Captain Corelli's Mandolin [DVD]

Outstanding movie. Reasonably complex story with a great cast. Mixing romance with war is a dificult task. It either winds up a chick flick with a cheezy war or a guy flick with cheezy romance. This blended the quality and screen time of both war and romance very well. Both the wife and I really enjoyed this.

I am not a big Cage fan, but he does a nice job in this role. The casting in this film is really good and the location is perfect. It's too bad this film really doesn't get much press because it covers a very contentious period of the war. It captures the difficulties everyday Italians had with being allies of the Third Reich, and the following tragedy when that ended. It also touches on the relationship of Greeks and Italians which is also the subject of the film, " Mediterraneo". If you are a WWII film buff don't pass this up as a romantic novel film, since it's much more than that.

I have seen a lot of criticism of this movie. It is a wartime romance movie with some history thrown in. This is the story of how World War II affected the inhabitants of the Greek island of Cephallonia in the Ionian Sea. When the Italians occupy the island, Captain Antonio Corelli is billeted in the home of Dr. Iannis and his daughter Pelagia. Pelagia is engaged to a local fisherman who has joined the partisans to fight the invaders. The Italian occupation is benign and Captain Corelli steals his way into Pelagia's heart. When Italy surrenders to the allies, the Italians and the Greeks are happy. But the Germans arrive to take over the occupation. The Italians are disarmed and massacred. Corelli is severed wounded, but Dr. Iannis saves him. The Greeks help him escape by boat at night. The war comes to an end, and life on the island returns to normal. But in 1953 a terrible earthquake levels most of the buildings on Cephallonia. Pelagia, her father and their adopted daughter Lemoni survive. On the next celebration of St. Gerasimus, held in the ruins of the local church, Corelli returns to be reunited with Pelagia. Nicolas Cage may have been miscast as Captain Corelli. His Italian accent sometimes grates on the ear, and his happy-go-lucky attitude seems forced at times. But the rest of the cast, Greek and non-Greek were wonderful. The entire film was shot on Cephallonia, and it is a beautiful place. The sets were all built, but they look perfect in their locations. The music is good enough to stand on its own without the movie. Yes, the director John Madden and the screenwriter Shawn Slovo made changes to the story. It is impossible to be completely faithful to a book when you have only two hours to tell the story. I have read the book, and I think that the movie captures the essence of the book quite well. Penelope Cruz does not get the credit she deserves for her role. She translated Pelagia's serious nature and her fierce temper onto the screen very well. I think it is Ms. Cruz's best work.

I read the novel, Corelli's Mandolin prior to watching the film. And I would suggest you do the same. The novel is rich in history and beautifully written. A true historical novel that gets into the hearts and minds of each character. As all films, some of what was important in the novel was left out of the movie. The back story of the character Carlos and the quick ending come to mind--which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. But the film is satisfying and moving. The setting, the actual Greek island where it took place, is gorgeous. The actors were wonderful.

Classic beautiful scenery and good acting get your hanky!

Fabulous music. Fabulous movie too

This "official" reviewer for Amazon makes the blanket statement that Nicolas Cage is "miscast" but fails to explain why he thinks so. I think this is a great movie, a fine love story set in the horrors of war, and in the worse horrors of being a one-time German ally. In my judgment Cage was perfect in the role. Moreover, I like the happy Hollywood ending much better than the novel's, wherein Captain Corelli returns after the war, sees Pelagia with a kid, assumes it is hers and she is happily married (with Mandras?), and so leaves without even speaking to her. This really strains credulity. Only an idiot would do this, and the good artistic Captain was no idiot. Thanks, Hollywood and John Madden, for a fine film a major improvement on the novel. And John Shannon, open your eyes, man.

i was unfamiliar with the WW-2 history surrounding the Greek island of Cephalonia until I happened to read about the incident in a book on Mussolini where the author tells the story and cites this movie as one of a few places where it has been publicly acknowledged. The book reference peaked my interest in the story of Cephalonia, so I ordered the movie on Amazon.and was not disappointed. Of course the story of Captain Corelli's personal experience in the war is fictional, but the story line is the vehicle used in the movie to tell of the atrocity committed by he German military on this small Greek island near the end of the war after the surrender of the Italian Army. The role of Captain Corelli is played by Nicolas Cage; I'm not typically a big Cage fan, I don't go out of the way to see his movies, but in my opinion this film is some of his best ever dramatic work. This film is fairly recent, but I don't recall ever seeing it advertised running in local theaters when it was released. Anyone who's a history fan should add this movie to their collection; it should, in my opinion,join movies like Gallipoli, The Lost Brigade, and The Hunley as another historical war movie. I think The History Channel should also schedule Captain Correlli's Mandolin periodically on that channel as well.

ras

Excellent CD quality. Lovely movie.

Great service arrived as stated.

Absolutely fab film No problems plays great Recommend

Merci