Crappy film

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

"Captain Corelli's Mandolin" is based on a 1994 novel of the same name. I haven't read British author Louis de Berniéres' book; so my take on this story is solely based on the quality of the film. I first saw the movie in a theater when it came out. I enjoyed it enough, that years later I bought the DVD – primarily for my WW II movie collection. I have since watched this film a couple of times. Those who read and enjoy history know the general story of Italy's involvement in WW II. Under the tyrant Mussolini, the Italians went to war on the side of Nazi Germany. We also know that most Italians' hearts were not with their official cause. So, after Mussolini was overthrown on July 25, 1943, Italy surrendered to the Allies. Nicolas Cage, as Capt. Corelli, makes that point in the film when he says that Italy surrendered to Great Britain and the United States – not to Germany. The Italians in southern Italy later fought with the Allies; while in the North under German control, the Italians were involved in many underground operations. They hid Jews and helped downed Allied pilots escape, and carried out espionage against the Germans. This movie, like the book it's based on, is a story of Italians who were sent to occupy the large Greek island of Cephalonia. And, of their heroic conflict with the superior German forces after Italy surrendered to the Allies. It is also a story about the island, its people and tumultuous history. And, it is a love story about the Italian captain and the island doctor's daughter, Pelagia, played by Penélope Cruz. The acting, directing and all aspects of this film are excellent. The cinematography is outstanding. The film was made on the island of Cephalonia. When I first saw this film, and since then, I've recalled another recent unusual film set in Italy in the war. "Life is Beautiful" came out in 1997. It was filmed in Italian, German and English, and won 3 Oscars of 7 nominations. It was a warmly told story about a Jewish father who makes a game out of his family's incarceration by the Germans in order to save his young son's life and spare him the horror of what was happening. That film endeared movie-goers at the time – if not all of the industry critics. "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" didn't fare as well. It had a big budget -- $57 million, but the critics mostly didn't like it, and it wasn't a box office hit. It is an American-made movie with American actors. But it is set in the actual location of the story. While the story is different, I think it is of the same ilk as the earlier film. It shows hope and humanity amidst tyranny. I think this film does an excellent job with its story. It is a very good love story as well, and I highly recommend it. I especially like the lines by Dr. Iannis (John Hurt) when he explains true love to his daughter, Pelagia (Penélope Cruz). He says, "When you fall in love, it is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake, and then it subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part… because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness. It is not excitement. It is not the desire to mate every second of the day. It is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every part of your body. No! Don't blush! I'm telling you some truths. That is just being in love, which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over, when being is love has burned away. Doesn't sound very exciting, does it? But it is."

Wow.This was so shockingly bad that we couldn't make it past the first 15 minutes. Christian Bale was the only redeeming thing about this movie -he did an amazing job in every respect (including accent) as opposed to Nicholas Cage who phoned in his acting and didn't even seem to TRY to act well, never mind his atrocious accent! I'm not a big fan of Penelope Cruz, this movie didn't really change my mind. Overacted. Poorly acted. Who the heck directed this travesty of a film? Uggh. Neither my husband or I recommend this movie to anyone. Run quickly in the other direction!!!

I give it a 2, because of the beautiful Mediterranean Greece, otherwise it would be 1. When Nicholas Cage came into with his first lines, I thought he was just kidding. Cage as an Italian ?? I'm sorry, but very wrong actor who's acting is also BAD, not to mention his Italiano accent. The story is very loose, it might have been good, but with other actors and obviously with other screenplay. The camera is great, photography also but why the hell did you cast Nicholas Cage and Penelope Cruz for the role. Please don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against Cage, he has some really great movies, but he obviously isn't for every role. It's really a pity that the cast wasn't better set, because the story has potential.

