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The English Patient (1996)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.7/10
Reviews Counted: 58
Fresh: 48 | Rotten: 10

Though it suffers from excessive length and ambition, director Minghella's adaptation of the Michael Ondaatje novel is complex, powerful, and moving.

Average Rating: 7.8/10
Critic Reviews: 17
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 2

Though it suffers from excessive length and ambition, director Minghella's adaptation of the Michael Ondaatje novel is complex, powerful, and moving.

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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 77,199

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Movie Info

Anthony Minghella wrote and directed this award-winning adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's novel about a doomed and tragic romance set against the backdrop of World War II. In a field hospital in Italy, Hana (Juliette Binoche), a nurse from Canada, is caring for a pilot who was horribly burned in a plane wreck; he has no identification and cannot remember his name, so he's known simply as "the English Patient," thanks to his accent. When the hospital is forced to evacuate, Hana determines en route

R, 2 hr. 42 min.

Drama, Romance

Directed By: Anthony Minghella

Written By: Michael Ondaatje, Anthony Minghella

In Theaters: Nov 15, 1996 Wide

On DVD: Mar 24, 1998

Miramax Films

Cast

Ralph Fiennes
Count Laszlo Almasy
Juliette Binoche
Hana
Willem Dafoe
Caravaggio
Kristin Scott Thomas
Katharine Clifton
Naveen Andrews
Kip
Colin Firth
Geoffrey Clifton
Julian Wadham
Madox
Lothaire Bluteau
Nino Castelnuovo
D'Agostino
Raymond Coulthard
Douglas Rupert
Fritz Eggert
interrogation room sold...
Clive Merrison
Fenelon-Barnes
J�rgen Prochnow
Maj. Muller german offi...
Liisa Repo-Martell
Jan
Amanda Walker
Lady Hampton
Kevin Whately
Sgt. Hardy
Geordie Johnson
Oliver
Philip Whitchurch
Corporal Dade
Matthew Ferguson
young Canadian soldier
Hichem Rostom
Fouad
Lee Ross
Spalding
Peter Ruhring
Bermann
Torri Higginson
Mary
Dominic Mafham
officer El Taj
Jason Done
kiss me soldier
Sonia Manka�
Arab nurse
Rim Turki
Aicha
Sebastian Rudolph
officer in square
Sebastian Schipper
interrogation room sold...
Anthony Smee
Beach Interrogating Off...
Roger Morlidge
sergeant desert train
Clive Morrison
Fenelon-Barnes
Simon Sherlock
private desert train
Thoraya Sehill
interpreter in square
Sondess Belhassen
woman with baby in squa...
Salah Miled
Bedouin doctor
Abdellatif Hamrouni
ancient arab
Samy Azaiez
Kamal
Habib Chetoui
Al Auf
Phillipa Bay
officer's wife
Paul Kant
Sir Ronnie Hampton

Critic Reviews for The English Patient

All Critics (58) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (50) | Rotten (10) | DVD (19)

Out of each of these uprooted characters are spun stories of love, loyalty and betrayal.

January 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Newsweek

| Comment

David Ansen

Newsweek

Top Critic

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.

January 29, 2008 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine

| Comment

Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

Top Critic

A respectable, intelligent but less than stirring adaptation of an imposingly dense and layered novel.

January 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Todd McCarthy

Variety

Top Critic

This is the real thing, and real things don't come along very often, so you'd better snap them up when they do.

February 10, 2007 Comment

Jeff Millar

Houston Chronicle

Top Critic

For all the film's effectiveness as a love story, I often felt I was being hurried through a busy itinerary.

February 5, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comments (2)

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

The result is completely intoxicating.

February 5, 2007 Full Review Source: Washington Post

| Comment

Rita Kempley

Washington Post

Top Critic

Overlong and stifling high-class desert war story that mixes a tearjerker romance with a beguiling mystery story.

March 13, 2008 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The whole film is permeated with tenderness for its hurt characters, whom Minghella sees as just a small slice in the fellowship of people who love and suffer.

January 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Slate

| Comment

Sarah Kerr

Slate

Gorgeous looking and achingly romantic literary adaptation that showcases expert performances by Fiennes and Scott Thomas.

January 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Film4

The sand seems to drench the actors in deep golden light; the sky is a rich, muted blue, like a still and suspended sea.

July 30, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com

| Comment

Rob Gonsalves

eFilmCritic.com

Fiennes is solid, if occasionally a little remote, as the dashing man of action. But Kristin Scott Thomas is the film's revelation.

February 5, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

| Comment

TV Guide's Movie Guide

Among many achievements, John Seal's strikingly precise photography draws contrast, which is significant in the text, between sensual imagery of the adulterous affair between Fiennes and Scott Thomas and jarring images of desert wartime brutality.

August 2, 2006 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

| Comment

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

Needless to say, the performances are flawless; more surprising is the fluency, poetry and scale of Minghella's direction.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Geoff Andrew

Time Out

It's a sweeping romance with many good aspects, but not enough to justify the time you spend watching.

April 9, 2005 Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews

| Comment

Robin Clifford

Reeling Reviews

Yes, it's beautifully shot, well-acted, and rich with history lessons. But how can we cheer for heroes who sell out their friends and nation for an extramarital affair?

January 15, 2005 Comments (2)

Jeffrey Overstreet

Looking Closer

This is a very sad movie, indeed -- but one filled with cinematic artistry.

July 27, 2004 Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews

| Comment

Betty Jo Tucker

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Any movie showing Juliette Binoche hoisted aloft by ropes and carrying a flare to see gorgeous wall paintings is worth watching more than once.

July 26, 2004 Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews

| Comment

Betty Jo Tucker

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

As the sensitive Hana, Binoche delivers one of the most incandescent performances I've ever had the pleasure to watch.

July 21, 2004 Full Review Source: Creative Loafing

| Comment

Matt Brunson

Creative Loafing

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The English Patient

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The English Patient is a film that I really want to enjoy. Unfortunately, I really couldn't get into the story. I do enjoy a good drama/romance, but Unfortunately this one simply just didn't do it for me. I applaud the acting, as I thought there was good performances here. Unfortunately I didn't very much enjoy the

February 16, 2012

Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

Super Reviewer

Based on the book of the same name, The English Patient is a sweeping drama that is complex, moving, and very powerful. It's breathtakingly shot, and the score by Gabriel Yared is one of the most beautiful I've ever heard. Juliette Binoche, Ralph Fiennes and Kristen Scott Thomas give emotional, powerful performances as well.

January 26, 2012

Raymond Wieser

Super Reviewer

The English Patient Quotes

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1. Count Laszlo Almasy: Every night.. I cut out my heart... But in the morning it was full again.
– Submitted by Anastasia K (53 days ago)
1. Count Laszlo Almasy: Swoon... I'll catch you.
– Submitted by Anastasia K (54 days ago)
1. Count Laszlo Almasy: I just wanted you to know: I'm not missing you yet.
2. Katharine Clifton: You will.
– Submitted by Daniela S (9 months ago)
1. Count Laszlo Almasy: New lovers are nervous and tender, but smash everything. For the heart is an organ of fire.
– Submitted by Chris P (13 months ago)
1. Count Laszlo Almasy: There is no God, but I hope someone watches over you.
– Submitted by Chris P (13 months ago)

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