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Movies / Upcoming / Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Captain Corelli's Mandolin

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Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)

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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... 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 brutality of war, set amid the Italian occupation of Greece during World War II.

The idyllic beauty of Greece's Mediterranean coast has been invaded by Italy, bringing legions of soldiers to the once tranquil island of Cephallonia. Captain Antonio Corelli (Cage), an officer with an irrepressibly jovial personality and passion for the mandolin, initially alienates a number of the villagers, including Pelagia (Cruz). The daughter of the village doctor, Pelagia is an educated and strong-willed woman, and while at first offended by the Italian soldier's behavior, she slowly warms to his certain charms as they are forced to share her father's home.

When Pelagia's fiancee, a local fisherman, heads off to war, the friendship between Antonio and Pelagia grows even stronger. Her beauty and intelligence have captured his heart, and his fondness for the village's vibrant community causes him to question his reasons for fighting. Antonio becomes a part of the lives of the villagers, but the moment is fleeting. As the war grows ever closer, Antonio and Pelagia are forced to choose between their allegiance to their countries and the love they feel for one another-a love which must overcome tremendous odds, and endure the inevitable sacrifice which accompanies eternal devotion. -- © 2001 Universal Pictures [More]

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, Christian Bale, John Hurt

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, Christian Bale, John Hurt, David Morrissey, Irene Pappas

Director: John Madden

Director: John Madden
Screenwriter: Shawn Slovo
Producer: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Kevin Loader, Mark Huffam
Composer: Stephen Warbeck
Studio: Universal Pictures

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Reviews for Captain Corelli's Mandolin

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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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.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
08/24/01
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
08/30/01
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Zap2it.com | comment Comment
02/25/04
Clark Bender
Clark Bender
Zap2it.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Houston Community Newspapers | comment Comment
10/18/08
Gary Brown
Gary Brown
Houston Community Newspapers

Pearl Harbor for the English Patient crowd -- a movie that reduces history, as well as eros, to a postcard.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
08/16/01
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Cage fumbles through the scenes with an Itralian accent reminiscent of his Moonstruck days.

Full Review Source: BeatBoxBetty.com | comment Comment
08/16/01
BeatBoxBetty.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Nicolas Cage and Penélope Cruz are ill-matched, and the range of heavy accents is distracting.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
09/19/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A major motion picture event trying to break free.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
08/26/01
Andrew Howe
Andrew Howe
eFilmCritic.com

A sweet but flawed wartime romance with enough gorgeous scenery and quaint villagers to choke a horse.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
08/16/01
Annette Cardwell
Annette Cardwell
Filmcritic.com

There are three ingredients missing here: character, character, and character.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
08/16/01
Arthur Lazere
Arthur Lazere
culturevulture.net

Not flashy enough for Hollywood nor deep enough for an art film.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
08/17/01
Barry Johnson
Barry Johnson
Oregonian

...a handful of clichés.

comment Comment
08/16/01
Bill Gallo
Bill Gallo
New Times

As wartime weepers go, Captain Corelli's Mandolin has a lot of pluck.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
08/17/01
Bob Graham
Bob Graham
San Francisco Chronicle

Very little about Mandolin is not in some way disappointing.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
08/16/01
Bob Longino
Bob Longino
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Utterly uninvolving when it's not just laughably dreadful.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
08/17/01
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

It never seems real and authentic. It is always a movie, sometimes charming, sometimes a paint-by-numbers piece with really pretty images.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
08/17/01
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

It's a wonder Corelli doesn't bring his gondola and striped shirt with him from Italy.

Full Review Source: AboutFilm.com | comment Comment
09/09/01
Carlo Cavagna
Carlo Cavagna
AboutFilm.com

The movie's craft is dead and dutiful. It's an Oscar machine.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
08/20/01
Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor
Salon.com

An acceptable translation of written material into visual material, but it's not much more.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
08/16/01
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

The problem is that the novel is about a lot more than this, and the story suffers in the translation.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
08/17/01
Connie Ogle
Connie Ogle
Miami Herald
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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all

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