"Captain Corelli's Mandolin" confuses more often than entertains. Although I haven't read Louis de Bernieres's World War II-era bestseller, I know enough about the changes to recognize the shortcomings of director John Madden's leaden movie adaptation. Audiences may remember this English director best for his 1999 Oscar-winning comedy "Shakespeare in Love." Personally, I enjoyed Madden's earlier effort "Mrs. Brown" (1997), starring Judi Dench as Queen Victoria. Nevertheless, if good looks guaranteed great cinema, "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" would qualify as spectacular. Lensed on location in scenic Greece by two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer John ("Braveheart") Toll, this ambitious but abominable Nicholas Cage & Penelope Cruz wartime tearjerker is easier on the eyes than the ears. Aside from establishing a concrete sense of setting and atmosphere, Madden and scenarist Shawn ("A World Apart") Slovo have butchered Bernieres's novel so that it emerges in bites and incomprehensible pieces. Incredibly, Madden and Slovo let the action veer erratically between comedy and tragedy with an indifferent romance at the heart handicapped by a curious lack of chemistry. Complaints about miscasting may arise in the minds of some moviegoers. Nicholas Cage's insufferably sweet, Puccini-loving, mandolin-strumming Italian artillery captain is almost enough to give Fascism a good name. Meanwhile, nothing good comes of Cage's ersatz Chico Marx accent. Actually, Sylvester Stallone would have been convincing in this role. If poor dialects irritate you, prepare for a veritable cacophony. English supporting actor John Hurt, Iberian beauty Penelope Cruz, and Welsh leading man/villain Christian Bale all sound and look out-of-place alongside Greek native Irene Papas. Purists will most likely skip this Zorba the Greek meets "The English Patient," not only for its inconsistent babble of accents but also for its mishmash of historical revisionism, not to mention its pallid plot."Captain Corelli's Mandolin" unfolds on the idyllic Greek isle of Cephallonia in 1940. A wise old local physician, Dr. Iannis (John Hurt of "Alien"), who has been compiling a history of the island and its earthquakes, narrates this yarn. He lives outside the village with his grown-up, headstrong daughter Pelagia (Penelope Cruz of "Blow") in a small mountainside home. A brawny fisherman called Mandras (Christian Bale of "Shaft") wins Pelagia's heart with his rough and tough ways. Her crusty old mustached father warns her from the start: "I would expect you to marry a foreigner." According to him, Greek men dominate their wives, and Mandras is "not her equal." When Mussolini invades Albania, Mandras and she get engaged. He ships out to fight the Italians. Pelagia pens dozens of letters, but Mandras never sends a reply. Later, we learn about Mandras's illiteracy. Perhaps Pelagia's father knows best. Anyway, this revelation smells like a plot contrivance. How could a bright, well-educated girl like Pelagia overlook such an obvious fact? She serves as her father's nurse and aspires to be a doctor herself. Doctors are trained to observe, so Pelagia should have known. Furthermore, neither Mandras nor Pelagia appear as if they were made for each other. One flirtatious splash in the Mediterranean doesn't a romance make. Madden doesn't pump up the passion between these two. Sadly, Bale and Cruz make an unpersuasive couple. Meanwhile, Madden has given audiences the village tour and introduced its citizenry. Dr. Iannis wields a fishhook to extract a dried pea from a man's ear canal. Although his hearing has been restored miraculously, the husband dreads a future where he must endure his wife's constant complaints. This joke serves as a bookend of sorts that opens and concludes the film. Suddenly, the skies erupt with military aircraft and parachutes blossom. Mussolini's Fascist troops have come to occupy Cephallonia and ships pour in more men and equipment.When Captain Antonio Corelli (Nicholas Cage of "The Family Man") lays eyes on Pelagia, her beauty overwhelms him. "Bella bambina!" He exclaims and orders his platoon to glance in her direction. Initially, true to the romance formula, Pelagia wants nothing to do with Corelli. She regards the Italians with fear and loathing. Corelli is not only an artillery captain but also serves as a translator. The scene in the town square when the Greeks refuse to surrender to the Italians, preferring instead the Nazis, deserves a lusty laugh. Later, the Italians decide to billet their officer elsewhere. The Italian Army quartermaster makes arrangements with Dr. Iannis to board Corelli. Pelagia hates these arrangements, until the captain captivates her with his mandolin.Gradually, Pelagia's glacial attitude melts, and she falls in love with Corelli, even after her betrothed returns to the island and joins the Greek partisans. Mandras's mother Drosoula (Irene Papas of TV's "Homer's Odyssey") is not happy about this new arrangement. The Cage & Cruz romance kindles few sparks. A more meaningful but tragic romance occurs between a so-called good Nazi officer, Captain Gunter Weber (David Morrissey of "Hilary and Jackie") and another island girl. Although Madden shows the Italians firing their artillery, this bunch of guys heads to the beach to guzzle wine and warble Verdi operas to their prostitutes. At first, everything seems great when our protagonists learn that Mussolini has surrendered and the war is over for them. "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" has focused primarily on comedy until the Nazis come goose stomping into the action, and everything turns tragic. Sadly, Madden botches both assignments. He cannot stage a decent big battlefield scene, and he fares no better with the intimate romance scenes. If you're looking for a better version of "Captain Corelli's Mandolin," then check out Gabriele Salvatores's "Mediterraneo" (1991) which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. World War II buffs will appreciate the genuine-looking Stuka dive-bombers that rain destruction on Cephallonia. The lack of romantic chemistry, a hopelessly muddled plot, and leaden direction sabotages "Captain Corelli's Mandolin,"and it fade outs on a whimper rather than a bang of jubilation.