August

Director: Anthony Hopkins Anthony Hopkins

Overview

Anthony Hopkins made his directorial debut with this adaptation of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, recasting the action in Hopkins' homeland of Wales. Ieuan Davies (Anthony Hopkins) has devoted most of his life to managing the estate of Professor Blathwaite (Leslie Phillips); while he's generally been content with his lot in life, lately Ieuan feels he's thrown away his existence and wishes he'd done something with himself. The Professor spends only the summer at his estate, and brings along his second wife, Helen (Kate Burton), whom Ieuan has long loved from afar; his frustrated love for her leads him to drink heavily and contemplate murder and suicide. Family friend Dr. Lloyd (Gawn Grainger) is also attracted to Helen, much to the dismay of Ieuan's niece, a plain woman in love with the good Doctor. In addition to directing and starring in August, Hopkins also composed the musical score.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/08/2011
UPC:	0883904243953
Original Release:	1996
Source:	Mgm Mod
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:34:00
Sales rank:	56,702

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Anthony Hopkins	Leuan,Composer
Leslie Phillips	Professor Blathwaite
Kate Burton	Helen
Gawn Grainger	Dr. Lloyd
Rhian Morgan	Sian Blathwaite
Hugh Lloyd	Thomas `Pocky' Prosser
Rhoda Lewis	Mair Davies
Menna Trussler	Gwen
Beth Morris	Church Woman
Susan Flynn	Rhianon
Huw Garmon	Dafydd Edwards
Rhys Ifans	Griffiths
Ioan Meredith	Quarry Foreman
Minstrel	Dr Lloyd's Dog
Buddug Morgan	Nesta
Victoria Pugh	Housemaid
Hywel Richards	Mr Jenkins
Morgan Ritchie	Morgan Edwards
Terry Rowley	Tom
Myfanwy Talog	Church Woman
Dylan Thomas	Groom
Jâms Thomas	Quarryman
Simon Treves	Quarryman

Technical Credits

Julian Mitchell

Anthony Hopkins	Director
Carolyn Bartlett	Casting
Wally Byatt	Casting
Pippa Cross	Producer
Guy East	Executive Producer
Steve Morrison	Executive Producer
Cheryl Nance	Casting
June Wyndham-Davies	Producer
Craig McNeil	Producer
Julian Mitchell	Screenwriter
Rudi Buckle	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Released a few years after Vanya on 42nd Street, August suffers mightily in comparison that far superior version of Uncle Vanya. But even on its own terms, August is at best a middling movie. Part of the problem is the screenplay; Julian Mitchell's stilted adaptation reduces Chekhov to bare bones, with the result that one of the classics of world theatre comes across as rather simple minded. A bigger problem, however, is Anthony Hopkins' direction. One of the screen's most gifted and powerful actors, he has no real point of view in his directing debut. Scenes meander without real purpose, beautiful images are captured to no effect, the camera is used to record rather than to observe, and while some of the performances have interesting individual moments, the members of the cast seem to be acting in different movies. Hopkins is much better as an actor than director; his performance does provide some glue to hold things together, and there are isolated wonderful moments. There are also, however, a number of over-the-top excesses that another director would not have allowed him. Kate Burton's icy, robotic performance is damaging, although one assumes the interpretation was guided by the director. August's attractive physical production is a plus, but overall the film is a disappointment.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler