The English Patient
Film poster for The English Patient.
Directed by	Anthony Minghella
Produced by	Saul Zaentz
Written by	Anthony Minghella (screenplay) Michael Ondaatje (novel)
Starring	Ralph Fiennes Kristin Scott Thomas Willem Dafoe Juliette Binoche Colin Firth Naveen Andrews
Music by	Gabriel Yared
Cinematography	John Seale
Editing by	Walter Murch
Distributed by	Miramax Films
Release date(s)	6 November 1996 22 November 1996 6 March 1997 13 March 1997 14 March 1997
Running time	162 Min.
Language	English German Italian Arabic
Budget	US$27 million (estimated)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The English Patient is a 1996 film adaptation of the novel by Michael Ondaatje. The film, directed by Anthony Minghella, won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Ondaatje worked closely with the filmmakers to preserve his artistic vision, and has stated that he is happy with the film as an adaptation. The English Patient movie poster. ... Anthony Minghella (born January 6, 1954) is an Academy Award-winning British film director, playwright and screenwriter. ... It has been suggested that The Saul Zaentz Film Center be merged into this article or section. ... Philip Michael Ondaatje, OC (born 12 September 1943) is a Canadian/Sri Lankan novelist and poet perhaps best known for his Booker Prize winning novel adapted into an Academy-Award-winning film, The English Patient. ... Ralph Fiennes, (IPA: ), born 22 December 1962 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England), is a Tony Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated and Genie Award-nominated English actor. ... Kristin Scott Thomas OBE (born May 24, 1960) is a British actress. ... William Dafoe, Jr. ... Juliette Binoche (born March 9, 1964) is a French Academy Award-winning actress. ... Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor. ... Naveen William Sidney Andrews (born January 17, 1969) is an Emmy-and Golden Globe-nominated English actor. ... Gabriel Yared (born 1949) is a Lebanese-French composer, best known for his work in French and American cinema. ... John Seale (born October 5, 1942 in Warwick, Queensland, Australia) is an Australian cinematographer. ... Walter Murch speaking 13 March 2005 Walter Scott Murch (born July 12, 1943) is an Academy Award–winning film editor/sound mixer. ... Miramax Films is a film production and distribution brand that was a Big Ten film motion picture distribution and production company headquartered in New York City before being bought out by The Walt Disney Company. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 55 days remaining. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Canada_(bordered). ... November 22 is the 326th day (327th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... March 6 is the 65th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (66th in leap years). ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_Zealand. ... March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... For the Lebanese political coalition, see March 14 Alliance. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Indian Ocean Territory,[1] the British Virgin Islands, Cambodia, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 2. ... This is a list of film-related events in 1996. ... This article is about the book. ... Philip Michael Ondaatje, OC (born 12 September 1943) is a Canadian/Sri Lankan novelist and poet perhaps best known for his Booker Prize winning novel adapted into an Academy-Award-winning film, The English Patient. ... Anthony Minghella (born January 6, 1954) is an Academy Award-winning British film director, playwright and screenwriter. ... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ... // The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ...

Synopsis

The film is set during World War II and depicts a critically burned man, at first known only as 'the English patient', who is being looked after by Hana, a French-Canadian nurse in a ruined Italian monastery. The patient is suffering from amnesia, but through a series of flashbacks he is gradually able to rediscover his past. It is slowly revealed that he is in fact a Hungarian geographer, Count László de Almásy, who was making a map of the Sahara Desert, and whose affair with a married woman ultimately brought about his present situation. As the patient remembers more, David Caravaggio, a Canadian thief, arrives at the monastery. Caravaggio lost his thumbs while being interrogated by officers of the German Africa Corps, and he gradually reveals that it was the patient's actions that had brought about his torture. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Monastery of St. ... Amnesia or amnæsia (from Greek ) (see spelling differences) is a condition in which memory is disturbed. ... The Sahara is the worlds second largest desert (second to Antarctica), over 9,000,000 km² (3,500,000 mi²), located in northern Africa and is 2. ... The Deutsches Afrikakorps (often just Afrika Korps or DAK) was the corps-level headquarters controlling the German Panzer divisions in Libya and Egypts Western Desert during the North African Campaign of World War II. Since there was little turnover in the units attached to the corps the term is...

