You can talk about this movie whatever you want, but it will not change the fact that it is excellent. The cast is fantastic, just like the story. If you look at other films that came out that year, and see that half of them are really bad, this movie is fantastic.

I liked this movie. It maybe the sweet appearance of Nicole Kidman, Or the extremely good cast. Strange to see Renee Zellweger in that kind of Role. I don't get why people hate this movie this much. It's well structured at best. I mean I can't see anything wrong with it. I guess you couldn't outright say this is one of the best. But still It's a solid piece of work.

My friends and I were looking forward to this movie and were sadly disappointed. The film is poorly paced and directed, and the writing is just plain awful. The actors, particularly Kidman and Law, are mediocre at best. And I can't understand all the acclaim that Zellweger is getting: her performance just made me wince. The story which I loved in the novel, left me indifferent in the movie. In sum, I do not recommend this movie.… Expand

A big disapointment, just a failure. A cliched ending that is insulting.

To call this movie a love story is an insult to love. Heck, to call this a movie is an insult to anyone who has even been involved in making a movie. Stylized and frigid Oscar baiting. Minghella should be ashamed of himself.

A remarkable movie: full of famous hollywood faces and of horrible acting and writing. And yet it oozes pomposity in every frame. Hats off to those responsible for this narcissistic garbage

Painfully dull to watch.

So bad, it will make you laugh. Excruciatingly pretentious and at the same time, cheap and dumb.

Pretentious and dull, which does not mean it's meaningful. It's just pretentious and dull.

Has a frigid, lacquered exterior and nothing but emptiness underneath. Disappointing and dull.

Bring a pillow. Or better yet, just stay home and stare at the wall. That would be as interesting as this disgrace of a movie is, and it doesn't cost ten dollars.

This movie chugs along the sheer arrogance of the actors and director. It's about as subtle as a bludgeon.

Inane, dull, and sloppily made. You might want to see this just to witness the appallingly awful acting and the laughable accents. Then again maybe not.

The most unbelievable, boring and uninspired love story I have seen in a long time. The fact that most of the non-American cast struggled through the entire movie with their laughable southern accents was a source of constant irritation. That, coupled with a far-fetched and silly love story between Kidman and Law, who shared not one drop of chemistry, made this the most disappointing movie of the year. The few good scenes are definitely not worthy of so much award attention -- although, if re-cut ala Brown Bunny style, maybe mix them together a bit, then we might have something worth watching!… Expand

In a few words... utter crap.

I thought it was a masterpiece.

Great plot, acting, photography.

Perfect.

I expected so much more than what was on the screen. The book had a warm passion while the movie is very cold.

Not a perfect movie but damn great. Renee stole the movie, people were actually clapping when she came on screen (they must have read the book.) She was funny and real and she gave a great performance. She is the frontrunner for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Jude Law was terrific, very restrained, very internal performance that worked with this character. He is a true movie star but he hid this with just being able to take in all his surroundings (and all-star supporting cast.) He definately is the backbone of this movie. And finally Nicole. Once again she proves her range. There have been alot of critics of her performance and accent but I think she was exceptional. You cared for her character, you wanted her to meet back up with Inman and you believed every hardship scene that she was in. A great performance and she will be nominated for a staggering third consecutive oscar nomintation. A great film.… Expand

A superficial period peice that tries to be deep but is so wound up in appearances that it fails miserably.

Read the book, but don't bother with this terrible movie. With such a production team, this movie could have been so much. But instead it flops in every conceivable way. It moves slowly and awkwardly. It has no substance behind the pretty faces of its cast. It is just plain boring. It leaves you cold and indifferent, if not actually resentful that you just paid money and spent over two hours too see it.… Expand

Comparing this crap to Gone With The Wind is an insult to one of the greatest romantic epics ever written and filmed. Gone With The Wind is a timeless classic that after more than 60 years STILL awes and inspires. Cold Mountain, on the other hand, is about as romantic and inspiring as having a root canal...without the anesthesia. Nevertheless, it is exactly the kind of movie that usually gets an Oscar.… Expand

I'll be very surprised if this doesn't sweep the Oscars and it deserves every award that comes its way.

