Director Anthony Minghella Starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Kristin Scott Thomas, Willem Dafoe

THE ENGLISH PATIENT is an epic film of adventure, intrigue, betrayal and love about four strangers whose diverse lives become inextricably connected. The story is told largely through the eyes of an unknown English patient, the sole survivor of a plane shot down near the beginning of World War II, his mind awash with a life's worth of secrets and passions. As tales of the past and present unfold, the characters reveal themselves to one another and two love stories emerge. Their dangerous journeys from Cairo through the Sahara desert take them toward an unforgettable conclusion in an abandoned Italian monastery at the close of the war.

The English Patient netted 9 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director-Anthony Minghella, and Best Supporting Actress-Juliette Binoche, Isle of Wight born Minghella used his acceptance speech to proclaim the day as 'A great day for the Isle of Wight!' .