The English Patient (1996)

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:

Sex Standing Up | Geneva Convention | Murder | Burn Injury | Melodrama

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

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality, some violence and language.

Runtime:

162 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Italian | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:16 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | USA:R (certificate #34884) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Denmark:15 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:PG-13 | 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:

Ralph Fiennes' burn make-up took 5 hours to apply every day. Fiennes insisted that the full body make-up be applied even for the scenes where only his head would be filmed.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When an Egyptian worker hits his head on the overhanging wall of the cave, the rock flexes.

Quotes:

Almásy: What do you love?
Katharine Clifton: What do I love?
Almásy: Say everything.
Katharine Clifton: Water, with fish in it. Hedgehogs, I love hedgehogs. Marmite. Baths, but not with other people! Islands. I could go on all day.
Almásy: Go on all day.
Katharine Clifton: Your handwriting.
Almásy: And what else?
Katharine Clifton: A husband.
Almásy: What do you hate most?
Katharine Clifton: A lie. What do you hate most?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Yossi & Jagger (2002)

Soundtrack:

Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht (Silent Night, Holy Night)

The greatest romance movie of all time? Probably...

I've seen a few movies in my time, but this one is exceptional. You'll have to watch it more than once to truly appreciate it, it is emotionally very complex, it explores love and passion at it's most extreme and it's cinematography is just breathtaking. The character of the Count is intensely passionate and tragic without him having to raise his voice or indeed leave his bed, the film is perfectly cast and perfectly acted. The film has a sort of mathematical precision and perfection to it which is rare these days. It combines action, love, tragedy, drama and politics all in one. This movie is unmissable, all the hype surrounding it and all the awards cannot begin to do it any justice. Hats off to Michael Ondaatje for writing the incredible book on which it is based.