| 0 |
|
August Rush (2007)
Rated: PG for some thematic elements, mild violence and language.
Runtime: 100 mins.
Director: Kirsten Sheridan
Writer: Nick Castle and James V. Hart
Cast: Freddie Highmore; Keri Russell; Jonathan Rhys Meyers ... complete cast
Tagline: An incredible journey moving at the speed of sound.
Genre: Drama
Memorable Quote: "You know what music is? Harmonic connection between all living beings." ... more quotes
Release Date: November 22, 2007
DVD Release Date: March 11, 2007
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Official Site: augustrushmovie.warnerbros.com/
View the Trailer: apple.com/trailers/wb/augustrush/trailer1

|
|
| Reel commentary: ... It's not that this melodic fairy tale is not worth tuning in to - it is an imaginative spin on a run-of-the-mill theme - but the fact that your heart, mind, and ears are inundated with the message so often you are wearied by film's end ... |
|

By Louis Boram
Like the most grandiose of Las Vegas's neon signs August Rush brightly flashes target audiences a catchy message up top - spurring us to make a (metaphoric) journey within. "I believe in music the way that some people believe in fairy tales," says August Rush (Freddie Highmore, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). The grand message in this wishful fairy tale is that music's mysterious power can be heard if we are willing to listen.
In 1995, accomplished cellist Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell, The Upside of Anger) has a one-night-stand with Louis Connelly (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Match Point), a rock 'n roll singer-guitarist. When she becomes pregnant Lyla's career-controlling father intervenes by making it clear he doesn't want her to have the baby, lest the tot interfere with her career. The lengths her father goes to are realized when the expecting Lyla is accidentally hit by a car. Emerging from unconsciousness following the accident, Lyla is told the baby did not survive.
At least that's what Lyla's father would have her believe. And so Lyla and Louis go on with their lives by going separate ways.
|
|
|
FREDDIE HIGHMORE stars as August Rush and ROBIN WILLIAMS stars as Maxwell "Wizard" Wallace
All images copyright © 2007 Warner Bros. Pictures.
|
|
|
More than ten years later - with wisdom enough to impress even Star Wars' Yoda - 11-year-old orphan Evan Taylor patiently sets out alone into NYC's concrete jungle, against all odds, to find his birth parents.
Not unlike the young protagonist in The Sixth Sense (1999), the freak-like Evan experiences isolation among his peers because of his exceptional gift - composing music. He's been writing symphonic music for only six months (eat your heart out Beethoven). He determinedly composes rhapsodies with a transcendent, telekinetic-like purpose. The precocious musician believes he can reach out and reconnect with his parents through his melodious creations.
With a heightened awareness like that of a genetically engineered super-canine, August perceives noise polluting cityscape sounds as pleasing orchestral arrangements. The movie's strength lies in its ability to put us inside August's harmonious head. As his musical productivity turns up, a homeless father-figure named the Wizard (Robin Williams, Night at the Museum) dubs him with the colorful moniker August Rush. The Wizard sees August as a cash cow because of his talents. Williams's Wizard (fashioned like a 3rd rate red-haired version of U2 s Bono) is an underwritten transient character literally and figuratively - coming across as inappropriately creepy rather than misguidedly eccentric.
August Rush is as determined in delivering its tunefully driven power-of-love message as its young lead character is in successfully seeking out his parents. As August, Highmore does achieve the difficult task - especially for a child actor - of holding this undemanding fable together by its clichéd-worn seams. It's not that this melodic fairy tale is not worth tuning in to - it is an imaginative spin on a run-of-the-mill theme - but the fact that your heart, mind, and ears are inundated with the message so often you are wearied by film's end.
Louis Boram
Comments
Frank Says:
Nov 22, 2007 at 21:17
More August Rush quotes:
"I know it sounds crazy, but I can hear him! I swear I can hear him! "
"Why is it so important that you want him now?"
"I believe in music the way some people believe in fairy tales. But I hear it came from my mother and father. Once upon a time, they fell in love."
"The music. I thought if I could play it, they would know I was alive. And find me."
|
Emzizzle Says:
Dec 2, 2007 at 18:54
BEST MOVIE EVER :]
|
Katie Baby Says:
Dec 2, 2007 at 22:28
OMG whoever hasnt seen this movie needs to go out and see it RIGHT NOW! this is the cutest movie i have seen in a long time. i loved every bit of it. i was on my tippy toes throughout the whole movie it was absolutley great. i loved it. 290834 thumbs up!
|
Sniper Says:
Jan 2, 2007 at 02:06
best damn movie ever...doesn't matter what the critics say, they are just fodder junkies. All the world needs to see and feel the emotion of this movie. My hat is off to the persons responsible for creating another movie based on "an old theme". We need more movies like this, not more run of the mill fodder movies like Resident Evil "whatever".
