I liked this movie very much

Rating: Null/10 (22 August 2004)

My interests and tastes in movies goes back a long ways, and I have seen most of the better American and English-language movies made all the way back to the earliest days of movie-making. I'm one of the few people I know who likes even silent movies!
Captain Corelli's Mandolin has a lot going for it. Two attractive co-stars (Cage and Cruz), a good supporting cast and a good plot. The dialogue is well-written and contains romance, wisdom, history and humor. It is also well-photographed, well-staged and technically a very good production. (I assume the Ju-87 Stuka dive bombers shown were done by animation.)
I saw this film on one of the cable film channels, and had to break off before the ending because I was going to be late for a wedding I was attending as a guest. I have fretted for more than a week because I didn't know how the movie ended and really wanted to know if Pelegia and Corelli wound up together. So I rented the DVD and played the whole film and was delighted to see that I'd missed some good parts when I first saw it, so the second viewing was well worth it. And the part the film was in when I left the first time was a good half hour before the movie ended--so I'm glad I didn't stay or I'd have never made it to the wedding.
Nic Cage is a far better actor than I ever thought he was and I never get tired of looking at and listening to Penny Cruz. I will buy this movie as soon as I can find it.
Warren