In addition to the patient's story, the film devotes time to Hana and her romance with Kip, an Indian sapper in the British Army. Due to various events in her past, Hana believes that anyone who comes close to her is likely to die, and Kip's position as a bomb defuser makes their romance full of tension. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with combat engineering. ...

Sources

The film is often radically different from the novel, which is far less focused on the love affair between Almásy and Katharine. Among other differences, Jurgen Prochnow's German character was an Italian officer in the book, and the circumstances of Caravaggio's capture by Axis troops were also drastically different. Jürgen Prochnow (June 10, 1941 in Berlin) is a German actor. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Ondaatje based the central figure on the real Count László de Almásy, a famous Austro-Hungarian researcher of the Sahara Desert. Like the character, Almásy was a disciple of Herodotus, and discoverer of the Ain Doua prehistoric rock painting sites in the western Jebel Uweinat mountains, on the Gilf Kebir plateau in what is today remote Southwestern Egypt. However, the film's version of Almásy is still heavily fictionalised. A factual overview of his life is provided in the 2002 Saul Kelly book, The Hunt for Zerzura: The Lost Oases and the Desert War. Statue of Count László Almásy at the Hungarian Geographical Museum in Érd. ... Motto none Anthem (German) Land of Mountains, Land on the River Austria() – on the European continent() – in the European Union() [] Capital (and largest city) Vienna Official languages German Recognised regional languages Slovene, Croatian, Hungarian1 Government Parliamentary republic  -  President Heinz Fischer  -  Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer Independence  -  Austrian State Treaty in force July... The Sahara is the worlds second largest desert (second to Antarctica), over 9,000,000 km² (3,500,000 mi²), located in northern Africa and is 2. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Jebel Uweinat (1934 m; ‎ mountain of sourcelets; also spelled Auenat, Ouenat, Ouinat, Owainat, Oweinat, Uwaynat, Uweinat, Uwenat, Uweynat etc. ... Gilf Kebir is a plateau in the remote southwest corner of Egypt. ...

Themes and motifs

Nationality

A central theme in the film is that national borders are a crude way to distinguish between people. Almásy is introduced as 'the English patient', but it is later revealed that he is Hungarian. Similarly, a song that he listens to, which Katharine assumes to be Arabic, turns out to be a Hungarian song: "My dajka sang it to me when I was a child growing up in Budapest". Almásy and his fellow surveyors are a multinational team who pride themselves on their friendship across national borders, but they are eventually divided by the war that erupts between their countries. When Caravaggio arrives at the monastery, Hana is delighted to meet a fellow Canadian, but Almásy says "Why are people so happy when they collide with someone from the same place? What happened in Montreal when you passed a man in the street? Did you invite him to live with you?" In literature, a theme is a broads idea in a story, or a message conveyed by a work. ... Border stone at Passo San Giacomo between Val Formazza in Italy and Val Bedretto in Switzerland Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, states or subnational administrative divisions. ... Nickname: Motto: Concordia Salus (in unity, prosperity) Coordinates: Country Canada Province Quebec Founded 1642 Established 1832 Government  - Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area [1][2][3]  - City 365. ...

National divisions cause the tragedy at the end of the film. When Almásy tries to save Katharine's life by walking across the desert for three days, he blurts out his name to a British officer he meets: Count László de Almásy. The officer assumes this to be a German name, and when Almásy loses his temper, he is knocked unconscious and sent away in shackles, so that Katharine is left to die.

Dying in the cave, Katharine's final thoughts linger on her aversion to political boundaries: she writes "I want all this [the emotions we have felt] marked on my body. Where the real countries are. Not boundaries drawn on maps with the names of powerful men. I know someday you will carry me out into the palace of winds. That's all I've wanted, to walk in such a place with you, with friends, an earth without maps."

