Rhapsody in August (1991) Hachi-gatsu no kyôshikyoku (original title)

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Kiyoko Murata (novel)
Akira Kurosawa
(more)

Release Date:

20 December 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An elderly woman living in Nagasaki Japan takes care of her four grandchildren for their summer vacation...

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Elderly | Nagasaki Japan | Memory | Atomic Bomb

Awards:

5 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Sachiko Murase	...	Kane
Hisashi Igawa	...	Tadao
Narumi Kayashima	...	Machino
Tomoko Ôtakara	...	Tami
Mitsunori Isaki	...	Shinjiro
Toshie Negishi	...	Kane's daughter
Hidetaka Yoshioka	...	Tateo
Chôichirô Kawarazaki	...	Noboru
Mieko Suzuki	...	Minako (as Mie Suzuki)
Richard Gere	...	Clark (as Richâdo Gia)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shizuko Azuma
Satoko Hayashi
Masahito Hirose
Noriko Honma	...	Mourner
Ayao Imada
Tomi Iwasawa
Wasuke Izumi
Saburô Kadowaki
Hiroko Kamaya
Maru Kariya
Tsuyo Kataoka
Shigeo Katô
Setsuko Kawaguchi
Natsuyo Kawakami
Michio Kida
Yoshie Kihira
Sakae Koike
Akiji Maeda
Hiroko Maki
Yoshiko Maki
Ise Maruyama
Kappei Matsumoto
Goichi Nagatani
Kiyoshi Nakamura
Chiyono Nakayama
Junpei Natsuki
Ei Ogata
Masako Oka
Teru Oki
Kinu Ono
Matsue Ono
Kumeko Otowa
Sachio Sakai	...	Mourner
Akio Sakita
Takatoshi Shimohira
Yukie Shimura
Yukie Sugisaki
Tomo Takano
Fumi Takeshita
Tadashi Tomonaga
Kimi Toshita
Yoshiko Tsuji
Haruko Uesugi
Torauemon Utazawa
Koji Wada
Tai Yamaguchi
Mieko Yasunaga
Katsuji Yoshida
Chiyoko Yoshihara
Haruo Yoshihara
Hideko Yoshiyama

Directed by
Akira Kurosawa

Writing credits
Kiyoko Murata		(novel "Nabe no Naka")
Akira Kurosawa		and
Ishirô Honda		uncredited

Produced by
Seikichi Iizumi	....	associate producer
Mike Y. Inoue	....	associate producer
Hisao Kurosawa	....	producer
Toru Okuyama	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Shinichirô Ikebe

Cinematography by
Takao Saitô
Shôji Ueda

Film Editing by
Akira Kurosawa

Production Design by
Yoshirô Muraki

Costume Design by
Kazuko Kurosawa

Makeup Department
Tameyuki Aimi	....	makeup artist
Yumiko Fujii	....	hair stylist
Yamada Katsura	....	hairdresser
Yamada Katsura	....	wigs
Sakai Nakao	....	hair stylist
Norio Sano	....	makeup artist
Kazuhiro Tsuji	....	special makeup effects artist
Shoshichiro Ueda	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Masahiko Kumada	....	unit manager
Teruyo Nogami	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Vittorio Dalle Ore	....	assistant director
Takashi Koizumi	....	chief assistant director
Naohito Sakai	....	assistant director
Toru Tanaka	....	assistant director
Okihiro Yoneda	....	assistant director

Art Department
Koichi Hamamura	....	set director
Kyôko Heya	....	art assistant
Nami Ishida	....	property master
Junichiro Konnai	....	set construction
Takeshi Koshimizu	....	set construction
Katsuji Maruyama	....	set construction
Koichi Nonaka	....	property master
Satoshi Ota	....	property master
Yasuyoshi Ototake	....	art assistant
Tadao Shibuya	....	set construction
Tsuyoshi Shimizu	....	art assistant
Tsuneo Shimura	....	art assistant
Tetsuji Tatsuta	....	property master
Kazuharu Tsuboi	....	set construction
Ichiro Utsuki	....	set construction

