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The English Patient (film)
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Wikipedia article
'The English Patient' is a 1996 epic romantic war drama film directed by Anthony Minghella from his own script based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Michael Ondaatje and produced by Saul Zaentz.
The eponymous protagonist, a man burned beyond recognition who speaks with an English accent, recalls his history in a series of flashbacks, revealing to the audience his true identity and the love affair he was involved in before the war. He does not admit his identity or reveal the entire story to the nurse who cares for him and the man who suspects him until the end of the film. This form of exposition is very different from the book, where, under the influence of morphine, the patient talks about his past.
The film received 12 nominations at the 69th Academy Awards, winning nine, including Best Picture, Best Director for Minghella, and Best Supporting Actress for Juliette Binoche. It was also the first to receive a Best Editing Oscar for a digitally edited film. Ralph Fiennes, playing the titular character, and Kristin Scott Thomas were Oscar-nominated for their performances. The film also won five BAFTA Awards and two Golden Globes. The British Film Institute ranked 'The English Patient' the 55th greatest British film of the 20th century.[http://www.cinemarealm.com/best-of-cinema/top-100-british-films/ 'British Film Institute - Top 100 British Films'] (1999). Retrieved August 27, 2016
As of August 2021, the novel is currently in early development for a new BBC television series, co-produced by Miramax Television and Paramount Television Studios.
Plot
In the final days of the Italian Campaign of World War II, Hana, a French-Canadian nurse of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, gains permission from her unit to move into a bombed-out Italian monastery, to look after a dying, critically burned man who speaks English but says he cannot remember his name. His only possession is a copy of Herodotus' Histories, with notes, pictures, and mementos contained inside.
They are soon joined by Kip, a Sikh sapper in the British Indian Army posted with his sergeant to clear mines and booby traps left by the Germans, including one discovered in the monastery where Hana is staying with her patient. David Caravaggio, a Canadian Intelligence Corps operative who has no thumbs as a result of torture during a German interrogation, also arrives to stay at the monastery. Caravaggio questions the patient, who gradually reveals his past through a series of flashbacks.
The patient reveals that in the late 1930s he was exploring a region of the Sahara Desert near the Egyptian-Libyan border. He is, in fact, Hungarian cartographer Count Lszl de Almsy, who was mapping the Sahara as part of a Royal Geographical Society archeological and surveying expedition in Egypt and Libya with a group including his good friend, Englishman Peter Madox. (The film is a highly fictionalized account of the real Almsy's life). Their expedition is joined by a British couple, Geoffrey and Katharine Clifton, who owns a new plane and will contribute with aerial surveys.
Almsy is given clues by a local Bedouin man which help the group discover the location of the Cave of Swimmers, an ancient site of cave paintings in the Gilf Kebir. The group begins to document their find, during which time Almsy falls in love with Katharine. He writes about her in notes folded into his book, which Katharine discovers when Almsy awkwardly accepts her offer of two watercolours she has painted of the cave imagery and asks her to paste them into the book.
The two begin an affair on their return to Cairo, while the group arranges for more detailed archaeological surveys of the cave and the surrounding area. Almsy buys a silver thimble in the market as a gift to Katharine. Some months later, Katharine abruptly ends their affair from fear her husband Geoffrey will discover it. Shortly afterward the archaeological projects are halted due to the onset of the war. Madox leaves his Tiger Moth aeroplane at Kufra Oasis before his intended return to Britain.
Over the days while Almsy relates his story, Hana and Kip begin a shy love affair, but Kip is reposted once he has cleared the area of explosives. They agree they will meet again. Meanwhile, Caravaggio reveals that he has been seeking revenge for his injuries, and has killed the German interrogator who cut off his thumbs and the spy who identified him but has been searching for the man who provided requisite maps to the Germans, allowing them to infiltrate Cairo. He suspects Almsy is that man and asks him point-blank "Did you kill the Cliftons?", to which Almsy shakes his head, but then concedes "Maybe... I did".
Returning to the past, Almsy is packing up the base camp when Geoffrey Clifton arrives overhead. Instead of landing, he aims straight for Almsy. At the last minute, Almsy dives out of the way. Scrambling over to the wreckage, he finds Geoffrey dead at the controls. To his grief, he finds Katharine is present as well, badly hurt in the front seat. She tells him Geoffrey knew, perhaps had always known. He apparently was heartbroken and was attempting a murder-suicide. Almsy carries her to the Cave of Swimmers. He notices around her neck she is wearing a chain bearing his gift, and she declares she has always worn it and always loved him.
