Captain Corelli's Mandolin (DVD) Reviews

I haven't read the book,so before going to watch the film,i knew only the basic plot: In the greek island of Kefallonia,lives Pelagia and her father, doctor Ioannis.She is engaged with the fisherman Mandras. When the italians conquer the island,during the world war two, Mandras leaves in order to fight. Pelagia then falls in love with an ...  Read the complete review

In Britain, you can guarantee that there's always someone on the Tube reading the novel Captain Corelli's Mandolin. You can also guarantee that anyone who has read it will say, 'How can they make it into a film?' I also thought that, but was not disappointed. Set on the island of Cephalonia, CCM basically tells the love story ...  Read the complete review

I read Captain Corelli's Mandolin about 2 years ago and therfore was quite reluctant to see the film as I heard that is had a bad cast and that the original story was had been twisted and changed terribly to suit hollywood. With this in mind and that "I have previous ownership to this, I've read the book" kind of smug silly ...  Read the complete review

Captain Corelli's mandolin is one of those films that very little about it appealed to me, yet I felt compelled to watch it in the hope of being impressed at what I saw. Starring Nicholas cage and Penelope Cruz, this is set in World war 2, Directed by J.Madden and based upon the best selling (and far superior) novel by Louis De Bernieres. ...  Read the complete review

For those who haven't read the book, the story is set on the island of Cephalonia. Here Pelagia (Penelope Cruz - Our heroine and part-time Timotei girl) lives with her oh-so-very-moustachioed father John Hurt. On a greek island life is wonderful with a big sense of community where everybody lives in peace. Backed by beautiful scenery ...  Read the complete review

A nice little movie for anyone who did not read the book. For those who have, I'd give it a miss. - Advantages: Good cast, beautiful setting - Disadvantages: Can't beat the book

As an A-level student studying this book, i was unsure whether it would be wise to see the film so soon before my exams. Despite this (probably due to the lack of anything to do on a Saturday afternoon) i decided to pay it a visit under the thinly veiled guise of 'revision'. I was expecting to be thoroughly disappointed and let ...  Read the complete review

A major disappointment having only read the book recently and enjoying it so much. Okay, everyone knows the film is never as good as the book but some attempt to recreate the intricate plot of the novel as well as the intense relationships between various characters (eg Carlo's love for Corelli which is reduced simply to his sacrifice with no ...  Read the complete review

In short, if you've read the book, save yourself. If you haven't, marvelous! Go and see it! Captain Corelli's Mandolin is a triumph of writing by Louis DeBernier but as with so many book-to-film attempts 300+ pages into just over 1 hours silver screen just doesn't compute. If you've read the book, you ...  Read the complete review

Quick synopsis first as requested: Fisherman leaves girl. Fisherman joins army. Greek army. Italian army turn up. Italian meets girl. Girl meets Italian. Girl falls in love with Italian. Italian falls in love with girl and puccini. Italian strums mandolin. Cue mandolin music. Cue fighting. Anyway a review. Oh dear me. ...  Read the complete review

I have not read the book, but am now determined to do so. Captain Corelli's Mandolin is a wonderful film, that captures a range of human emotions rather than focussing on "comedy" "Drama" or any other irritating frame. Set on a Greek island during the second World war, the tale follows the lives of a ...  Read the complete review

If there's one film you see this year, make sure this is it. Based on Louis de Berniere's epic love story, set during the Second World War on the Greek Islan of Cephalonia, it's every bit as captivating as the novel. Local inhabitants Pelagia(Penelope Cruz) and her betrothed Mandras(Christain Bale) haave their lives turned upside down ...  Read the complete review

I enjoyed the film for the film itself. It was beautifully shot and the relationships between characters was well done. I love Nicolas Cage, but he was in no way like the man that I imagined Captain Corelli to be, too tall, too pretty and that accent!!! John Hurt was an inspired choice, you really felt that he was the Local Doctor. Penelope ...  Read the complete review

It seems inevitable these days that if a book becomes extremely popular, as Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Berniéres certainly did, then it will get made into a film. There are inevitably mixed results from this, often due to the changes that arise from the need to adapt what is in this case a long book into a 2 hour film. But, the ...  Read the complete review

The camera wanders lovingly across sunlit locations, the actors stride across the landscape in painstakingly realised costumes, the drama is high, the violence is gritty, the emotion is raw and the ending is poignant. Yes, it’s ‘The English Patient II – The Cephallonian Years’. Forget Louis De Bernieres’ novel, ...  Read the complete review

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin is an epic about love and war based on the novel by Louis De Bernieres. Pelagia (Penelope Cruz) is the daughter of a rebellious doctor (John Hurt) who lives on a Greek island. Sheltered from the outside world, the islanders world is rocked by the outbreak of WWII. Pelagia’s beau rushes of to fight ...  Read the complete review

Although viciously criticised by professional critics, "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" is an enjoyable piece of work. It may look like a tourism ad for Cephalonia, morals weren't exactly the highest item on the agenda, and history didn't unfold as portrayed...all of these topics brought up by people who disliked the film are ...  Read the complete review

First, my critical credentials: I've read the book four times and visited Cephalonia three times. It was during my second visit to the island in 1995 that I read the book for the first time and I remember thinking, 'This would make a great film.' My last visit to Cephalonia was in the summer of 2000 when I saw the film set at Sami: a bombed-out ...  Read the complete review

Beautiful scenery, beautiful people, love, wit and gut wrenching scenes... This film has it all. It isn't too slushy that you can't take yer man, I'm positive that they will appreciate many aspects of the film, Mr Hurts humour, Ms Cruz... Be prepared to cry, not just weepy cry, but when you know that the war scenes when Germany ...  Read the complete review

Louis de Bernieres ( the novelist who wrote Captain Corelli's Mandolin ) was not going to endorse this film, but after he saw the final cut, was impressed enough to at least attend the premiere ( and is no doubt looking forward to the increased sales of his book that the film will generate ). Relative new comer Penelope Cruz plays the ...  Read the complete review