Ownership

Count Laszlo de Almásy and Katharine

Related to the theme of nationality is the word "ownership", which is repeatedly used in the film. When, after they sleep together, Katharine asks Almásy what he hates most, he offends her by saying, "Ownership. Being owned. When you leave you should forget me." The concept of ownership is important to Almásy's job as mapper of the desert: Madox tells him that owning the maps means owning the desert, but Almásy scoffs that the desert cannot be owned. Image File history File links English-Patient-movie-01. ... Image File history File links English-Patient-movie-01. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

However, Almásy later begins to demand ownership of Katherine. At first, his claims are teasing: exploring her naked body, he says "I claim this shoulder blade" and then touches the cleft between her collarbones saying "I want this!"; he even gives it a name, the "Almásy Bosphorus". Later, in a crazed desperation to regain his relationship with Katharine, he says "I want to touch you. I want the things which are mine, which belong to me." Almásy insists that his love for Katharine entitles him to ownership of her, but she denies his demands. ... Bosphorus - photo taken from International Space Station. ...

The thimble

A thimble given to Katharine by Almásy becomes a motif that reappears throughout the film. It is first briefly seen when it is lifted from the sand after the plane crash at the beginning of the film. In literature, a motif is a recurring element or theme that has symbolic significance in the story. ...

Later in the film, it is revealed that, in a reversal of gender norms, Almásy can sew and Katharine cannot. As she critically observes his clumsy repair job on the dress he tore off her shoulders, Katharine says "A woman should never learn to sew, and if she can she should never admit to it."

Later, in the market, Almásy is seen buying the thimble for Katharine on the same day as her wedding anniversary to her husband. However, Almásy states that it is filled with saffron dye, implying that it is not intended to be used for sewing. A wedding anniversary is an anniversary which falls on the month and day a particular wedding took place, and which recurs every subsequent year. ... Binomial name Crocus sativus L. Saffron (IPA: ) is a spice derived from the flower of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae. ...

Katharine views the thimble as a symbol for their illicit love. After she has ended the affair and Geoffrey has killed himself by crashing the plane, Almásy says, "You're wearing the thimble." She replies, "Of course. You idiot. I always wear it. I've always worn it. I've always loved you."

When Almásy returns to the cave to recover Katharine's body, he opens the thimble and rubs the saffron across her face and neck. Her death, of course, has made her pale, and by rubbing the dye across her face, he makes her face yellow.

Post-production

In his book, The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film (2002), Michael Ondaatje records his conversations with the film's editor and sound designer Walter Murch, who won two Academy Awards for the film. Murch describes the complexity of editing a film with multiple flashbacks and timeframes; he edited and re-edited numerous times, and notes that the final film features over 40 time transitions. Walter Murch speaking 13 March 2005 Walter Scott Murch (born July 12, 1943) is an Academy Award–winning film editor/sound mixer. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ...

Responses

The film garnered widespread critical acclaim and was a major award winner as well as a box office success; its awards included the Academy Award for Best Picture, the Golden Globe Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Film. Juliette Binoche won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, nosing out Lauren Bacall for The Mirror Has Two Faces (it would have been Bacall's first Oscar win, and in her acceptance speech Binoche graciously commented that Bacall ought to have won). Anthony Minghella took home the Oscar for Best Director. Kristin Scott Thomas and Ralph Fiennes were nominated for Best Actress and Best Actor. Thomas's nomination came as a gratifying affirmation of her success after having received the dubious honor of being nominated for "Worst New Star" in the 1986 Golden Raspberry Awards. In all, The English Patient was nominated for an impressive eleven awards and ultimately walked away with nine. The term box office can refer to either: A place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to a venue The amount of business a particular production, such as a movie or theatre show, does. ... // The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ... The Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs, given out each year during a formal dinner. ... This page lists the winners and nominess for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards. ... Juliette Binoche (born March 9, 1964) is a French Academy Award-winning actress. ... // The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the awards given to actresses working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... Betty Joan Perske (born on September 16, 1924), better known as Lauren Bacall, is a Golden Globe- and Tony Award winning, as well as Academy Award-nominated, American film and stage actress. ... The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) is a romantic comedy movie starred and directed by Barbra Streisand. ... Anthony Minghella (born January 6, 1954) is an Academy Award-winning British film director, playwright and screenwriter. ... The 7th Golden Raspberry Awards were held on March 29, 1987 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to recognize the worst the movie industry had to offer in 1986. ...

An episode of Seinfeld was devoted to lampooning the film's fervent supporters: Elaine is dumped by her boyfriend because of her tepid response to the film, and her critique culminates with the outburst, "Quit telling your stupid story, about the stupid desert, and just die already! Die!!". This article is about the sitcom. ...