There is no real love story here, and what is left is a series of skits about the horrors of war as exemplified in the brutality war breeds and brings even off the battlefield. However, once such skit would have made the point. and these skits are connected by a long walk and a series of coincidences such as characters just happening to cross paths in the middle of wilderness. There is virtually no moral ambiguity or nuance in the film: we know the good and the bad guys in each skit. So, as in one of Auh-nold's films, the main issue is who will get brutally killed and who will survive. Yet the most brutal aspect of the movie is Renee Zellweger's overacting. Her accent sounds like a comedian doing a parady of an actress attempting to sound "southern." The accents of other cast members are nearly as bad. I'd give this movie a lower score than a "3", but Nicole Kidman does inevitably show us her gorgeous fanny, which still ranks a perfect "10." Wisely, this scene is saved for nearly the end of the movie, which provides a small amount of suspense. … Expand

I kept waiting for it to get better, and it only got worse. Don't be fooled by the marquee names: this one's a loser.

I was shocked to see such wooden acting from such a supposedly talented cast. Except for Zellweger that is. Her performance instead slides to the other end of the acting spectrum with this ham job, whining at the top of her lungs for an award. An astonishingly bad movie.

We left the theater disgusted. Complacent, totally pleased with itself, and astonishingly oblivious to the fact that it is moviemaking at its most incompetent.

Simply amazing. Perfectly paced and well acted. I was surprised by how engrossing this movie was.

It was a complete mess from the beginning, possibly the most wildly uneven film to be seen this holiday season. There are a handful of characters who seem to be just thrown into the mix (Jack White from The White Stripes?!? - WHAT?!?) for no real reason, and the film can't quite come to terms with what it is. Is it a love story, a war drama, a comedy (Zellweger's comedic character is so out-of-place it is sickening)??? - it was impossible to tell... Worst moment: When Zellweger, completely out of character, degenerates into a sobbing frenzy talking about man creating rain and then it raining....... It makes me laugh just thinking about it. Aside from Kidman's touching performance (I don't think she will ever go wrong), it's a disaster, folks. Plain and simple.… Expand

I wish Jude Law's character had been killed during the war instead of deserting. That way I would have been spared from this miserable excuse for a movie.

Extremely pleasantly surprised by it. Don't judge a book by its cover folks.

I saw this movie without reading the book and it left me confused and cold. But I went to it again because I kept thinking and thinking about it. The second time, I loved it. One of my favorite movies of all time now. Since then, I've seen it another 2 times and intend to read the book. This movie is one where you NEED to give it a chance, if you don't you're losing out.

I've seen it twice now. I saw it the first time, and ddin't like it too much, thought it moved too fast, but now I've seen a second time, I think it's paced just perfectly! This is a perfect film.

Deep, gorgeous, funny, not the usual BS. The reader's opinions here are way out of synch with the quality of the movie. Read the denby or hunter review. Those are usually TOUGH critics to please.

This is as good as it gets. It has everything from romance to war to action. A beautiful masterpiece.

Good movie. It would be an excellent movie, except that the ending was too predictable. Zellwegger was excellent - she added just the right amount of brightness to an otherwise very dark movie. Also, the scenery is very beautiful.

Watching this movie was an excruciating and painful experience. And I think I was the only one in the theater who suffered through it since everybody else had fallen into a deep slumber.

Oscar-worthy. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you will fall in love with the characters. Superb cameos and gorgeous filmmaking.

The worst movie of this year and last. Somewhere between the scene in which Nicole Kidman brings Jude Law a tray of glasses of iced tea and the scene in which she brings him a tray of glasses of hot apple cider, I lost all interest in their love story. As for the war--there is one muddy battle scene, after which the hero goes for a LONG, LONG walk. I wish I had too, but I was with friends. By the way, the production design is just awful--overwrought and too-eager, like an A-student sitting in the front row and waving her hand in the teacher's face. As a whole, the movie is unbearable.… Expand

Ouch, so many 0's. But I'm surprised because I've seen this film a couple of times and always it's a packed house. It must be getting great WOM and deservedly so. It's brilliant.