|
Mo Says:
Jan 17, 2008 at 21:54
music is my escape. singing is the expression of my soul. my voice is not my own, it was a gift from someone greater than me. this movie shows this kid's gift, its pretty amazing to relate so much to a freaking movie. this shit is for real, go see this movie.
|
finkle Says:
Mar 16, 2008 at 12:52
greatest most heart warming movie i've seen it is amazing
|
mollly Says:
Mar 23, 2008 at 08:07
Loved it.
i just watched August Rush.
it was really good, i liked how it tied together and how they found eachother.
[of course]
and his mom knew him as Evan Taylor, and his dad knew him as August Rush
ouch, and it was really sad, how The Wizard (Robin Williams) was so mean to Evan, i was about to like cry he was like abusive.
i remeber when i was watching the choice awards or something and the little girl was singing live or something like that.
:)
it was a happy ending though.
and that other kid, the one that asked Evan to buy him the pizza...uhm idont remeber his name..but anywya
i cant believe he ended up helping him in the end.
:)
|
big c Says:
Mar 23, 2008 at 12:07
This movie is incredible
EVERYONE GO SEE IT RIGHT NOW
|
Anonymous Says:
Apr 6, 2008 at 23:36
This is the best movie i've seen in a while! I wish the ending after the two parents met up would have been longer but still rocks. I was wondering did anyone know how to get there hands on the song Leon G Thomas III sung (Father's Song)? I believe Charles Mack may have wrote and/or sung it first. I would love to get the tabs for it and perform it for my church!
|
Tony B Says:
Apr 8, 2008 at 17:18
This movie was PHENOMENAL. My friend put it on and I thought "Oh here comes another sappy pathetic movie that she'll cry through" but by the end I was amazed. I started tearing at one part and the music was FANTASTIC. The acting was superb and I would recommend this to people who love music, like me. They are some how able to mix classical and rock music together and make it sound so good.
|
i love august rush <3 Says:
May 7, 2008 at 20:12
this movie is amazing. it's so heartwarming and such a beautiful story. the music is absolutely fabulous. It's so inspirational, that after you watch it, you're inspired to learn guitar and cello. it would have been even better if, in the end, they could have shown a scene with the family reunited all playing music together or something like that. but otherwise, this movie is definitely worth the watch. the soundtrack is worth buying, too.
|
i love august rush <3 Says:
July 8, 2008 at 20:15
I loved this movie before I even saw it! The previews drove me crazy with anticipation; so much so that i got my friend and I tickets to see an early one time showing a few days before it actually premiered regularly. Anyways..that being said, I was going to explode with awe within the first few minutes! "I believe in music like some people believe in fairy tales" pretty much had me hooked! But...what I loved most about the movie was how the music was so continuous and how it helped bring a perfect parallel between the beginning of the movie and the end.
On a completely different tangent. I want to say a BIG GIGANTIC SCREW YOU to all the critics who didn't like this movie. I remember reading in the newspaper and finding a critic talking about how much August Rush failed in his eyes, and that same critic somehow praised Enchanted. I saw enchanted and it was painful to get through because of how obnoxiously uncute it was. Disney dropped the ball with that movie. But anyways, I have lost my faith in movie critics. They seem to have such a narrow view of what good movies are. August Rush was just amazing on every level.
|
Rush Lover Says:
August 4, 2008 at 00:27
I just saw August Rush for the first time with my 7 year old son about 4 days ago. We love it so much we watch it every night! The music is both beautiful and motivating, The story line is not only Extremely touching and heartfelt, but also a nail biter! I was amazed at how many spiritual influences could be found in a story that related so much to the underworld of children in NYC as well as foster family and children's home life. I am an August Rush lover. Critics, sorry, you missed the boat on the pulse of the nation. I loved the music, the acting was phenomenal and the message very inspiring! Keep making movies like this!!! if it's possible to ever make a movie as golden as this one was in the first place.
|
Blah Says:
August 27, 2008 at 05:55
Iit was good movie. lolololol
|
kitten Says:
December 29, 2008 at 21:26
best movie ever but i dont know how they actually tie together in the end
|
Lloyd Bayer Says:
April 15, 2009 at 01:27
August is to music what Einstein was to relativity!
|
cram Says:
September 1, 2009 at 05:44
~wHeew! this movie was a big WOW!......very touching.
-Anyway can anyone tell me if Beethoven has an influence in this movie that made it possible?
|
R.V. Says:
Nov 4, 2009 at 19:54
I personally liked the whole movie, except for the end. It was a very abrupt ending and fairly anti-climatic especially after all the action just before the ending with the "Wizard" and "August".
|

