Product Details

• Actors: Sachiko Murase, Richard Gere, Hisashi Igawa, Narumi Kayashima, Tomoko Ôtakara
• Directors: Akira Kurosawa
• Writers: Akira Kurosawa, Ishirô Honda, Kiyoko Murata
• Producers: Hisao Kurosawa, Mike Y. Inoue, Seikichi Iizumi, Toru Okuyama
• Format: Color, Dolby, Digital Video Transfer, NTSC
• Subtitles: English
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Orion
• VHS Release Date: September 15, 1998
• Run Time: 98 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0792899199
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #360,807 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The final film released in the U.S. by Japanese master Akira Kurosawa looks at the atomic blast at Nagasaki from a distance of more than 40 years, through the eyes of a woman who survived it--and the grandchildren who are spending the summer with her. Though she tries not to think about it, the memory of the bombing is with her every day, in the family she lost and the scars she still carries. But the grandchildren insist on seeing the memorial, which brings it home to her once again--and to us. Though sometimes slow going (and what is Richard Gere doing in this movie, as her Amer-Asian nephew?), Rhapsody in August is a story about family and about living in the present while never being allowed to forget the past. --Marshall Fine

Product Description

Academy Award(r) winner* Akira Kurosawa (The Seven Samurai) delivers 'the most intimate drama of his career (Los Angeles Times), a stunning epic that is as visually tantalizing as it is emotionally touching. Set in the gorgeous countryside surrounding Nagasaki and starring Sachiko Murase, Hidetaka Yoshioka and Golden Globe(r) winner Richard Gere, this endearing saga follows a Japanese family once torn apart by war and now facing personal demons brought on by contact with American cousins lost long ago. Sachiko Murase is stunning as the aging matriarchof a Nagasaki family that has long lived with a legacy of horror brought on by WWII. But when an older brother she never knew she had resurfacesalong with his Japanese-American descendantsshe must come to terms with her most deeply held feelings about America and her haunted past. *1989: Honorary Award

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The day the bomb fell life was never the same again..., April 12, 2003

By 

Kali "bengaligirl" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rhapsody in August (DVD)

An elderly woman (Kane) played by Sachiko Murase lives in Nagasaki Japan. One memorable summer she takes care of her four grandchildren who inadvertently awaken in her the memory of the day that the atomic bomb fell in 1945, and how it deprived her of her husband.

With the arrival of her American-Asian nephew from the US, played surprisingly well by Richard Gere who manages to speak Japanese without fluffing it too much, Kane is forced to re-evaluate how the dropping of the bomb has shaped her life and beliefs.

Haunted by the fact that she could not save her husband, and reliving the memories of that terrible day Kane strives to protect her family, and this culminates in her fleeing her house in a storm, clutching an umbrella as if this will protect her against the wrath of nature.

The scenery is breath taking, the acting brilliant and with a haunting sound track, this slow moving Japanese with English subtitles will make you look at the dropping of the atomic bomb with new and horrified eyes. An intelligent and thought provoking film for those people who like a movie with class and brains.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Autumn Radiance, September 13, 2000

By 

"f19f" (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rhapsody in August [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I saw this film on the big screen and, as usual of most Akira Kurosawa's films, it left a lasting impression.

Made in Kurosawa's twilight years, the film is aptly mellow and contemplative, reflecting as it is on one of the horrors of humankind - the Second World War culminating in the release of the atomic bomb.

When this film was first released in US, it generated some controversy when US critics questioned Kurosawa's motivation in two comments in the film relating to the bombing. The critics should not have been concerned, the film's theme indeed is one of reconciliation and bridge-building, laying no blame on the US but the evils of war.

The film is skilful in the way it draws the viewer into the children's discovery and realisation of the horror of the bombing as experienced by their grandmother. The viewer could feel the same anticipation and mystery as the children in their attempt to fathom the old lady.

The film is also delightful in its quiet satire on the middle generation.

Indeed, Rhapsody is a very good film that is every bit an enjoyment of Kurosawa's mastery of story-telling. It has a pace and richness that flow with the excitement of a child's adventure of discovery. And I must say the film contains one of the most indelible images of the film medium when the viewer finally sees what the grandmother and her brother saw on that fateful day in August.

Rhapsody is indeed a fitting completion to the huge and beautiful spectrum of great films from this great, great director.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars thoughtful treatment of the effects of war, December 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Rhapsody in August [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This may be a minor film by Kurosawa, but anyone else would be thrilled to have made something so beautiful and thought-provoking. The film follows four children (the oldest is about to start college) who are visiting their grandmother in Nagasaki for the summer. They learn that their grandfather was killed (forty-five summers before) in the 1945 bombing of Nagasaki, and try to understand what that means for them now. Slowly, they come to understand both their grandmother and themselves better. This is a thoughtful treatment of the use of the atomic bomb, in large part because it manages to be profoundly anti-war without being hostile toward America. You will never forget the grandmother.