My wife and I saw this last weekend, and she and I both loved it. A beautiful film, she said she's going to read the novel now. I'd definitely recommend it to others.

This movie is pure beef tripe...tasty to some, but still a throwaway.

With few words... simply a great movie...

There is a sh.t-load of people in this movie! Ranging from Portman to the two dudes in 28 Days Later. Too bad the film is over-acted and really slow. Well made, but pretty much really boring.

This movie is not as bad as some of the people here have voted but i have to admit, i didn't care for it. I didn't like the romance and didn't care for usually wonderful Zellweger, If you want to see her in a great film see the wonderful little seen film "The Whole Wide World."

I simply loved this movie. I think Nicole Kidman was stunning and wonderful as always. Jude Law was fantastic and deserved the oscar nomination he received. The chemistry between them was romantic and had me wishing that the movie writers might change the tragic end. Oh well! Thank you Jude and Nicole for making these characters come alive out of one of my favorite books of all time.

Beautiful story hindered by a lack of on-screen chemistry between it's two leads and plot inconsistancies.

A finely textured period piece. Has its obtuse moments, but generally has a convincing realism and captures the haunting majesty of a youth spent in turmoil. Zellweger, after being overshadowed by Zeta-Jones in Chicago, steals the show here.

I can't give it a 0. That distinction goes to one of Minghella's other movies, "The English Patient." I thought the book was great, and I read the reviews, so I was stunned at how bad and pathetic this movie was--but not quite as stunned by what is now the standard by which all bad moives should be judged-- "The English Patient."

Wow i cant believe the bad user reviews. awsome supporting roles by natalie portman and jack white, jude law was good too but the writing is kind of bad.

An anti-war movie. Not really. A love story - doesn't really pull that off either. Tragedy - should be, but the heartache does not come over. Could have been made into a good comedy - with the right script So what is it - Oscar fodder - as someone else remarked. Too long. Too predictable and in some ways too twee.

"Cold Mountain" is the kind of film which often wins Best Picture at the Oscars, which isn't entirely a compliment, but it's strong anti-war bent may make it just controversial enough to send the Academy in another direction. Too bad. Though the picture takes a while to build momentum -- despite the horrific Petersburg sequence -- but becomes an engrossing, moving haunting love story. The acting is consistently excellent, good enough to forgive the occasional wobbly accent. The supporting cast, especially Kathy Baker, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Natalie Portman, are terrific, and Renee Zellweger nearly walks off the movie, turning in one of the most enjoyable performances of the year. (She has one of the funniest lines in any movie in a long time, comedy or drama.) But the quiet passion of Nicole Kidman and Jude Law anchor the film and hold it together. The film cheats a little on its politics (it's conveniently PC that neither the hero or the heroine is pro-slavery) and it will be interesting to see how the anti-war themes resonate with the public mood. But once the politics fade, as they always do, I think this film stand the test of time. I recommend it highly.… Expand

I thought this film was beautifully made. I do agree, however, there was very little chemistry between Kidman and Law. I very much enjoyed this iflm.

I really liked it. Very graphic though, you should be warned. But an excellent movie.

Wow!!! A seamless union of a chick flick with an action movie. I was impressed.

I had very high hopes for this movie which were sadly dashed by this ineffectual production. Any virtues that the movie strove for were lost in its self-important tone. It is simply not a good movie. I found it poorly produced and the telling of the story was lackluster and mechanical, mindless and mindnumbing.

This was a mildly entertaining film until the second half, where it begins to sag badly. There are maybe three or four engaging scenes, mostly featuring a far more potent supporting cast than any of its leads. Having never read the book, I went primarily on the lure of seeing the work of one of my favorite directors, whose "The English Patient" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley" I adore. "Cold Mountain," however, failed to fully engage me despite adequate performances from Nicole Kidman and Jude Law. Less adequate was Renee Zellwegger's rather annoying stretch as a mountain woman. And the end is so ludicrous that you regret having wasted some three hours watching a well-made, but emotionally allienating film.… Expand

Nicole wears too much make up throughout the movie for the period and the perils she was going through.

Jude Law goes for a long walk. Nicole Kidman looks pretty. Renee Zellweger breaks the world record for hamming.