Leaving her in the cave with provisions and his book, Almsy attempts a three-day walk across the desert to get help. Finally arriving at British-held El Tag, he explains the desperate situation and asks for a car, but is frustrated by the young officer's unwillingness to cooperate. Detained on suspicion of being a spy, he is transported away by train. He escapes and soon afterward comes into contact with a German army unit. They take him to the Kufra Oasis, where Madox has hidden his plane. Exchanging maps for fuel, Almsy takes to the air and finally reaches the cave, where he confirms that Katharine has died. He carries her body from the cave back to the plane and takes off. The clip of a plane flying across a sea of desert connects the story to the start of the film, where a plane is doing just that before it is shot down by German gunners. Almsy is badly burned, but he is pulled from the wreckage and rescued by a group of Bedouin, who brings him to the Siwa Oasis, from where he is moved to Italy. After hearing the story Caravaggio gives up his quest for revenge.
Pushing several vials of morphine toward Hana, Almsy tells her he has had enough, he wants to die. Though visibly upset, she grants his wish and administers a lethal dose. As he drifts to sleep, she reads him Katharine's final letter, written to Almsy while she was alone in the cave. The next morning Caravaggio returns with a friend, and they get a lift to Florence. Hana holds Almsy's book tight as she rides away.
Cast
*Ralph Fiennes as Almsy
*Juliette Binoche as Hana
*Willem Dafoe as Caravaggio
*Kristin Scott Thomas as Katharine Clifton
*Naveen Andrews as Kip
*Colin Firth as Geoffrey Clifton
*Julian Wadham as Madox
*Jrgen Prochnow as Major Mller
*Kevin Whately as Hardy
*Clive Merrison as Fenelon-Barnes
*Nino Castelnuovo as D'Agostino
*Hichem Rostom as Fouad
*Peter Rhring as Bermann
*Geordie Johnson as Oliver
*Torri Higginson as Mary
*Liisa Repo-Martell as Jan
*Raymond Coulthard as Rupert Douglas
*Philip Whitchurch as Corporal Dade
*Lee Ross as Spalding
Production
Saul Zaentz was interested in working with Anthony Minghella after he saw the director's film 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' (1990); Minghella brought this project to the producer's attention. Michael Ondaatje, the Sri Lankan-born Canadian author of the novel, worked closely with the filmmakers. During the development of the project with 20th Century Fox, according to Minghella, the "studio wanted the insurance policy of so-called bigger" actors. Zaentz recalled, "they'd look at you and say, 'Could we cast Demi Moore in the role'?" Not until Miramax Films took over was the director's preference for Scott Thomas accepted.
The film was shot on location in Tunisia and Italy. with a production budget of $31 million.
'The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film' (2002)Random House Inc. by Michael Ondaatje is based on the conversations between the author and film editor. Murch, with a career that already included such complex works as the Godfather trilogy, 'The Conversation,' and 'Apocalypse Now,' dreaded the task of editing the film with multiple flashbacks and time frames. Once he began, the possibilities became apparent, some of which took him away from the order of the original script. A reel without sound was made so scene change visuals would be consistent with the quality of the aural aspect between the two. The final cut features over 40 temporal transitions. It was during this time that Murch met Ondaatje and they were able to exchange thoughts about editing the film.
Two types of aircraft are used in the film, a De Havilland D.H.82 Tiger Moth and a Boeing-Stearman Model 75. Both are biplanes. The camp crash scene was made with a -size scale model.
The Hungarian folk song, "Szerelem, Szerelem", performed by Muzsikas featuring Mrta Sebestyn, was featured in the film.
Reception
The film received widespread critical acclaim, was a box office success and received nine Academy Awards, six BAFTA awards, and two Golden Globe Awards.
The film has a "Certified Fresh" rating of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 91 reviews, with an average rating of 7.90/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Though it suffers from excessive length and ambition, director Minghella's adaptation of the Michael Ondaatje novel is complex, powerful, and moving." The film also has a rating of 87/100 on Metacritic, based on 31 critical reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". 'Chicago Sun Times' critic Roger Ebert gave the film a four-star rating, saying "it's the kind of movie you can see twice first for the questions, the second time for the answers". In his movie guide, Leonard Maltin rated the film out of 4, calling it "a mesmerizing adaptation" of Ondaatje's novel, saying "Fiennes and Scott Thomas are perfectly matched", and he concluded by calling the film "an exceptional achievement all around".
Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A" on a scale of A+ to F.
It became the highest-grossing film in the history of Miramax with a worldwide gross of $232 million.
Home video releases
When released on VHS in 1997, Miramax Home Entertainment released the movie on both two VHS Tapes (in mid-1997) and one VHS tape (in early 1998). The double-tape release is much harder to come by and has a slightly different sleeve design on both the tapes and case. The double tape has the cover art on the front of the case slightly cropped more to the right than the single-tape release and has the 'Recommend this Hit to Friends!' disclaimer on the tape sleeve, indicating a slightly older release. It also has a '--Part 1--' or '--Part 2--' disclaimer. Neither of these gimmicks are present on the single-tape release of the movie.
