Anthony Minghella: 1954-2008

Rest in peace, Mr. Minghella.

Anthony Minghella - Rotten Tomatoes 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.

The Associated Press is reporting the news, which has been confirmed by Minghella's agent, Judy Daish. According to the AP, no other details are available, but Variety is reporting that Minghella "suffered a brain hemorrhage at 5 A.M. Tuesday at Charing Cross Hospital in London, where he had undergone a routine operation on his neck."

Minghella's career Tomatometer rating of 70 percent reflects the relatively consistent critical esteem that his films enjoyed. 1996's The English Patient was nominated for a dozen Academy Awards and took home nine, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress in a Supporting Role. The writer-director's 2006 film Breaking and Entering debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, where our cameras caught him on the red carpet (left). Minghella was most recently in Botswana, working on an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's novel, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency which is set to debut on BBC1 next week.

Source: Associated Press
Source: Variety

Comments

Tumey

Elliot Tume

Wow, this is a shock; tragic death.

Mar 18 - 08:01 AM

aifan

Pablo Martin Podhorzer

Ledger, Minghella, not good. Mr. Ripley is great, everything Minghella touched exuded a kind of European exoticism, as if it wasn´t part of our everyday experience as citizens of "the West". I will truly miss him.

Mar 18 - 08:08 AM

Bloody Mathias

Mathias N/A

The English Patient is his masterpiece.
He will be remembered for it for a long time.

RIP

Mar 18 - 08:10 AM

donwillymo

Will Padin

His movies were too *****ing long!!! I would've liked to have seen his work but I have a life...maybe the academy will forget him like they did brad renfro when they do the tribute

Mar 18 - 08:22 AM

Bigbrother

Big Brother

Nice, way to demonstrate what's wrong with the movie going public.

P.S. your claims of "Having a life" are fooling no one.

Mar 18 - 09:09 AM

nate2709

Nate 2709

Well said bigbrother. I'm a big fan of The Talented Mr.Ripley and Cold Mountain, but I suspect his best work was yet to come. A real shame.

Mar 18 - 09:27 AM

Jack Waters

zachary leeman

Too bad. incredibly talented man.

Mar 18 - 09:38 AM

fnord68

david stoneley

Bad news.I am yet to see Cold Mountain and as it is on demand on my t.v i think i'll watch it later.
r.i.p

Mar 18 - 09:46 AM

arendr

Arend Anton

Shame.

Mar 18 - 10:10 AM

Poor_Frisco

Christian Estabrook

i loved the talented mr. ripley. he will be missed.
RIP

Mar 18 - 10:30 AM

Bardego

Robert Hamer

I was never a huge fan of Minghella's films, but it sucks that he died when he was only 54.

Mar 18 - 10:36 AM

axebox

Ethan Tabor

Talented Mr. Ripley is an amazing film.

Mar 18 - 10:42 AM

AnnaKo

Anna Ko

I almost can't stand this sudden and tragic loss of first-class talent - first Ledger, now, one of the world's most gifted filmmaker. 54 is way too young for a man who still has so much to offer the world - our great loss... I miss him already.

Mar 18 - 10:50 AM

AnnaKo

Anna Ko

Tragic, because neither were expecting to die... I think...

Mar 18 - 10:51 AM

dracus

Cap Nord

I really enjoyed Mr. Ripley but thought Cold Mountain was overated. As for The English Patient, well, let's not go there. I agree with a lot of the other posters though, his death is a shame since his best was yet to come.

Mar 18 - 10:54 AM

markbart0305

Mark Bartoszek

I am shocked and saddened at this news. I had enormous respect for this talented filmmaker. His films had a lasting impression on me. The English Patient is still one of my favorite movies of all time, although I didn't think much of it at all when I first saw it. It was through repeated viewings when I began to experience the power of that film, through its emotions and characters. His films are like fine wine; not only do they get better with age, but you must fully embrace them in order to experience what makes them great. He was one of the truly great old-fashioned filmmakers of our time. His films exuded a romanticism and style that's sadly lacking in many films today. He will be missed.

Mar 18 - 11:34 AM

ambientcafe

matt hum

'markbart0305' is spot on with his comment. I love both The English Patient & The Talented Mr. Ripley equally, but I think 'Patient' is his centerpiece. I'll be revisiting both these films soon with renewed appreciation. I hope to see both these titles on BluRay eventually.

Mar 18 - 11:47 AM

jaredisme

jared burnworth

Good night good sir...

Mar 18 - 12:04 PM

Rusticrub

Scott Reynolds

so what's the dealio....what'd he die from???

Mar 18 - 12:52 PM

AnnaKo

Anna Ko

English Patient was poetry come alive onscreen. Ondaatje was and still is a poet-writer of genius, and I honestly dont think anyone else could've done justice to his work, the way Minghella did. Minghella had a great feeling for the landscape of the human heart, and I think that's why he could translate it so well on film. The barren desert for the condition of a heart that thought it was unloved. True, there are many very gifted directors out there but how many are there who have his particular combination of artistry and humanity... he is a very fine specimen of mankind, among the very best... and I so wish I could write him back to life :(

Mar 18 - 12:55 PM

Rusticrub

Scott Reynolds

yeah...he was cool

Mar 18 - 12:57 PM

AnnaKo

Anna Ko

Complications from surgery. He died from a brain hemorrhage following the removal of his tonsil cancer.

Mar 18 - 12:58 PM

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