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August Rush | 
| Actors: Freddie Highmore, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $12.99
You Save: $6.99 (35%)
New (46) Used (26) Collectible (1) from $6.95
Rating:  244 reviews
Sales Rank: 166
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 113 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: WARD018552D
UPC: 012569763685
EAN: 0012569763685
ASIN: B00133KFGW
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: March 11, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Cellist lyla and rock musican louis meet at a party spend the night. Lyla learns she is pregnant. Her father forces them apart she gets pregnant. Lyla has an accident her father tells her the baby died the child survives and is give up for adoption the child(evan)11 now embarks finding his parents through music Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 09/30/2008 Starring: Freddie Highmore Jonathan Rhys Meyers Run time: 113 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Kirsten Sheridan
Amazon.com
Music has long been considered a universal language with the power to bring people together, but can the simple act of playing music possibly unite a child with a mother and father who live in two different cities and don't even know of the child's existence? Having shared one extraordinary night, classical cellist Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell) and Irish singer and songwriter Louis Connelly (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) were a union meant to be that was torn apart by circumstances and a protective father (William Sadler). After eleven years, both Lyla and Louis have given up performing only to find that they are unhappy and searching for a sense of fulfillment that will ultimately lead both artists back to music and performing. Evan (Freddie Highmore) is an 11-year old orphan who's grown up hearing music in everything around him and is convinced that his real parents want him and will find him with the help of music. Driven by his innate musical genius and a powerful compulsion to perform before the world, Evan runs away from the orphanage and is initially taken in by a street man known as Wizard (Robin Williams) who encourages his musical talent and renames him August Rush and, later, by a local priest who arranges for August to receive a Julliard education. August is a child prodigy who excels beyond even the wildest expectations and earns the opportunity of a lifetime--a chance to perform in front of an enormous audience in New York's Central Park. The question is; can his performance possibly reach the audience August really craves? While elements of this film are completely unbelievable (take August's instant prowess on the guitar or his immediate and sophisticated grasp of musical notation and musical theory), the message of the universality of music and the notion that "the music is all around us, all you have to do is listen" is both compelling and powerful. --Tami Horiuchi
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| Customer Reviews: Read 239 more reviews...
 great movie December 1, 2008
C. F. Hoffman (Tucson, AZ United States)
This is a great urban type of fairytale story . The music really sets this tale apart from others like it. Really worth watching
Uniquely Composed November 30, 2008
Pauline A. Trinkle (Lancaster, PA USA)
Have you ever stopped and listened to the sounds all around you? Did you hear the crickets, the wind chimes, the sounds of the wind? They create music, a symphony when all is put together. It is so beautiful and majestic. Even taking in the scenery that paints pictures before you, can add to the wonders of the natural sounds. August Rush (2007) is the perfect movie to turn your attention to these everyday surroundings. Not only is it a movie of music and the power it holds, but it is also a movie of love, whether it be romantic love, friendly love, or the love of a family. August Rush has it. Its story line is unique, and is harmoniously constructed.
I give a great deal of credit to the writers, James V. Hart (screenplay), Nick Castle (screenplay and story), and Paul Castro (story). I applaud the producers, the crew behind the movie, and the director, Kirsten Sheridan. There were many camera angles used; most were close-ups, but some long shots were included. There was a scene at the beginning of the film where both of these types of shots were shown. Lyla Novacek, (Keri Russell), and Louis Connelly, (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), just met on the rooftop of a building, and the close-ups of their faces showed sparkles in their eyes, they both looked happy and free. In this same scene, a long shot showed a man walking, later to be revealed as Wizard, (Robin Williams), on the sidewalk beneath them playing a harmonica. The camera was zoomed out and in when necessary, and used in so many different angles. At one point the camera zoomed out rapidly from a close-up on Russell, when she thought she saw her son. The watcher could really get a feel for the characters throughout the movie.
It was great to see the way the music carried emotions, the lighting formed a scene or character, and the shots told the viewer what to think and feel about what was being shot. The different sets, especially the broken down theater, proved that the props and sets were well thought about. The costumes were mainly modern day, and the accents of the actors fit who they were described to be. For example, Louis was an Irish character, and that's just the accent he carried. Symbolism came with the moon and music, which was the connection between Evan Taylor, (Freddie Highmore), Lyla, and Louis. Wizard said a quote in the movie that revealed the role symbolism played in this particular film. He said, "Music is...God's little reminder there's something else besides us in this universe. Harmonic connection between all living beings everywhere, even the stars." The setting took place in numerous cities. They were, San Francisco, Chicago, and a few different cities in New York, all mentioned in the movie at least once.