Also to note is the previews on each version of the original release: the two-tape version has several previews (including previews for 'The Horse Whisperer', 'Evita', and 'First Do No Harm') plus a promo for the movie's soundtrack. The single-tape version has no previews, aside from a promo for the book 'The English Patient'.
In 1998, the film was re-released on a single VHS tape in widescreen. The cover has a widescreen banner and has the image cropped properly, unlike the two earlier releases. This was also the first DVD release of the movie.
Over the next several years, it would be re-released in America on VHS, DVD, and Blu-Ray.
Accolades
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
|-
| rowspan="12"| 20/20 Awards
| Best Director
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Best Actor
| Ralph Fiennes
|
|-
| Best Actress
| Kristin Scott Thomas
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actress
| Juliette Binoche
|
|-
| Best Adapted Screenplay
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Best Art Direction
| Stuart Craig
|
|-
| Best Cinematography
| John Seale
|
|-
| Best Costume Design
| Ann Roth
|
|-
| Best Editing
| Walter Murch
|
|-
| colspan="2"| Best Makeup
|
|-
| Best Score Drama
| Gabriel Yared
|
|-
| colspan="2"| Best Sound Design
|
|-
| rowspan="12"| Academy Awards
| Best Picture
| Saul Zaentz
|
|-
| Best Director
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Best Actor
| Ralph Fiennes
|
|-
| Best Actress
| Kristin Scott Thomas
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actress
| Juliette Binoche
|
|-
| Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Best Art Direction
| Stuart Craig and Stephenie McMillan
|
|-
| Best Cinematography
| John Seale
|
|-
| Best Costume Design
| Ann Roth
|
|-
| Best Film Editing
| Walter Murch
|
|-
| Best Original Dramatic Score
| Gabriel Yared
|
|-
| Best Sound
| Walter Murch, Mark Berger, David Parker and Christopher Newman
|
|-
| American Cinema Editors Awards
| Best Edited Feature Film
| Walter Murch
|
|-
| American Society of Cinematographers Awards
| Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases
| John Seale
|
|-
| Art Directors Guild Awards
| Excellence in Production Design Feature Film
| Stuart Craig and Aurelio Crugnola
|
|-
| Artios Awards
| Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film Casting Drama
| David Rubin
|
|-
| ASECAN Awards
| Best Foreign Film
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Australian Film Institute Awards
| Best Foreign Film
| rowspan="2"| Saul Zaentz
|
|-
| rowspan="12"| Awards Circuit Community Awards
| Best Motion Picture
|
|-
| Best Director
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Best Actor in a Leading Role
| Ralph Fiennes
|
|-
| Best Actress in a Leading Role
| Kristin Scott Thomas
|
|-
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role
| Juliette Binoche
|
|-
| Best Adapted Screenplay
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Best Art Direction
| Stuart Craig and Stephenie McMillan
|
|-
| Best Cinematography
| John Seale
|
|-
| Best Costume Design
| Ann Roth
|
|-
| Best Film Editing
| Walter Murch
|
|-
| Best Original Score
| Gabriel Yared
|
|-
| colspan="2"| Best Sound
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Berlin International Film Festival
| Golden Bear
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Best Actress
| Juliette Binoche
|
|-
| Boston Society of Film Critics Awards
| Best Cinematography
| John Seale
|
|-
| rowspan="13"| British Academy Film Awards
| Best Film
| Saul Zaentz and Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Best Direction
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Best Actor in a Leading Role
| Ralph Fiennes
|
|-
| Best Actress in a Leading Role
| Kristin Scott Thomas
|
|-
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role
| Juliette Binoche
|
|-
| Best Screenplay Adapted
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Best Cinematography
| John Seale
|
|-
| Best Costume Design
| Ann Roth
|
|-
| Best Editing
| Walter Murch
|
|-
| Best Make Up/Hair
| Fabrizio Sforza and Nigel Booth
|
|-
| Best Original Music
| Gabriel Yared
|
|-
| Best Production Design
| Stuart Craig
|
|-
| Best Sound
| Mark Berger, Pat Jackson, Walter Murch, Chris Newman, David Parker and Ivan Sharrock
|
|-
| British Society of Cinematographers
| Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film
| John Seale
|
|-
| Cabourg Film Festival
| Best Actress
| Juliette Binoche
|
|-
| Csar Awards
| Best Foreign Film
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Film
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actress
| Juliette Binoche
|
|-
| Best Cinematography
| John Seale
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Chlotrudis Awards
| Best Supporting Actor
| Naveen Andrews
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actress
| Juliette Binoche
|
|-
| Cinema Audio Society Awards
| Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures
| Christopher Newman, Walter Murch, Mark Berger and David Parker
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| Critics' Choice Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Picture
|
|-
| Best Director
| rowspan="3"| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Best Screenplay
|
|-
| Czech Lion Awards
| Best Foreign Film
