3 Good Things (The English Patient edition)

1. The intensity of Count Almásy’s stare.
2. Kip’s wisdom and ability to make magic.
3. Hana.

After a ten year hiatus, we watched it again last night. It's a damn fine movie.

Comments

Michael Randall said…
I avoided 'The English Patient' like the plague, when it first came out. After much arm twisting though, a friend finally got me to see it and I of course thoroughly enjoyed it.

However it has now been about eight years since that one-and-only viewing. Again I remember really liking it, but because of the length and theme of the movie I have not considered watching it again.

So my question is... after your ten year hiatus, do you think five to ten years is required between viewings or is it a movie that can be consumed on a more regular basis?

I’ve not seen much great for a while, but both ‘Gran Tranio’ and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ were good and I liked ‘He Is Just Not That Into You’.
Lynne said…
Hello there.

I'm not sure that our viewing habits of this movie are typical, but after an unprecedented three viewings at the movies and then a few at home, we were due for a big break.

While I remembered the entire movie, I had forgotten how much I really enjoyed the beautiful music and the story surrounding the patient rather than the one of the mapmaker.

So, if you liked it, I think it's safe for you to see again; however, even knowing that, you'd really have to be in the mood to make that kind of time commitment.

I haven't seen Gran Torino, but I really enjoyed Slumdog Millionare.
Stephen Bourque said…
The English Patient is not only one of our favorite movies, but I will add that it is one that completely transcends the book - an unusual occurrence.

Unfortunately, it has been a dozen years since I read it (along with the prequel In the Skin of Lion), so my memory of it is slight. I do remember my dominant impression was that the book was... how shall I put it?... much smaller than the movie was.

Don't get me wrong; Michael Ondaatje is a good writer. But if I had read the book without seeing the movie, there is simply no way that I would have recognized it as being an enormous exotic tale with a ferocity of passion and desire that is epic in scope. In my opinion, screenplay writer and director Anthony Minghella and composer Gabriel Yared turned a quiet, introspective book into Lawrence of Arabia.

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