Sound Department
Kenichi Benitani	....	sound
Soichi Inoue	....	sound assistant
Ichirô Minawa	....	sound effects editor
Masatoshi Saito	....	sound effects editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Yukio Choya	....	lighting technician
Hisanori Furukawa	....	lighting technician
Daizaburo Harada	....	still photographer
Masahiko Hayashi	....	assistant camera
Hidehiro Igarashi	....	assistant camera
Miyanobu Inori	....	lighting technician
Hiroshi Ishida	....	assistant camera
Tadatoshi Kitagawa	....	lighting technician
Hiroyuki Kitazawa	....	assistant camera
Motonobu Kiyoku	....	assistant camera
Kenzo Masuda	....	set lighting rigging
Isamu Miwano	....	grip
Makoto Sano	....	lighting technician
Takeji Sano	....	lighting technician
Tetsuo Sawada	....	lighting technician
Yoshinori Sekiguchi	....	assistant camera
Kazuo Shikayama	....	grip
Shigeo Suzuki	....	assistant camera
Yukio Tanaka	....	set lighting rigging
Shintaro Tazaki	....	lighting technician
Hiromatsu Toyoyama	....	grip
Satoshi Tsuyuki	....	grip
Isao Yasui	....	lighting technician

Casting Department
Tsuyoshi Sugino	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Yoko Nagano	....	wardrobe
Mitsuru Otsuka	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Tome Minami	....	negative cutter
Masaru Muramoto	....	assistant editor
Ryusuke Otsubo	....	assistant editor

Transportation Department
Hiroto Kurokawa	....	transportation
Haruo Nakajima	....	transportation
Ken Ogata	....	transportation

Other crew
Peter Grilli	....	advisor: Japanese dialogue, Richard Gere
Ishirô Honda	....	creative consultant
Shushin Hosoya	....	head production assistant
Hiroko Idetsu	....	production accountant
Ryosetsu Imai	....	title calligraphy
Naotaka Kacho	....	unit publicist
Kenji Kanai	....	organ tuning
Toshiaki 'Sampei' Kimura	....	production assistant
Shuji Matsumoto	....	production accountant
Magosaka Osada	....	location manager: Gotemba
Shizuo Osada	....	location manager: Gotemba
Ryusuke Otsubo	....	instructor: Nagasaki dialect
Satoshi Shimozawa	....	production assistant
Izuhiko Suehiro	....	production coordinator
Kimihiko Tsurugaya	....	production assistant
Kazutoshi Wadakura	....	production assistant
Ryohei Yamaoka	....	advisor: ants march

Thanks
Eric Roth	....	special thanks
Kazuhiro Sawa	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Feature Film Enterprise II
• Kurosawa Production Co.
• Shôchiku Eiga

Distributors

• AMLF (1991) (France) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Film & Teater (1992) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Shochiku Company (1991) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (video)
• MGM Home Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• Orion Classics (USA) (subtitled)
• Studio S (2007) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Avaco Creative Studio  music production
• Den Film Effect  titles and opticals
• Fuji Photo Film  raw stock
• Hoei Sangyo Co. Ltd.  raw stock
• Kurosawa Film Studio  lighting
• Light Maker Company  lighting
• Lumo Lighting  lighting
• S.F. Filter  lighting
• Sanwa Cine Equipment  camera equipment provided by
• Sekishin-Kai  titles and opticals
• Sony PCL  HDTV technology
• Takatsu Movie Decoration  props
• Tisman Service  sound equipment
• Toho E.B.  art department services
• Toho Sound Creative Studio  production services
• Toho Studios  production services
• Tokyo Concerts  music production
• Tokyo Isho  wardrobe
• Toyo Onkyo Kauove  sound effects
• U International Corp.  coordination: Hawaii

Also Known As:

"Hachi-gatsu no kyôshikyoku" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Germany:6 | Peru:PT | Sweden:7 | UK:U | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Amagi-Yugashima, Shizuoka, Japan

Company:

Feature Film Enterprise II

Quotes:

Kane:People do anything just to win war. Sooner or later it will destroy us all.

Movie Connections:

References Rodan (1956)

Soundtrack:

Stabat Mater

good

I had missed a viewing of this film a few months ago and waited with anticipation for another viewing to take place. I thought the film was quite fascinating when the grandmother told stories about life around the bombing of Nagasaki in WW2. Her moments with her grandchildren were what made the film a pleasure for me. It shows me that no matter where the location is there is still a grandmother telling young children tales of the ole days. The film is at times uneven mainly because it can not decide if it wants to focus on the grandchildren and their matriarch or discuss her half american nephew(Richard Gere) coming to visit. I believe that Kurasawa was using grandma as a casualty of war. She shows in her tales how the war has haunted her. It never leaves. There is one story she tells about her seeing an eye in the sky as the mushroom cloud flashes in the sky as the bomb drops. Other stories tell about a man running off with a shoemaker's wife to a place where two trees committed "double suicide". The film works best when grandma is able to be the center of the story..she was the most intriguing character. I always wanted to hear what she had to say. The film has good moments with Richard Gere,but they are way too short. The ending is a haunting image of what war can do to a person who lives with that tragedy. ****/*****