The English Patient (1996)

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.

Director:

Anthony Minghella

Writers:

Michael Ondaatje (novel), Anthony Minghella (screenplay)

Stars:

Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe

Won 9 Oscars. Another 54 wins & 75 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ralph Fiennes	...	Almásy
Juliette Binoche	...	Hana
Willem Dafoe	...	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

Storyline

October 1944 in war torn Italy. Hana, a French-Canadian nurse working in a mobile army medical unit, feels like everything she loves in life dies on her. Because of the difficulty traveling and the dangers, especially as the landscape is still heavily booby-trapped with mines, Hana volunteers to stay behind at a church to care solely for a dying semi-amnesiac patient, who is badly burned and disfigured. She agrees to catch up to the rest of the unit after he dies. All the patient remembers is that he is English and that he is married. Their solitude is disrupted with the arrival at the church of fellow Canadian David Caravaggio, part of the Intelligence Service, who is certain that he knows the patient as a man who cooperated with the Germans. Caravaggio believes that the patient's memory is largely in tact and that he is running away from his past, in part or in its entirety. The patient does open up about his past, all surrounding his work as a cartographer in North Africa, which ...

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Plot Keywords:

patient | nurse | flashback | english | church | 

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Taglines:

In memory, love lives forever.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, some violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Juliette Binoche: The Art of Being - Official Fansite Official Facebook

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English German Italian Arabic

Release Date:

6 December 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

El paciente inglés

Filming Locations:

Degache, Tunisia

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$278,439, 17 November 1996

Gross USA:

$78,676,425

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$231,976,425

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, Tiger Moth Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

162 min 250 min (rough cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS (8 channels) DTS-Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Juliette Binoche knew she wanted to be in the film the minute she read the scene when Kip shows Hana the fresco paintings on the walls of a church.

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Goofs

Katharine Clifton (Scott -Thomas) explains to Count László Almásy (Fiennes), that her husband is map making in Ethiopia. The year at this point is 1939, and the country was known as Abyssinia until 1945.

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Quotes

Almásy: How can you ever smile, as if your life hadn't capsized?

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Crazy Credits

The producer and director wish to thank The Tozeur District Governor.

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Connections

Referenced in Scream: The Inside Story (2011)

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Soundtracks

Wang Wang Blues
(1921)
Music by Gus Mueller, Buster Johnson (as "Buster" Johnson), and Henry Busse
Lyrics by Leo Wood
Published by Cromwell Music, Inc., EMI Feist Catalog, Inc., and Bienstock Publishing Co.
On behalf of Redwood Music Ltd.
Performed by Benny Goodman
Courtesy of Columbia Records By arrangement of Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

as below

I like this movie above all others. It is "multi-layered"; there is so much to see and appreciate. Every viewing brings a new appreciation of the story-line, the plot and the characters. Faultlessly acted and extremely enjoyable if you take the time to watch it and appreciate it. I love the interaction between the players; the subtle relationships; the period atmosphere. Ralph Fiennes is perfectly cast as the brooding lover and Geoffrey the wronged husband is beautifully underplayed by Colin Firth. The scene in the sand storm where Catherine & El-masy are discussing the different types of sand storms is one of the high-lights of the film and where the affair really starts. The other relationship between Hanna & El-masy is yet another "layer" of the movie which is totally enchanting (and heart-rending). A worthy winner of so many awards.