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| DallasFort Worth Film Critics Association Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Picture
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actress
| Juliette Binoche
|
|-
| Best Cinematography
| John Seale
|
|-
| Directors Guild of America Awards
| Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures
| rowspan="2"| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Empire Awards
| Best British Director
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| European Film Awards
| European Film of the Year
| Saul Zaentz
|
|-
| European Actress of the Year
| Juliette Binoche
|
|-
| European Cinematographer of the Year
| rowspan="2"| John Seale
|
|-
| Florida Film Critics Circle Awards
| Best Cinematography
|
|-
| rowspan="7"| Golden Globe Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Motion Picture Drama
|
|-
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama
| Ralph Fiennes
|
|-
| Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama
| Kristin Scott Thomas
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actress Motion Picture
| Juliette Binoche
|
|-
| Best Director Motion Picture
| rowspan="2"| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Best Screenplay Motion Picture
|
|-
| Best Original Score Motion Picture
| Gabriel Yared
|
|-
| Golden Reel Awards
| Motion Picture Feature Films: Music Editing
| Robert Randles
|
|-
| colspan="3"| Golden Screen Awards
|
|-
| Goya Awards
| Best European Film
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Grammy Awards
| Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television
| 'The English Patient' Gabriel Yared
|
|-
| Guild of German Art House Cinemas Awards
| Best Foreign Film
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Japan Academy Film Prize
| colspan="2"| Outstanding Foreign Language Film
|
|-
| London Film Critics Circle Awards
| British Director of the Year
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
| Best Cinematography
| John Seale
|
|-
| Mainichi Film Awards
| Best Foreign Language Film
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| National Board of Review Awards
| colspan="2"| Top Ten Films
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Best Supporting Actress
| Juliette Binoche
| rowspan="2"
|-
| rowspan="2"| Kristin Scott Thomas
|-
| rowspan="2"| National Society of Film Critics Awards
| Best Supporting Actress
|
|-
| Best Cinematography
| John Seale
|
|-
| Nikkan Sports Film Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Foreign Film
|
|-
| rowspan="14"| Online Film & Television Association Awards
| Best Picture
| rowspan="2"| Saul Zaentz
|
|-
| Best Drama Picture
|
|-
| Best Director
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Best Actor
| rowspan="2"| Ralph Fiennes
|
|-
| Best Drama Actor
|
|-
| Best Actress
| rowspan="2"| Kristin Scott Thomas
|
|-
| Best Drama Actress
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actress
| Juliette Binoche
|
|-
| Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Best Cinematography
| John Seale
|
|-
| Best Film Editing
| Walter Murch
|
|-
| Best Makeup
| Fabrizio Sforza and Nigel Booth
|
|-
| Best Production Design
| Stuart Craig and Stephanie McMillan
|
|-
| Best Score
| Gabriel Yared
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Producers Guild of America Awards
| Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
| rowspan="2"| Saul Zaentz
|
|-
| Visionary Award Theatrical Motion Pictures
|
|-
| rowspan="9"| Satellite Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Motion Picture Drama
|
|-
| Best Director
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama
| Ralph Fiennes
|
|-
| Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama
| Kristin Scott Thomas
|
|-
| Best Screenplay Adapted
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Best Art Direction
| Stuart Craig
|
|-
| Best Cinematography
| John Seale
|
|-
| Best Film Editing
| Walter Murch
|
|-
| Best Original Score
| Gabriel Yared
|
|-
| rowspan="4"| Screen Actors Guild Awards
| Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
| Naveen Andrews, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Ralph Fiennes,
Colin Firth, Jrgen Prochnow, Kristin Scott Thomas and Julian Wadham
|
|-
| Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
| Ralph Fiennes
|
|-
| Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
| Kristin Scott Thomas
|
|-
| Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
| Juliette Binoche
|
|-
| Society of Texas Film Critics Awards
| Best Screenplay Adapted
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| rowspan="4"| Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Picture
|
|-
| Best Actor
| Ralph Fiennes
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actress
| Juliette Binoche
|
|-
| Best Screenplay
| Anthony Minghella
|
|-
| Turkish Film Critics Association Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Foreign Film
|
|-
| colspan="2"| USC Scripter Awards
| Anthony Minghella ; Michael Ondaatje
|
|-
| Writers Guild of America Awards
| Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
| Anthony Minghella
|
|}
Lists
Soundtrack
See also
* BFI Top 100 British films
* The English Patient (Seinfeld)
Notes
References
Further reading
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Buy The English Patient (film) now from Amazon
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