Rating: 
Summary: A lukewarm recommendation in spite of a good try
Review: This 2001 film caught my eye because it has one of my favorite actors, Nicholas Cage. He's cast as an Italian Captain whose army occupies a Greek Island in 1940. This is an interesting setting because it's not often we see films dealing with the Mediterranean conflict during WW 2 and it again reminded me how many people and nations were touched by that war. It's a beautiful island, and the cinematography inspires me travel to Greece some day.John Hurt is cast as the town's physician, whose beautiful daughter, Peneople Cruz wants to study to be a doctor herself. She gets engaged to an illiterate fisherman, played by Christian Bale, even though her wise father thinks she is too good for him. There's a war on though, and the fisherman goes to the front, the Italian army marches in, and Nicholas Cage is boarded with the doctor and his beautiful daughter. He loves to sing and play the mandolin and even dedicates a song to the lovely young woman. The results are inevitable. When the Italians surrender and the Germans take over, there's a lot of violence, and what at first seemed like a languid love story suddenly shows the reality of war. This film could have been really good, but got bogged down. One of the problems was the use of language as the whole cast spoke English even though they made believe they were translating. This made everything seem unrealistic and I couldn't get up too much emotion for the characters. Even though there was tension throughout, it all seemed a bit too light for the seriousness of the subject. And the love affairs were curiously passionless. Watching this film is not an unpleasant way to spend an evening, but I can only give this video a lukewarm recommendation.
Rating: 
Summary: Long, but beautifully acted and staged.
Review: "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" (2001) Love triangles in war movies are quite the trend lately. In Pearl Harbour the script relied on many one-liners and sunsets to portray the love story between, but in Captain Corelli's Mandolin the love story is used through music and expression, which I found to be very different and enjoyable. This movie is very different to Pearl Harbour though, it's more mature and the war story is generally more important than the romance one. There were some things that occasionally annoyed me about the film like the fact that Penelope Cruz continuously is picking flowers or berries (it seems the only excuse for her to bump into Nicholas Cage outside of their home) and the Italians are always singing. The fact that they sing and play the mandolin and all that is very heart-warming but as Cruz points out in one scene "all you do is sing!" It got a bit tedious after a while. The movie is also quite boring in places. Some of the scenes are reasonably unnecessary and dull. The movie is a little too drawn-out at the start for my liking. There wasn't enough going on in the first hour to maintain my interest for very long. Luckily, the film improves when the war story starts getting a bit more serious. Much of the first hour is for building up characters, atmosphere and setting. Always a good thing, but some of it was unnecessary as I mentioned before. In the second hour the movie really revs up and gets into action. The love story is thrusted into the plot with great tenderness (and thankfully there are no corny lines!) and the war scenes are more exhilarating and action-packed. Some things throughout the film were always good. Such as the script, which always maintained its heart and soul and development. The scenery was always lucious and stunning and a feast for the eyes. The sets were perfect and very well designed for the period. The tenseness between Cruz and Cage was heating up. The shocks were still delivering after 2 hours. But there was still that occasional uninteresting sequence. The acting stays brilliant throughout the movie and kept me watching always. Cage delivers a stunner again, as the warm-hearted and music-loving captain of the Italians. I've never noticed this before but Cage looks outstandingly Italianish, and he fits the role perfectly. Cruz is sweet and nicely cast in her 40's frocks. Bale's character is one I didn't really like that much but he gave a good performance, but if you're a big fan of his I recommend checking out American Psycho. John Hurt who played Pelagia's (Cruz) father was by far the best performer in the film, his character was a moustache-twirling admirable philosopher and Hurt just slipped into the character with such enthusiasm and easiness he ignited the screen! John Madden is fast becoming one of my favourite directors. He's directed such films as Mrs. Brown, Shakespeare in Love and now Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Madden is excellent at staging his films and making them look great. His effort with camera shots is stunning. Even better, he has a knack for always developing his characters and picking two of them to have a closeness that intrigues the audience. Madden covers all areas of filmmaking that need to be and I would establish him as a very promising director and writer. I appreciated his vision with this one and I look forward to more films from him in the next couple of years. People should not trust the critics who didn't like this film so much and catch the movie. It has a good plot, it's beautifully staged and very well-acted. It really keeps you engaged and wondering what's going to happen next. Add to that it has a variety of different characters and emotions, and its sounds beautiful too with the fabulous singing and playing of the mandolin (yes, I didn't know what it was either!). This is not one I highly recommend if you don't have a lot of patience though. MY GRADE: B
Rating: 
Summary: A great movie
Review: I rented this movie a couple of weeks ago and watched it agian just the other night. It is an awesome movie. It has a great story line and woderful characters. The best thing about it was that the ending was not as predictable as I thought it would be. Normally these types of movies all end the same but I was actually a little superized in the way this one finished.
