Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)

When a fisherman leaves to fight with the Greek army during WWII, his fiancee falls in love with the local Italian commander.

Director:

John Madden

Writers:

Shawn Slovo (screenplay), Louis de Bernières (novel)

Stars:

Penélope Cruz, John Hurt, Christian Bale

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Penélope Cruz	...	Pelagia
John Hurt	...	Dr. Iannis
Christian Bale	...	Mandras
Irene Papas	...	Drosoula
Gerasimos Skiadaressis	...	Mr. Stamatis
Aspasia Kralli	...	Mrs. Stamatis
Mihalis Giannatos	...	Kokolios
Dimitris Kaberidis	...	Father Aresenios (as Dimitris Kamperidis)
Pietro Sarubbi	...	Velisarios, The Strongman (as Pedro Sarubbi)
Viki Maragaki	...	Eleni, Pelagia's Friend
Joanna-Daria Adraktas	...	Young Lemoni
Ira Tavlaridis	...	Older Lemoni
Katerina Didaskalou	...	Lemoni's Mother
Emilios Chilakis	...	Dimitris
Nikos Karathanos	...	Spiros

Storyline

In 1941, Italy allies with Germany and ruthlessly conquers the much weaker country of Greece. On a remote Greek island, an Italian artillery garrison is established to maintain order. One Italian officer, Captain Corelli, adopts an attitude of mutual co-existence with the Greeks and engages in such activities as music festivals and courting the daughter of a local doctor. In 1943, however, after Italy surrenders to the Allies and changes sides in the war, Captain Corelli must defend the Greek island against a German invasion.

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Plot Keywords:

italian | greek | love | island | captain | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence, sexuality and language

Details

Official Sites:

Bac Films [fr] (French) Buena Vista Int. (UK) (Flash only)

Country:

UK France USA

Language:

English Greek German Italian

Release Date:

17 August 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

La mandolina del capitán Corelli

Filming Locations:

Chorgota Beach, Komitata Village, Kefallonia Island, Greece

Box Office

Budget:

$57,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$7,209,345 (USA) (17 August 2001)

Gross:

$25,528,495 (USA) (12 October 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, StudioCanal, Miramax Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer Louis de Bernières rewrote the book approximately 35 times to ensure he had got details told to him by locals as accurate as possible.

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Goofs

Captain Corelli says "Mussolini has surrendered to America and Britain, not Germany". Benito Mussolini didn't surrender to anybody; he was arrested by his fellow Fascist Party Council members, supported by some Italian Generals and the King of Italy. After he was rescued by Adolf Hitler's SS commandos, he continued to fight the allies.

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Quotes

Captain Weber: Heil Hitler!
Corelli: Heil Puccini!

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Connections

Featured in David Walliams' Awfully Good: Awfully Good Movies (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Ricordo Ancor"
(Pelagia's Song)
(Warbeck/Reconti)
Performed by Russell Watson
Courtesy of Decca Music Group

User Reviews

The film is a true depiction of went on in Cephallonia during the war and after.

Being Of Cephallonian descent, I was happily surprised when watching the movie. I have heard the true history from my relatives that still live in Cephalonia, but when watching the movie and reading the book the sketchy bits of history were filled. It is all true, the Italians would sing, the oppression and the earthquakes that rock the island so often. The earthquake in 1953 killed my great grandfather and the book and movie both portray the feeling of the era with great compassion. If you haven't seen the movie go and watch it and read the book, it is not only a love story, and yes, there were plenty of Italians in love with Cephallonian women, in fact, boat loads of Cephallonian women were taken to Italy after the war, it is a true depiction of history.