This is another of those great films that I never saw at the cinemas. I get the feeling that it has lost a lot of it’s appeal from it’s cinematic days but still I was anxious to see what all the fuss was about. As a true lover of romantic stories and dramatic tales I was expecting to be swept off my feet. Alas this was not the case. While yes this is a fabulous story and the cinematography is excellent it just isn’t my cup of tea.

The English Patient is basically broken in to two stories. One is the story of an English War Patient from the 40’s who has been horribly burnt and has little time to live. He is cared for by a dedicated nurse by the name of Hanna (Juliette Binoche) who finds herself dedicated to his care in an effort to make his last weeks comfortable. The two stay in a small villa that has been deserted in the war. While they stay in the villa, a few other characters join them. One of which is a very seedy character, who has another agenda in staying in the house, and that is to unfold the true identity of the English patient.

As this man Caravaggio (Willem Dafoe) tries to pry the truth out of him, we see a series of flash backs which tell the other side of the story. This story is based around Count Almasy (Ralph Fiennes) a pilot who is on an expedition to map the Sahara desert. He meets up with Katherine and Geoffery Clifton and the two end up in a sordid affair.

Shadow detail was also excellent and even in the darkest and dullest of scenes there was still a lot of detail to be seen.

There are only minor film artefacts consisting of some small scratches in the original source. There are some very slight mpeg artefacts, which you certainly would have to look very hard for, and on a relatively small screen, are not even worth mentioning. The same comment can be made for some slight grain in the transfer.

The surround channels never really seemed to stop. The support of the score and an endless array of directional effects really lifts the film in another dimension. The LFE channel was also very active but never overbearing in any way.