Rating:
Summary: A story for a change
Review: A story about love, circumstances and people. Pelagia's father understands life and the way of the heart. His perspective on aspects of life and love are worth remembering. The scenery is so breath taking that it is worth mentioning in a review.
Rating:
Summary: Ambitious project falls slightly short
Review: As is often the case when you attempt to take a 400 plus page book and cram it into a two hour film, a lot is lost. Here director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) takes on an extremely ambitious project and almost pulls it off. What we get is a charming and emotionally compelling film that seems somehow incomplete. There is much about this film that is wonderful and fantastic. The cinematography by John Toll (Cinematographer for Braveheart and Legends of the Fall, winning Oscars for both) is splendid. Working with Madden, the choices for locations on the Greek island of Kefallonia are superb and the visual images that come from photographing these majestic locations in varying light are lush and beautiful. Madden also uses numerous Greek actors as the townspeople, giving the town an authentic feel. The soundtrack is also terrific and the mandolin passages and vocals by the Italian soldiers are marvelous. Madden does an excellent job of bringing us the Italian occupation and the romance, which take up the greater part of the film. There are numerous sweet and funny moments throughout this segment. However, by the time the serious battle drama is ready to unfold, there isn't much film left in the reel and this component is extremely rushed and abbreviated. While the battle scenes are well done, subsequent to the battle it is obvious that increasingly greater compromises are being made to keep the film from running too long. By the time we reach the post war scenes, the treatment is merely skeletal. Another negative is that the DVD is particularly sparse on features. Nicholas Cage is charming in the romantic lead as the sentimental Captain who seems to have joined the army to sing rather than fight. When fight he must, Cage switches gears seamlessly into a man of fierce principle and resolve and somehow remains believable in both personas. Penelope Cruz, whom the camera loves, gives an uninspired performance as Pelagia. In part this is because Cage so dominates the screen, but Cruz just seems too placid in a part that should be emotionally torrential and dynamic. She allows the character to be objectified as Corelli's love interest rather than establishing her as a powerful character in her own right. John Hurt gives a fantastic performance as the wise old doctor, who knows as much about human nature as medicine. However, Christian Bale seems a bit overwrought and stiff as Pelagia's fiancé. I rated this film an 8/10. Despite some drawbacks, this is a touching film that is well worth seeing. The photography alone is worth the price of admission.
Rating: 
Summary: Not at ALL as expected!
Review: Having seen the previews for this film, I expected a romance set against the backdrop of WWII on a beautiful island. NOT! It is a romance, and the island is beautiful, but this is first and foremost a war movie, and a brutal one at that. This movie is not for the faint of heart. Aside from that, this movie still doesn't have much going for it besides the beautiful scenery. I am a Nicholas Cage fan, but this is definitely not his best work. The accent is inconsistent and poorly done, and Cage himself doesn't seem to feel comfortable in this role. Did I mention this movie is brutal? I won't be watching it again.
Rating: 
Summary: Do yourselves a favour....
Review: ... and read the book. I think those of us who have experienced the rich dialogue, wonderful descriptions and the complete story will probably agree that the film falls short of a decent portrayal of the book. Not that the film was terrible, but such a disappointment after the power and feeling in the novel itself. The book on tape version incidentally is most excellent!
Rating:
Summary: 1 star for John Hurt, 1 for the island, and 1 for the music!
