''August'' is a 1996 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by and starring

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor. Considered one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for List of Anthony Hopkins performances, his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins ha ...

as Ieuan (IPA:j/əɨ/a/n) Davies, and featuring

Rhys Ifans Rhys Owain Evans (; born 22 July 1967), known as Rhys Ifans, is a Welsh actor. He has portrayed roles in ''Notting Hill'' (1999), '' Kevin & Perry Go Large'' (2000), and '' Enduring Love'' (2004), in addition to Xenophilius Lovegood in ''Harry ...

in a small role in one of his earliest films, as Griffiths. It is an adaptation of

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

's 1899 play ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897, and first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre, directed by Konstan ...

'', with the character Ieuan Davies taking over the title role. The film was Hopkins's first feature film with a full cast (he had previously directed the one-man-performance of ''Dylan Thomas: Return Journey'' in 1990). It would be over a decade before his next directorial effort, ''

Slipstream A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid (typically air or water) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving object, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is moving. The term slips ...

'' in 2007, which he also wrote and for which he also composed the score. During an interview on the podcast, ''The Ghost of Hollywood'', cinematographer, Robin Vidgeon, stated that working with Anthony Hopkins on ''August'' was the highlight of his career.

Cast

as Ieuan Davies *

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. He appeared in the '' Carry On'' ...

as Prof. Alexander Blathwaite * Kate Burton as Helen Blathwaite * Gawn Grainger as Dr. Michael Lloyd * Rhian Morgan as Sian Blathwaite *Menna Trussler as Gwen *Rhoda Lewis as Mair Davies *

Hugh Lloyd Hugh Lewis Lloyd (22 April 1923 – 14 July 2008) was an English actor who made his name in film and television comedy from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was best known for appearances in '' Hancock's Half Hour'', '' Hugh and I'' and other ...

as Thomas Prosser * Huw Garmon as Dafydd Edwards *

as Griffiths *Susan Ellen Flynn as Rhianon *Buddug Morgan as Nesta

Adaptation and issues

The film adapts ''

'' to a turn-of-the-century Welsh setting, emphasizing the hardships of Welsh industrial life in the slate quarries and Welsh-English turmoil as an English professor upsets normal Welsh life when he arrives at the Welsh estate which acts as his vacation home (at one point Ieuan states that he feels that he has been cheated by the Prof. Blathwaite, just as "the English have always cheated the Welsh").

Language

It is primarily in English, with a few lines in Welsh here or there - such as ''diolch yn fawr iawn'' ("thank you very much"), ''cariad'' (a term of endearment, meaning "love"), and ''iechyd da'' ("cheers").

References

External links

* * 1996 films 1990s English-language films Films based on Uncle Vanya Films directed by Anthony Hopkins Films set in Wales Cool Cymru 1996 drama films The Samuel Goldwyn Company films {{1990s-UK-film-stub

Cast

Adaptation and issues

Language

See also

References

External links