As a glossy romance in dangerous times, this has all the classic elements and does a reasonably good job of marshalling people and events to its heart-wrenching finale.
Comment
08/24/01
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)
29
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:114
Fresh:33
Rotten:81
Average Rating:4.4/10
Consensus: The cinematography is gorgeous, but the movie plays it fast and loose with history and the novel it was adapted from. Mostly, the movie fails because the romance between the leads strains credulity and the story is largely uninvolving.
Runtime: 2 hrs 9 mins
Genre: Dramas
US Box Office: $25,261,240
Synopsis: Academy Award (R) winner Nicolas Cage (City of Angels) and Penelope Cruz (All About My Mother) star in Captain Corelli's Mandolin, an epic tale about the enduring hope of love and the devastating... [More]
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, Christian Bale, John Hurt
Director: John Madden
Reviews for Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Top CriticThe real star is Oscar-winning cinematographer John Toll, who captures the beauty of the islands better than any travel agent could.
08/17/01
Top CriticFans will argue it's not as good as the book, but John Madden has delivered a pretty mooch around rustic, tranquil Cephallonia.
08/14/01
Top CriticThe stunning look of this film took my breath away and overcame its shortcomings for me.
08/02/02
The last half of the movie is undeniably gripping, creating a powerful love story for mature film-lovers.
08/18/01
An interesting film and is worth at least a matinee.
08/16/01
There are some great set-pieces and comic moments and enough drama and beauty for some pleasant escapism.
05/01/01
Think of it as the anti-Pearl Harbor. Relying more on story and character than special effects, this moving adaptation of Louis de Bernières novel achieves everything that Michael Bay's empty spectacle could not.
08/17/01
Handled with such conviction by director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) that it achieves the guilty enjoyability of a decent beach book.
08/16/01
In its own right the film works superbly.
04/16/01
Not great, but you can enjoy the beauty of a Greek island without suffering its August heat.
08/13/01
Like a folk ballad plucked on a mandolin, the new Nicolas Cage-Penelope Cruz film is sometimes overly familiar, even a bit maudlin, but still touchingly romantic.
08/17/01
Beautifully filmed and smartly told, Mandolin delights with unexpected plot twists and polished performances from John Hurt as the curmudgeonly pop and Christian Bale as the jilted fiance.
08/17/01
Captain Corelli's Mandolin will find favor with nearly everyone who appreciates this kind of motion picture.
08/16/01
The film flirts with greatness, but it settles instead on being something that is very good.
08/17/01
Cage refrains from pumping up the volume, and actually underplays the character's soulful gusto, making Corelli all the more affecting.
08/21/01
...Touching and at the same time brutal, brimming with the emotional conflict that surges within its characters.
02/08/03
Not as good as it might have been but better than the negative press it has received, which has unfairly doomed it to severe losses at the box office.
11/27/01
Good old-fashioned romantic entertainment, just restrained enough to skirt schmaltz.
08/16/01
La novela, disponible en cualquier librería, es una gran realización; desgraciadamente al llevarla a los 24 cuadros por segundo, perdió mucha de su fuerza.
06/08/02
Latest News for Captain Corelli's Mandolin
September 15, 2005:
Critical Consensus: Critics Thank "Heaven," But Don't Praise The "Lord"
This week at the movies brings us a supernatural romance ("Just Like Heaven"), a jaded arms dealer ("Lord of War") and two experiments in terror... More...
April 19, 2005:
Get Ready for Another Dose of "Basic Instinct"
You've heard it mentioned for years, but production is (finally) about to get underway on "Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction." A follow-up to Paul Verhoeven's sexual... More...
June 05, 2001:
Initial test screenings failed to induce awe. Universal, hoping for an Oscar contender, bumped the film from its spring release so that Madden could recut it. 
More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
Win Glee DVDs
We've got 20 copies of the hit TV series' Pilot Episode to giveaway.
New Moon Portraits
TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.
Why Don't Australians Make Sci-fi?
The New Matilda's Lynden Barber looks at the recent success of low-budget sci-fi -- and asks the question.
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions
Win Star Wars prizes
Enough Prequel, Original Trilogy and Family Guy DVDs to fill a space cruiser
Win the entire 007 collection
Everything from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace could be yours.
Win Fight Club Special Editions and more
We're giving away the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray, plus Braveheart and the Rocky collection
IGN RSS Feeds