Customer Reviews
You don't need to be English, but you do need to be patient with this film - By: Daniel Mitchell, 02 Feb 2008 
This is an outstanding film. Comparisons with David Lean films such as Dr Zhivago are fully justified. The book, in addition, is supernal & took me by surprise - being so transcendent & yet written in the wake of the soulless 1980s.
The stunning soundtrack by Gabriel Yared is every much a part of the film, as in the case of Maurice Jarre's efforts in Zhivago. Yared's marriage of Bach with folk themes represents superb balance that serves its purpose without being pretentious.
Many complain of the prolix lengthiness of the English Patient. I'm afraid I can't sit through five minutes of Coronation Street without entering a state of despair & narcosis, so I guess that patience is a subjective thing.
OVER THE DESERT, IN AN ENGLISH PLANE FLYING ON GERMAN GASOLINE... - By: NeuroSplicer, 10 Nov 2007 There is a scene in the movie, where Ralph Fiennes carries the wounded Kristin Scott Thomas into a desert cave. Over the threshold, draped in white he promises to always protect her. There were no priests, no family, no friends, no guests - yet, to me this is one of the most beautiful wedding scenes ever captured on film.
Love & Betrayal. God & Country. Courage & Frailty. The whole range of Human Condition is captured on a canvas of infinite sands & beige dreams.
This is a breathtaking film that got the Oscar acclaim it deserved. A Modern Classic - people of coming generations will talk of this film the same way we talk about CASABLANKA.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
YAWN FROM START TO FINISH - By: Nevs, 19 Sep 2007 
I haven't been this bored before. If i had an offer to stand in a bucket of jellied eels or watch this film twice, i would have to opt for the eels.
The story was so depressing it should never be shown near Beachy Head.
The film is set during the war & is difficult to follow from the beginning. DON'T BOTHER WITH THIS ONE.
So beautiful - By: R. Murray, 08 Sep 2007 OK I am not the sentimental type but my god I love this film. When I first saw it 10 years ago it was the first film I'd ever seen that ever reallly touched me. Fifteen minutes in & the biplane is flying over the desert & the music "Rupert Bear" is playing. Oh my! I never realised the desert could be so beautiful - & yet later in the film so dangerous. The story is lovely, Kristen Scott Thomas is BEAUTIFUL beyond belief & Fiennes is more believable than in Schindler's List. It's so hard to summerise the merits of this film but wouldn't anyone want a romance like the one in this film? x I love it every time I watch it.
Great but not endearing. - By: John Austin, 24 Jan 2007 
Often cited as one of the 100 best films of alll time, this film will provoke varying responses. Direction, sound, music, photography, dressing, & script have been justly praised & lavishly awarded. The cast looks good & they speak beautifully. Throughout its 160 minutes, I felt I was in the presence of greatness, but the film did not endear itself to me.
