Amazon.com Essentials:
Winner of nine Academy Awards and almost every critic's heart,
The English Patient (based on Michael Ondaatje's prizewinning
novel of love and loss
during World War II) is one of the most acclaimed films of modern
times. Hana, a nurse (Juliette Binoche), tends to an archaeologist
(Ralph Fiennes) who has been burnt to a crisp in a plane crash. As
their relationship intensifies, he flashes back to his overwhelming
passion for a married woman (Kristin Scott Thomas). Meanwhile, Hana
begins a new romance with a man who defuses bombs (Naveen Andrews) and
Willem Dafoe almost steals the show as the thumbless thief Caravaggio.
The intricately layered flashback narrative, sounding the depths of
the lovers' hearts, improves with repeated viewings--especially with
the sharp picture and digital sound of the digital video disc.
