Cold Mountain (North Carolina) settlement on the real-life mountain. The peak is accessible only by hiking a spur of the strenuous Art Loeb Trail. A major motion picture based on the novel was distributed by Miramax Films in 2003. The movie was actually filmed in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania. A Miramax Films spokesperson cited higher production costs however director Anthony Minghella had said that the lack of old-growth forests and period buildings as well as the lack of dependable snowfall were the primary reasons he chose not to film in Western North Carolina. A 2015 opera production followed. "Cold Mountain Hunter" a 2004
The Talented Mr. Ripley (film) well when Damon holds that gleaming smile just a few seconds too long, his Eagle Scout eyes fixed just a blink more than the calm gaze of any non-murdering young man. And in that opacity we see horror". Charlotte O'Sullivan of "Sight and Sound" wrote, "A tense, troubling thriller, marred only by problems of pacing (the middle section drags) and some implausible characterisation (Meredith's obsession with Ripley never convinces), it's full of vivid, miserable life". "Time" named it one of the ten best films of the year and called it a "devious twist on the Patricia Highsmith crime novel". James