IMDb > August (1996)
August
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Overview

User Rating:
5.7/10   345 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Anton Chekhov (play)
Julian Mitchell (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for August on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
19 April 1996 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
You can live a whole lifetime in a single weekend....
Plot:
Chekovs Uncle Vanya, transposed to turn-of-the-century North Wales, where the peace and tranquillity... more | add synopsis
Awards:
1 win more
User Comments:
Transplantation Successful! more (9 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Anthony Hopkins ... Ieuan Davies
Leslie Phillips ... Professor Alexander Blathwaite
Kate Burton ... Helen Blathwaite
Gawn Grainger ... Dr. Michael Lloyd
Rhian Morgan ... Sian Blathwaite
Menna Trussler ... Gwen
Rhoda Lewis ... Mair Davies
Hugh Lloyd ... Thomas Prosser
Huw Garmon ... Dafydd Edwards

Rhys Ifans ... Griffiths
Susan Ellen Flynn ... Rhianon
Buddug Morgan ... Nesta

Victoria Pugh ... Housemaid
Ioan Meredith ... Quarry Foreman
Jâms Thomas ... Quarryman
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG for bloody images of a mining accident, thematic elements and some language.
Runtime:
94 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Ieuan Davies: Scribble, scribble, scribble... Makes you feel sorry for the paper, doesn't it? more
Movie Connections:
Version of Uncle Vanya (1963) more
Soundtrack:
The Maiden's Prayer (La Priere d'une vierge) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful.
Transplantation Successful!, 17 February 2006
10/10
Author: gradyharp from United States

Anton Chekhov's play 'Uncle Vanya' has been re-written and transplanted to turn of the century South Wales in this production, which is directed by Anthony Hopkins. For all of the many translations and rebirths of this 'comedy' by the great Chekhov, this one seems to work best. There really is very little linear storyline, but it is filled with the author's recurring themes of unfulfilled dreams, boredom, longing for an elusive future.

The plot (!) is really a discourse among the players: Ieuan Davies (Anthony Hopkins) is a bored older man who spends his days drinking and talking with his small family and servants on the country estate owned by Professor Alexander Blathwaite (Leslie Phillips) who comes for a stay with his beautiful wife Helen (Kate Burton) for whom Davies lusts and pines. A doctor (Gawn Grainger) visits, stirs discontent while mixing in family gossip and caring for the victim of a mine explosion. The bulk of the dialogue is centered on some fine expositions about women's rights, class inequality, and Davies' boredom with life, his aborted chances on having a significant life, and his longing for a future that seems as elusive as the summer breeze that fans the tea garden in this wistful, atmospheric setting.

To enjoy 'August' the viewer must be in the mood for conversation, wit, banter, and ensemble acting, and given those prerequisites, this film is a joy. Hopkins gives a magnificent performance, loathable and lovable, and the entire cast is so polished that the play becomes chamber music. Hopkins not only stars but also directs (not always successfully attending to the small details of action), and also provides the musical score - no mean feat! Not a film of action this, but rather a summer reverie piqued by subtle comedy. Grady Harp

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