A must see! I'm reading the book now.

Wonderful! Old fashioned film making at its best!

Renee Zellweger did NOT deserve the best supporting actress academy award! Nothing about this movie ever merits an academy award nomination. This movie was just so depressing and dragged on and on. A good movie is supposed to fly by and make a person actually enjoy watching the screen. This did none of that. I cannot believe how overly hyped this stupid movie was. Because of how many academy nominations this film got, I highly doubt that the academy knows what a good movie is.… Expand

I only have two good words to say about this film, but they can wait. Every year Hollywood trots out a film that is carefully designed to win a bag of Oscars, and every year it looks like, as you would expect, a Hollywood film designed to win a bag of Oscars. It is always a drama (comedies don't win Oscars) and is often a tragedy, as in this case. It has true love, bad guys (who might as well be wearing black hats they are so clichéd), some trite moral (like war is bad, or sometimes just bad is bad) and good triumphing over evil. It has Oscar wannabes trying to lift their credentials by being convincing in small parts (in this case Natalie Portman as a newly widowed single mother, Giovanni Ribisi as a Southern Judas, Philip Seymour Hoffman as a wayward preacher). It has attractive lead actors and an air of gravitas given by the careful casting of a semi-retired Hollywood legend in a small but central role (in this case it is Donald Sutherland as Ada's father who gets to draw a generous pension cheque). It is always overambitious, unsubtle and overblown. It is invariably way too long. Sadly, half the time it does win a bag of Oscars. The story this time? Lonely southern preacher's daughter, totally impractical and jacked up on romance novels, takes a fancy to farmyard boy who is pretty but probably daft and apparently mute (although he never has trouble being eloquent in the film). She imagines torrid and fated romance, á la Wuthering Heights, which she reads later in the film, just in case you don't get it. Pretty boy ships out to war, finally figures it's a bummer, walks home having had various adventures, mostly lifted from Homer's Odysseus, (he goes to fight his enemy in a distant city, he rejects the advances of Southern Sirens (and a single mother), fights battles against impossible odds, has a protector/goddess who dispenses medicine and advice, he kills those who attempted to take his place, thereby restoring order to 'his kingdom'). He's the luckiest bastard on the planet; bullets and bayonets just about always miss, women tend to him and throw themselves at him, he always escapes death when no-one else does. She is just like Odysseus's wife Penelope, not interested in the advances of suitors, remaining true to the hope of his survival, although what she's doing in bed with Renée Zellweger is nobody's business but theirs. Since Odysseus is about 3,000 years old this story is pretty well worn. Anyway, they get it on, then his luck runs out, she ends up a single mum and life goes on as a Utopian matriarchy. The penultimate scene has her covering a lamb in the skin of its dead mother in an attempt to save its life. I think it might be a reference to those who go before us, that even in death their memory, and their deeds, are our protection. Maybe. These film types really fancy themselves as clever and all that. I saw it as a metaphor for the film, a sheep in sheep's clothing. The two good words? Renée Zellweger, who I usually despise, was pretty good, I thought.… Expand

Hideously bad. A dull and dull-witted production.

One of the year's best films! A riveting, rapturous love story set against the backdrop of the Civil War. Renee Zellweger, Nicole Kidman, and Natalie Portman (who completely redeems herself after those garbage Star Wars flicks) are standouts in an unbeatable ensemble cast.

Overhyped garbage.

I was disturbed at how the established cast and director of this movie obviously thought that their presence alone in this film would make it good. Continually parading recognizable movie stars does not a movie make. The actors make a pathetic effort and the production as a whole is a simpering, self-congratulatory job. There is no meaning, talent, or effort displayed. As a viewer I was insulted and angry at this stereotypical Hollywood hack job.… Expand

I truly despised this movie. Just because there are costumes, accents (cringe-inducing), and a pseudo-intellectual-anti-war message, does not mean that a film has any shreds of intelligence. This one certainly doesn't. The writing stinks worse than Nicole Kidman's awful accent, and the bland acting hardly makes it any better. There is nothing special about this movie, except how remarkably bad it is. Not worth seeing at all.… Expand

Yeah, it's basically a 2-plus hour love story, but when the lovers are Jude Law and Nicole Kidman, who cares? A wonderful supporting cast energizes the story and keeps it from sinking when it lags.