Trivia

• Demi Moore was considered for the role of Katharine Clifton when the project was at Twentieth Century-Fox.
• Ralph Fiennes so enjoyed a spoof version of the film,[1] made with soft toys and shown on The Adam and Joe Show on UK television's Channel 4, that he contacted the show for a copy.

Demi Moore (born Demetria Gene Guynes on November 11, 1962 in Roswell, New Mexico) is an American actress. ... Related articles FOX Television Network Fox Searchlight Pictures Fox Entertainment Group List of Hollywood movie studios List of movies Variant of current 20th Century Fox logo External links 20th Century Fox Movies official site Twentieth Century Fox is also the punning title of a song by The Doors on their... The Adam and Joe Show is a British comedy television show, written and presented by Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish (Adam and Joe), which ran for four series on Channel 4. ... It has been suggested that Channel Four Television Corporation be merged into this article or section. ...

Cast and crew

Actors

• Ralph Fiennes - Count Laszlo de Almásy
• Juliette Binoche - Hana
• Kristin Scott Thomas - Katharine Clifton
• Willem Dafoe - David Caravaggio
• Naveen Andrews - Lt. Kip Singh
• Colin Firth - Geoffrey Clifton
• Kevin Whately - Sgt. Hardy
• Jürgen Prochnow - Major Müller

Ralph Fiennes, (IPA: ), born 22 December 1962 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England), is a Tony Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated and Genie Award-nominated English actor. ... Juliette Binoche (born March 9, 1964) is a French Academy Award-winning actress. ... Kristin Scott Thomas OBE (born May 24, 1960) is a British actress. ... William Dafoe, Jr. ... Naveen William Sidney Andrews (born January 17, 1969) is an Emmy-and Golden Globe-nominated English actor. ... Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor. ... Kevin Whately (born February 6, 1951, Newcastle upon Tyne, England) is a British actor whose career includes several stage plays, among them an adaptation of 12 Angry Men, television appearances in Coronation Street and Peak Practice, and film appearances in The English Patient and Purely Belter. ... Bold textItalic text Jürgen Prochnow as Duke Leto Atreides in David Lynchs Dune Jürgen Prochnow [IPA: jʏrgɛn prɔxnɔv] (June 10, 1941 in Berlin) is a German actor. ...

Awards and Nominations

1997 Academy Awards

• Won, Best Picture
• Won, Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Juliette Binoche
• Won, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Stuart Craig and Stephanie McMillan)
• Won, Best Cinematography (John Seale)
• Won, Best Costume Design (Ann Roth)
• Won, Best Director (Anthony Minghella)
• Won, Best Film Editing (Walter Murch)
• Won, Best Music, Original Dramatic Score (Gabriel Yared)
• Won, Best Sound (Walter Murch, Mark Berger, David Parker, and Christopher Newman)
• Nominated, Best Actor in a Leading Role: Ralph Fiennes
• Nominated, Best Actress in a Leading Role: Kristin Scott Thomas
• Nominated, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Anthony Minghella)

1997 Golden Globes, USA

• Won, Best Motion Picture - Drama
• Won, Best Director - Motion Picture (Anthony Minghella)
• Won, Best Original Score - Motion Picture (Gabriel Yared)
• Nominated, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama: Ralph Fiennes
• Nominated, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama: Kristin Scott Thomas
• Nominated, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Juliette Binoche
• Nominated, Best Screenplay - Motion Picture (Anthony Minghella)

1997 Bafta Awards, UK

• Won, Best Film
• Won, Best Cinematography (John Seale)
• Won, Best Editing (Walter Murch)
• Won, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Juliette Binoche)
• Won, Best Screenplay - Adapted (Anthony Minghella)

This page lists the winners and nominess for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards. ...

See also

• List of movies that have won eight or more Academy Awards

List of movies that have won eight or more Academy Awards: 11 Oscars Ben-Hur (1959) - from 12 nominations Titanic (1997) - from 14 nominations The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) - from 11 nominations 10 Oscars West Side Story (1961) - from 11 nominations 9 Oscars Gone...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

The English Patient (film)

• The English Patient at the Internet Movie Database
• Spoof with soft toys

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikiquote is a sister project of Wikipedia, using the same MediaWiki software. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ...