for the audience; but Yared uses it to further enhance the emotion the characters feel on screen. Finally, there is Walter Murch, who handled both the sound and editing of the film. The film’s non-linear approach could have been disastrous, but the way he and Minghella piece the film’s story together is beautiful. Many film avoid straight chronology for no real purpose and the result is detrimental, but in The English Patient there is always a reason for a scene’s placement and the final product is wondrous.The film would not work though if it were not for the erotic chemistry that develops between Fiennes and Scott-Thomas. The critical component of the film is the romance between these two characters, and Fiennes and Scott-Thomas deliver. The connection that develops between these two actors is incredible; each look is filled with passion. It would not be an understatement to call this one of the great film romances.All the actors in the film do impeccable jobs. Fiennes, who in some scenes must appear ruggedly handsome and in others is buried under a mask of makeup, balances the two perfectly. In the performance of her career, Scott-Thomas essays a luminous character that is stuck in dire circumstances. It is a brave performance, and a tremendous one. Juliet Binoche is lovely in her role, and though she is not given as much meaty material as the two leads, she never feels the need to overact or chew up the scenery. It is a classic supporting performance by a true leading lady, and it is hard to argue with her Oscar victory. Finally, there is Willem Dafoe who is solid, but never able to delve into his character as much as his co-stars. Naveen Andrews, in his pre-Lost days, fills out the cast with a nice, subtle performance.While some may have been dissapointed back in 1997 when The English Patient dominated the Oscar’ s over the critical darling Fargo, it is hard to believe could not be swept up by this amazing story. The technical elements are outstanding, the actors are incredible, and Anthony Minghella’s screenplay and direction is perfect. Even though The English Patient is a tragedy, Minghella finds optimism in his heartbraking story. The last shot of the film is of the sun, emanating light. Hopefully, Minghella’s family, friends, and colleagues can also discover a ray of light during this sad time.

2012-04-16 16:51:56

Tragically Passionate

I can't even count how many times I have seen this movie. Each time I watch it I cry for days. A visually beautiful film with a tragic story line that involves war, political conspiracy, a haunting love story and wonderful characters of great depth.This is one of my all time favorite films and top five love stories. It is breathtakingly beautiful and powerfully tragic at the same time. Worth every moment!!