The English Patient (1996)

Created in the same vein as the great David Lean epics of the 1950s and 60s like Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, The English Patient (1996) brings an epic tale of love, betrayal, regret, and revenge to the screen! The late Anthony Minghella directs this tale, based on the book of the same name by Michael Ondaatje, centering on the Hungarian cartographer Count Almásy (Ralph Fiennes), who is discovered horribly burned in the wreckage of an Italian monastery in the waning days of WWII. With the help of a sympathetic nurse named Hana (Juliette Binoche), he recounts the story of how he fell in love with British aristocrat Katherine Clifton (Kristin Scott Thomas), the wife of one of his benefactors, played by Colin Firth. The two carry on an elicit affair spanning multiple countries during the lead-up to WWII and though his tale is full of romance, it's also clear that Almásy isn't quite as innocent as he proclaims, particularly once a Sikh sapper named Kip (Naveen Andrews) and a Canadian soldier named Caravaggio (Willem Dafoe) recognize him as a man potentially responsible for some atrocities. For all the epic romance, sweeping vistas, and gorgeous locations, the flick is horribly rooted in that classic Hollywood tradition of only having female cast members get nude. There is plenty of hot shirtless action from Ralph Fiennes and Naveen Andrews, as well as a scene where a soldier played by Kevin Whately climbs a ladder in just his boxer shorts, but the real crime here is the total lack of The English Patient's English Privates!