The main feature that stands out most on this DVD release, is its curious lack of features. With only a host of deleted scenes standing as lone sentinel for bonus material representation, it can anly be assumed that a "special edition" release is eminent. But this single disc does contain both the wide and full-screen versions.
As might be expected, especially close attention was paid to the aural delights of this release. While the visuals are sharp and vibrant with no noticeable noise or distractions, it's the wonderful musical score that makes the biggest mark here.
Screen formats: Widescreen Anamorphic 1.78:1
Subtitles: English; Spanish; French
Language and Sound: English: Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1; French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Other Features: Color; interactive menus; scene access; additional scenes.
- Additional Scenes - 7 clips in letterboxed widescreen for a total of 10 minutes of additional scenes.
- 31 chapter stops - 1. Hearing the music; 2. String Selection Credits; 3. Lyla Meets Lewis; 4. I Have a Family; 5. Separate Ways; 6. Let me Go; 7. Gone; 8. Urban Soundscape; 9. Arthur X; 10. Flashes From the Past; 11. This is Our Home; 12. Wizard's Wages; 13. Music in the Night; 14. Walk Out Again; 15. Father's Choice; 16. August Rush; 17. Maybe It's About Time; 18. The Raid; 19. Searchers; 20. This is Him; 21. Composer at Work; 22. Tuned to New York; 23. Waxing rhapsodic; 24. Rehearsal Over. 25. Duet; 26 Never Quit on Your Music; 27. In Concert; 28. Drawn to the Melody; 29. Rush Rhapsody; 30. All You Have to Do; 31. End Credits.
Number of discs: - 1- Keepcase Packaging with no cardboard slipcase and no printed inserts.
|
|
|
Buy the DVD
|
|
Buy the
Soundtrack
|
|

| Freddie Highmore |
... |
August Rush |
| Keri Russell |
... |
Lyla Novacek |
| Jonathan Rhys Meyers |
... |
Louis Connelly |
| Terrence Howard |
... |
Richard Jeffries |
| Robin Williams |
... |
Maxwell 'Wizard' Wallace |
| William Sadler |
... |
Thomas Novacek |
| Marian Seldes |
... |
The Dean |
| Mykelti Williamson |
... |
Reverend James |
| Leon G. Thomas III |
... |
Arthur ( as Leon Thomas III) |
| Aaron Staton |
... |
Nick |
| Alex O'Loughlin |
... |
Marshall |
| Jamia Simone Nash |
... |
Hope |
| Ronald Guttman |
... |
Professor |
| Bonnie McKee |
... |
Lizzy |
| Michael Drayer |
... |
Mannix |

|
|
|
0 |