Review: Risking getting flamed, since most of the people who have written reviews about it here seem to have liked the movie, here's my opinion about it... To begin with, what's up with Nicholas Cage's italian accent?! He comes from the Coppola family, so you'd expect it to be a little more believable (take the scene where he laughs at a comment that Cruz makes... too fake!) plus the accent itself seemed to come and go depending on how loud he talked: don't expect Cage to be winning an Oscar for his performance as Captain Corelli. Penelope played Pelagia, a greek girl who lives with her father, and is learning to become a doctor. She threw a good performance, but not as good as John Hurt's, however. He did some good, old acting with some very enticing dialogs about life and love, playing Dr. Iannis, father of Pelagia. She had some very good moments, but it was her looks -staring at the camera in moments of sorrow- that conveyed much more than words at times. These seem to be becoming part of Penelope's unique acting seal. The music was very beautiful: Stephen Warbeck, the same composer of the music for "Shakespeare in Love" is to be praised for this. And just as beautiful was the scenery of the island. If only the photography had been a little better, so much more could have been accomplished. Finally, I have to say the screenplay (based on the book by Louis de Bernières) did not help any of the above mentioned things, if it actually didn't make them worse. I've not read the book yet, but for certain the script that was pulled out of it was very weak and confusing at times (the characters are far from being exploited to their fullest potential, and many of them you hardly get to know at all, or hardly get to know each other, the most critical example being Capt. Corelli and Pelagia!)
Rating:
Summary: Passion for Life in a time of Death
Review: Too often lately, movies fail to capture your heart or involve your emotions while keeping your full attention. What you will find here is a truly beautiful romance amidst a time of conflict during World War II that is so dreadful; one cannot imagine the human spirit can survive; yet it does. Penelope Cruz (Pelagia) is simply stunning and delicate and contrasts with Nicolas Cage (Antonio) who I was equally impressed with, although his accent was at times shaky here and there. Penelope has a depth about her that Nicolas Cage seems to share. Their chemistry is not intense, but it is loving. His aggressiveness is just as attractive as her delicate spirit. To find a movie with such depth and beauty was to me magic in itself. You will love the setting on the Greek island of Cephallonia. The story begins with exotic scenes and a romance developing between the fisherman Mandras and a doctor's daughter, Pelagia. Together they swim in the crystal clear waters of the Ionian sea, free to love, free to be themselves. Pelagia lives with her father, Dr. Iannus, who is a caring physician. He believes his daughter will one day be a doctor and wishes for her to marry someone who is her equal. Although the island has been ravaged by furious earthquakes in the past, it seems for a time, the island is providing a refuge for the inhabitants. Until 1941 when war comes to the shores of Cephallonia and the idyllic setting is destroyed. Mandras joins the Greek army and heads off to fight the Italians, not knowing that the real fight of his life is going to be to keep Pelagia's love. Pelagia writes to Mandras, but when she doesn't receive a letter back, she starts to wonder if she really ever loved him. The mandolin-playing Captain Antonio Corelli arrives with flair and immediately has Pelagia's attention, but not in a positive way. Unfortunately, she is already engaged to Mandras (Christian Bale). At first she is appalled by Antonio's attitude towards life, but soon learns that his love for life and music itself is what has in fact attracted her to him. She seems to be fighting her attraction to him in so many ways, and seems to fail miserably, especially when he plays the Mandolin. It seems that as he plays, he is also making her aware of her own deep desires. He awakens passions she has never felt as deeply before. This story has a true balance of male/female appeal. It is a pity they cheapened a beautiful story with a few scenes. When will they learn that displaying the characters in such vulnerable situations and in a gratuitous way, does nothing for the story? Sigh... Otherwise: Emotionally Fulfilling in every way! Highly Recommended for Romantics and for viewing with someone you love.
This story will capture your heart
in the same way all forbidden
romances do.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent film!
Review: This was an excellent film that interspersed the horrors of war with doses of humanity and of course, a love story. The film perfectly showed how the islanders of Cephalonia remained steadfast and proud, and would not yield their island to the German occupiers. The cinematography is superb, leaving you with the feeling that you are there with the characters and there on that beautiful Greek island. Penelope Cruz's portrayal of Pelagia was flawless, as was John Hurt as Pelagia's doctor father, and Nicolas Cage as Captain Corelli. This is one of the best movies to come out in a long time. Undoubtedly worth a rental!
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