Overlong and stifling high-class desert war story that mixes a tearjerker romance with a beguiling mystery story.
Comment
03/13/08
The English Patient (1996)
84 %
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted: 56
Fresh: 47
Rotten:9
Average Rating: 7.8/10
Consensus: Though it suffers from excessive length and ambition, director Minghella's adaptation of the Michael Ondaatje novel is complex, powerful, and moving.
Runtime: 2 hrs 42 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Set during World War II, this film adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's novel concerns a horribly scarred, amnesiac mapmaker (Ralph Fiennes) who is found by Bedouins in the desert and then transported... [More]
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Kristin Scott Thomas, Willem Dafoe
Director: Anthony Minghella
Get This Movie
Rent DVD
Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.
Buy DVD
Reviews for The English Patient
Out of each of these uprooted characters are spun stories of love, loyalty and betrayal.
01/29/08
Top CriticThe 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.
01/29/08
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.
01/29/08
Top CriticA respectable, intelligent but less than stirring adaptation of an imposingly dense and layered novel.
01/29/08
Top CriticGorgeous looking and achingly romantic literary adaptation that showcases expert performances by Fiennes and Scott Thomas.
01/29/08
The sand seems to drench the actors in deep golden light; the sky is a rich, muted blue, like a still and suspended sea.
07/30/07
This is the real thing, and real things don't come along very often, so you'd better snap them up when they do.
02/10/07
Top CriticFiennes is solid, if occasionally a little remote, as the dashing man of action. But Kristin Scott Thomas is the film's revelation.
02/05/07
For all the film's effectiveness as a love story, I often felt I was being hurried through a busy itinerary.
02/05/07
Top CriticThe result is completely intoxicating.
02/05/07
Top CriticAmong 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.
08/02/06
Needless to say, the performances are flawless; more surprising is the fluency, poetry and scale of Minghella's direction.
01/26/06
It's a sweeping romance with many good aspects, but not enough to justify the time you spend watching.
04/09/05
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?
01/15/05
This is a very sad movie, indeed -- but one filled with cinematic artistry.
07/27/04
As the sensitive Hana, Binoche delivers one of the most incandescent performances I've ever had the pleasure to watch.
07/21/04
It's Casablanca set amid the swirling Sahara sands of North Africa and the voluptuous hills of Tuscany.
07/06/04
In many ways, it's just a giant book-on-tape.
07/03/04
Highly passionate and moving.
01/18/04
Latest News for The English Patient
March 18, 2008:
Anthony Minghella: A Tomatometer Retrospective
English filmmaker Anthony Minghella had a sparse but critically acclaimed career by the time of his passing today at the age of 54. We turn to the six films Minghella directed,... More...
March 18, 2008:
Anthony Minghella: 1954-2008
Anthony Minghella, the Oscar-winning director of The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Cold Mountain, has passed away at the age of 54. More...
December 12, 2007:
Walter Murch on Youth Without Youth: The RT Interview (With Exclusive Photos and Clips!)
This week, Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth hits theaters in limited release. The tale of a writer who becomes young again after being struck by lightning is a... More...
May 10, 2007:
Forum Poster Bruce Willis Ain't Cool With Michael Bay
Bruce Willis has been chatting up some lucky web readers over his upcoming reemergence in "Live Free or Die Hard," talking movies and alienating "Armageddon"... More...
Related Forums for The English Patient
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno 
MSN's David Fear and Frank Paiva go head to head discussing the pros and cons of Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen.
The New Cult Canon
The AV Club's Scott Tobias takes a second look at David Lynch's cult classic, Lost Highway.
Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles
TIME takes us on a 25-year long journey into the superstar's career, giving us a look at his 10 best roles.
A Baywatch Comedy?
BuzzSugar reports on Paramount's plans to rebirth the iconic TV show as a comedy film.
IGN RSS Feeds