For all its flaws, the movie does at least effectively demonstrate how ?average? men are so easily exploited and used by war. It also demonstrates how easily morality can be turned upside down in times of war by those leaders who leave the fighting to someone else and personally risk nothing. In the Cold Mountain, men who don?t believe enough in the cause to fight in the war garner power and stature by punishing ?deserters? who don?t believe enough in the cause to fight in the war. In a time when Americans leaders have effectively sold the ?average? man on the idea of giving up freedoms to the government so it can protect his freedoms?this type of "message" about war might be timely. At the same time, much of the acting in this move is astonishingly bad. Renee Z?s accolades from Chicago gave her enough self-confidence to go way over the top this time around, and enough stature to prevent anyone from trying to save her from herself. She makes Jack Lemon seem subtle. This is truly horrible: grotesque. Its like something you would have expected for comic relief on Bonanza when Hoss was on vacation. Once Renee Z makes her entrance, you just can?t continue to take the story seriously. It is also note worthy that although this is a film about a war that was principally about slavery?the issue of slavery is virtually absent from the film. There are no substantive scenes involving black actors or actresses. While we learn a great deal about the suffering of southern whites, the plight of blacks is touched upon only incidentally. In one of the film?s more bizarre scenes, Nicole Kidman?s character explains that she is planning on ?taking some Root Beer to the Negroes.? However, it starts raining, so she sends a surrogate with the refreshments. … Expand

For all its flaws, the movie does at least effectively demonstrate how ?average? men are so easily exploited and used by war. It also demonstrates how easily morality can be turned upside down in times of war by those leaders who leave the fighting to someone else and personally risk nothing. In the Cold Mountain, men who don?t believe enough in the cause to fight in the war garner power and stature by punishing ?deserters? who don?t believe enough in the cause to fight in the war. In a time when Americans leaders have effectively sold the ?average? man on the idea of giving up freedoms to the government so it can protect his freedoms?this type of "message" about war might be timely. At the same time, much of the acting in this move is astonishingly bad. Renee Z?s accolades from Chicago gave her enough self-confidence to go way over the top this time around, and enough stature to prevent anyone from trying to save her from herself. She makes Jack Lemon seem subtle. This is truly horrible: grotesque. Its like something you would have expected for comic relief on Bonanza when Hoss was on vacation. Once Renee Z makes her entrance, you just can?t continue to take the story seriously. It is also note worthy that although this is a film about a war that was principally about slavery?the issue of slavery is virtually absent from the film. There are no substantive scenes involving black actors or actresses. While we learn a great deal about the suffering of southern whites, the plight of blacks is touched upon only incidentally. In one of the film?s more bizarre scenes, Nicole Kidman?s character explains that she is planning on ?taking some Root Beer to the Negroes.? However, it starts raining, so she sends a surrogate with the refreshments. … Expand

Laughably awful. Kidman, Law, and Zellweger have done such great work in other movies that I had high hopes for this one. Oh my God. Even bad movies have a little something good going for them. I cannot think of one redeeming quality for Cold Mountain, however. The acting is ineffectual, the script is dull, the story is poorly paced, the directing is lackluster. Almost as if realizing that it's got a turkey in its hands, the movie tries too hard, but its aim is badly misguided. The result is amazingly awful. If the movie itself were a little more interesting, I would recommend seeing this if only to see how everything in a promising movie can go completely awry.… Expand

This film is a sad example of how conceit can screw up a potentially good movie. It has all the ingredients for a decent if not excellent movie. But it misfires horribly. At the same time, it goes to show that you need more than name-power to make a movie. Those involved actually should make some kind of sincere effort rather than blandly mugging for the camera.

This is a thoughtful movie about the effects of war on those who fight in it and those who wait at home. All actors shine in this captivating story.

It?s a great movie! My friends and I liked it too. I think Renee Zellweger is better in this movie than Nicole Kidman. A really true love story, it makes me cry! I like it better than ?Gone With the Wind?. Really want to read a book ?The Cold Mountain?. (By Charles Frazier).

