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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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21 - 40 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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Cage's ancestors may have come from the Old Country, but he's no more Italian than Franco-American SpaghettiOs.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/06/02
Rita Kempley
Rita Kempley
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Obviously, the novel's sprawling, multi-strand structure has been streamlined here, but Madden and screenwriter Slovo have included so much subtext that it's still a remarkably complex film.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
12/10/01
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

"Captain Corelli's Mandolin" fails to achieve its goals

Full Review Source: Baseline.Hollywood.com | comment Comment
12/04/01
Ted Murphy
Ted Murphy
Baseline.Hollywood.com

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.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
11/27/01
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

Una de las más frustrantes y decepcionantes historias románticas que se han hecho en mucho tiempo para la pantalla grande

Full Review Source: Moviola | comment Comment
10/29/01
Jorge Avila Andrade
Jorge Avila Andrade
Moviola

One of the year's most embarrassing big-budget miscalculations.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
10/11/01
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

While the on-screen romantic chemistry between the stars is less than electrifying, the supporting performances are excellent, and production values are sky high.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
09/20/01
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

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
N/R

Click to read the article

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

If this were a miniseries, it would probably be worth watching while doing homework.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
08/27/01
Kim Linekin
Kim Linekin
eye WEEKLY

Lacking any center, in its pandering heart the movie tries to be something for everyone.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
08/27/01
Erica Abeel
Erica Abeel
Film Journal International

While he may be Italian-American in ethnic origin, he ain't no Italian -- Cage looks like an American, acts like an American, and speaks like an American, even in his fleeting attempts to use an accent.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
08/27/01
Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Austin Chronicle

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

Sluggish, dull and altogether mediocre.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
08/24/01
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Cage refrains from pumping up the volume, and actually underplays the character's soulful gusto, making Corelli all the more affecting.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
08/21/01
Joe Leydon
Joe Leydon
San Francisco Examiner

If only the romantic center of “Corelli” had equaled the exquisite production.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
08/20/01
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Who knew the mandolin could be an instrument of torture? Couldn't they save the lengthy mandolin solos for the DVD?

Full Review Source: MovieJuice! | comment Comment
08/20/01
Mark Ramsey
Mark Ramsey
MovieJuice!

A war story that depicts the horrors of war but little of its emotional agony and a love story that somehow, frustratingly, skimps on the love.

Full Review Source: Fresno Bee | comment Comment
08/20/01
Donald Munro
Donald Munro
Fresno Bee

A film afraid to let down any part of an audience...often alienates the audience that would have embraced it; this is Captain Corelli's Mandolin.

Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
08/20/01
Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt
Blunt Review

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
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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More...

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