A Review of The English Patient

Like all great movies they are normally based on or inspired by a book. The English Patient is no different written by Michael Ondaatje in 1992(Roberts); I believe this is why the movie is so good he helped co write the movie along with Minghella(IMDB). Today many movies that are inspired by books don’t often stick to the story line that is another reason why this film is spectacular. In a review by Laurence Green he pointed out this interesting historical knowledge about the film. The English Patient the movie had trouble getting the funds of the movie because even though the movie was eventually funded my America it was all British actors who were in the film(Roberts). The main reason for me on why I found the film so pleasing was that there were no over-the-top special effects. Many movies today are all animated and huge explosions, but yes I do realize that this movie was made in 1996 and that as far a technology goes it is an accomplishment, but my point is that sometimes simpler is better. According to Green’s review he says that the film is “basically a study in repressed emotions, the last section of the film is intensely moving”. I agree with Green the film is moving and although the film maybe a little too long and may drag at times all of the information is important and makes a great conclusion. The best films are the ones that make you think about your life when you are done seeing it.

Roberts, Gillian. 'Sins of Omission': The English Patient, THE ENGLISH PATIENT, and the Critics.Spring2002, Issue 76, p195, 21p. 19 April 2010. 'Sins of Omission': The English Patient, THE ENGLISH PATIENT, and the Critics.

Minghella, Anthony. "The English Patient". 15 November 1996.

"The English Patient". Internet Movie Database.17 April 2010. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116209/

Famous Works

The most famous works of Anthony Minghella are The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain, and also the movie Nine. The English Patient Takes place in World War II and is about a map maker and a nurse who takes him in when the map maker is severely injured and has amnesia. You take a journey through the map maker’s eyes as he starts to remember bits and pieces of his life and how he became almost dead. There is love, passion, betrayal, and torture (Hughes). As for The Talented Mr. Ripley, a young man (Ripley) played by Matt Damon is sent to Italy to bring a millionaires trouble maker son home. Though threw many attempts by Ripley to get the son home he is introduced to the other life of care free, and excitement leading to the decision that he will do anything to keep it(jhailey). Cold Mountain although did not win any awards it is still memorable. The story is about a solder and a southern lady who fall in love and are split by the war. For what they only thought would be a few weeks of separation turns into years and they both change significantly. The soldier escapes enemies and sets foot for home, while being left alone and a lady does not know how to defend herself. The ultimate goal for both is to one day be together again(Princess). The movie musical Nine is about director Guido Contini and how he is every actors dream, just by working with him can make you famous. Well that was the case his latest movies have been a disaster and he now wonders if he can ever be great again. Not only is Contini’s professional life bad his personal life his far worse. The journey to see if the once and brilliant Contini can he great again (Huggo).

Hughes, Anthony. "The English Patient". 17 March 2010. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116209/

jhailey."The Plot Summary for THe Talented Mr. Ripley" 17 March 2010. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134119/plotsummary

PrincessJen723. "The Plot Summary for Cold Mountain" 17 March 2010. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0159365/plotsummary

Huggo. The Plot Summary Nine" 17 March 2010. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0875034/plotsummary

Inspiration

When you look at directors today they tend to stick to a certain genre but if you’re lucky you have great directors that can do it all. If you look at James Cameron he is known for making such great film as Titanic and Avatar, he did historical and beyond reality into imagination. Another example is Michael Bay he is best known for action but he also does fantasy and historical. In order to do this you need find out what inspires you. Minghella’s inspiration came from when he shot his first film. It was his about his grandmother and even though it never made it to the screen and took him nine years to pay back the cost for the production, he found his calling(Biography. He said “It gave me the bug for making films and I realized that making movies was the opportunity to lasso everything that I love doing into one job. It’s a pretty good way to live(Biography)!” He started out by being a script editor for a television show then progressed to write for other shows later on. Minghella liked to direct and write films with “extraordinary depth and richly-textured nuance.(Yahoo)” It is because of this theme that we have such extraordinary films as The English Patient, the Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain and many more; this is also why we remember them

"Anthony Minghella Biography". 17 March 2010.
http://thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/anthony-minghella.html

"Anthony Minghella". 9 April 2010.http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800025463/bio

Career

Here are some awards that he either won or was nominated for his superior work

1991-Won Best Original Screenplay from British Academy Awards for Truly, Madly, Deeply.

1996-was nominated for The English Patient in the category Best Adapted Screenplay for the Academy Awards. Won Best Screenplay for the broadcast Film Critics Association. Won Best Director for the English Patient from the Academy Awards, Broadcast Film Critics Association, and Directors Guild of America.

1999- was nominated for The Talented Mr. Ripley for Best Adapted Screenplay for the Academy
Awards,British Academy Awards,Writers Guild of America. Was nominated for Best Director for the same movie for the British Academy Awards, and the Golden Globes. He won Best Director for Mr. Ripley for the National Board of Review.

2003- was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay from Writers Guild of America for Cold Mountain. Was also nominated for Best Screenplay from the Golden Globes. As for Best Director he was nominated for Cold Mountain from the Golden Globes. For the win that year he won Best Adapted Screenplay from the National Board of Review for Cold Mountain.

Anthony Minghella was a wonderful visionary, it is nice to see that he was appreciated for his work.

"Anthony Minghella Biography (1954-)".Theatre,Film,and Television Biographies,17 March 2010,http://www.filmreference.com/film/67/Anthony-Minghella.html

"Biography for Anthony Minghella". Internet Movie Database. 17 March 2010.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005237/

Biography

Well if you don't know of Anthony Minghella please allow me to educate you on a bit of his biography. It's best to start at the beginning Anthony Minghella was born on "January 6,1954in Ryde on the Isle on the Isle of Wight located in England to the parents of Edward Minghella and his wife Gloria" (IMDb). he grew up in Ryde and then he proceeded to go on to the University of Hull from which he graduated in 1975 with a " First Class Honors Degree in English Drama. While studying for his doctorate he lectured at the University for seven years" (Biography Channel). When he left the University, Minghella then started to become a screenwriter. He decided that for his first big project that he would direct a comedy that he wrote called "Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991). It went on cinema release and won several awards such as BAFTA for Best Screen Play" (Biography). Like I said before with my first blog The English Patient which was made in 1996 is the movie for which Minghella is best known for. It won nine Oscars, including "Best Picture and Best Director, that he had reached the heights of his directing career" (IMDb). Minghella also went on to write on and direct other great films such as The Talented Mr. Ripley and Cold Mountain as well a other television shows. At last at the age of 54 Minghella died on March 18, 2008 due to a hemorrhage after a surgery.

Hopwood, John C. "Biography for Anthony Minghella". Internet Movie Database. 17 March
2010.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005237/bio

"Anthony Minghella Biography". 17 March 2010.
http://thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/anthony-minghella.html

This is Anthony Minghella's most recognized work. This Movie won 9 Oscars also included Best Picture.