Oh my god this was vomit-inducing bad.

May this movie rest in the trash can where it belongs. I would have been embarrassed for the actors in this movie if I hadn't seen them on tv fawning over this crap like it was the next best thing to Gone with the Wind. Stupid, overrated, tedious, pompous, boring, mindless, and I would be generous in saying that. Somebody bury this movie under a cold mountain and make sure it never sees the light of day again.… Expand

Infuriatingly pompous and pretentious. The book was lovely, but this is just crap. The actors are horrifyingly miscast and also put in their worst performances ever. The stupid script hardly makes it better. Did anyone say these lines out loud before they started shooting? How could a writer write this and not cringe? Minghella is at his soporific best which will probably be most viewer's welcome reprieve from this appalling adaptation.… Expand

It was so bad I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I mostly laughed. Especially at Zellweger's unparalleled and hamming. The "it's raining!" line had me rolling on the floor and is worth the price of admission.

I loved it, a cenematic masterpiece. If you have ever been in love than I think you'll like this movie!

Oscar bait that is so blatantly formulaic that it's downright insulting to the viewer.

An appallingly bad adaptation of an excellent novel.

Simply magnificent! This is NO Gone with the Wind, and I mean that in a good way. I love the other film, but it's a little outdated and this one, really captures the mood and lifestyle of the south during the Civil War. Brilliant.

This is so rididculous it made me want to cry. I took my wife in order to reciprocate after taking her to LOTR but we both could not believe it. This movie is bad, the acting is average and the script is terrible. Just don't go and go to see Love actually instead.

I'd like to give a resounding "BOOOO" to all those involved in making this travesty of a movie. I don't understand why people are saying it was supposedly "snubbed" for Best Picture. It will be sad day when formulaic trash like this gets nominated for anything other than a razzie.

The odyssey of a deserter confederate soldier through the war-ravaged South as he tries to return to the imperiled beloved he hardly knew, is a moving protrait blending rapture and brutality. With flawless performances, majestic photography, at times hyper realistic, the film captures the many nuances of the story revealing the consequences of war and its effects on the heroic, romantic, and the predatory aspects of human nature. This is a timeless movie and it will certainly be considered a classic in the future.… Expand

Irredeemably, laughably, jaw-droppingly horrible.

THE film of 2004. It's a shame this fim wasn't nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.

I'm totally shocked that this film is rated as 3.5 out of 10 by the metacritics.com users. is that a joke? cold mountain is definitely the most powerful and poignant film of 2003. anthony minghella did it again!

After seeing the previews I thought this was a Civil War movie. This was a love story. The best things in this movie were R. Zellweger and N. Kidman's butt.

What in the world are you people talking about? I'm not a Minghella fan; in fact, I don't usually like Kidman or Law, and I was set to hate this movie just for all the Brits, etc. playing the Civil War. But this is a beautiful film. Beautiful mise-en-scene. Beautiful shots. Beautiful cinematography. A heart-breaking, haunting story (and keeping the two lovers apart is what it�39;s all about, despite everyone's complaints). And great music. It's the kind of film that gets into your soul and stays there for awhile. Not exactly the visual images, just the whole atmosphere. My only complaint that all Minghella's love scenes are semi-pornographic, especially the scene with the trickster and his many wives/whores/sisters--or whatever that was about. I'm sorry I didn't see this movie sooner. I'm thankful for second-run cinemas, because I wouldn't want to see it on video for the first time.… Expand

The movie was a rip off of "Gone with the Wind" (lacking originality) so I can see why it didn't get a Oscar nomination for best picture. Apart from that I still like movie.

This movie was fokin great !!!!!

The best part by far was the bit where Inman meets the old woman with the goat. She was such a good actress. Also Natalie Portmans bit was powerful. Kathy Baker, you are the most underrated actress ever.

Cold Mountain failed in every aspect that English Patient succeeded in. Waste of a $100 million budget. And a disgrace to Charles Frazier's amazing novel.

Great movie! Epic battles mixed in with gorgeous landscapes. Wonderful music portraying the times.

This is a brilliant film. Kidman gives a better performance than Brando in The Godfather.