The movie started out with capturing the viewer as, Evan Taylor/August Rush, spoke while only a black screen showed. He was an orphan who believed the music talked to him. He even ran away from the orphanage because "the music told him to." He was on the search of his parents, listening to the music to find his way. Along the way, he met a boy named Arthur X, (Leon G. Thomas III), who introduced Evan to Wizard. After discovering the musical prodigy that Evan was, and fearing that he would be taken away, Wizard gave Evan Taylor the name of August Rush. August continued his journey with the help of other characters throughout the film. As he searched for Lyla, his mother, she, soon after, began the search for him, and Louis, his father, began the search for her. The movie shows these three different lives and how they are intertwined. Richard Jeffries, (Terrance Howard), winds up playing a big part in the paths of these characters. August's life and search was the main focus though. His search revealed yet another symbol, a necklace, which symbolized that he was on the right track in his journey.
This original script will fill you with emotion, questions, and even wonder. Lie back, and let the music take you away in this hope filled, love story. Discover how a necklace showed that August was on the right track. Embrace new levels of imagination as music brings magic to the film and opens you up to ideas you never thought possible. Answer your own questions: Are Lyla, Louis, and August ever connected together? Does the music bring them to the end of their search on a high note? Follow the music and find out for yourself in August Rush.
The best movie of the year!!! November 29, 2008
G. York (Nashville)
Beautiful story in every way! So what if it was completely improbable. Maybe we could just look at this as a fantasy and sit back and enjoy the story and incredible music that comes along with the package.
Also, Freddie Highmore was adorable in this film. He is such a talented actor.
 Okay, I was in a sappy mood November 28, 2008
nodice (Manchester, Ga United States)
This is a very poignant and touchy feely movie that aims to appeal to that small part of you that wants to believe there are magical elements at work in our lives. Freddie Highmore does a decent job, though I loved him more in Finding Neverland. Terrence Howard seems to be type-cast and Keri Russell is still trying to escape her Felicity image. And I'm quickly becoming a Jonathan Rhys Meyer fan. For me the point of the film is to reflect the power of music and how it tends to connect people more than anything else in life. Frankly it punched all my sappy buttons and I just loved it.
 Mozart Under My Bed November 20, 2008
Kevin Killian (San Francisco, CA United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I wish Freddie Highmore was a better actor, otherwise I could have really fallen for this picture in a big way, but perforce the screenplay had to keep returning from more interesting byways to focus on August's plight, and my heart sank each time. Funny thing too, for I used to like seeing Freddie in his other films: maybe he just isn't up to this particular part, for all he does here is widen his eyes with inexpressible delight every time he hears *music,* and then, as if that wasn't enough, those eyes widen further every time he hears mere *sound.* Nick Castle, the screenwriter, is always bad with kids: he is the madman responsible for HOOK and also he directed the horrid movie version of DENNIS THE MENACE and should have been exiled to Neptune for those crimes. And sorry, little Freddie just doesn't look like he could possibly be the son of Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers.
Speaking of which, for me the picture lost dramatic plausibility the minute rich girl Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell) lays eyes on emo musician Louis Connelly (Rhys Meyers) in the shadow of Washington Square Arch. He invites her to climb up and sit by him. Sorry, if he were the last man on earth you wouldn't catch me sitting on a high parapet next to Jonathan Rhys Meyers, I'd be too afraid he'd just tip me over the side of the building. ANY stranger, but especially Jonathan Rhys Meyers. There's something sinister and creepy about him, though maybe Lyla's drawn to him because of a similar streak in her own father (Bill Sadler, the sheriff from ROSWELL), who has a strange fixation on her that leads to terrible consequences.
I kept thinking there must have been scenes deleted from the movie, scenes covering the character arc of little Arthur (Leon Thomas III), whom we first see as the prize prodigy of crazy Wizard (Robin Williams), busking in Washington Square Park like a tiny rock star. As the film progresses, it's rather like ALL ABOUT EVE, with Evan Taylor/August Rush gradually supplanting poor Arthur in Wizard's affections, and becoming super famous and desired, while Arthur just stands there looking glum. Does he resent the white boy's success? Is it a parable for American race relations--August even gets to keep the very guitar Arthur once played? I think so, but it's almost as if they wanted to keep this aspect of the film muted--and in general, black children AND adults are nothing but helpful and kind to the lad of mysterious origins, August Rush, even saving his life on more than one occasion. This must be why poor Terrence Howard (whom I hope they paid a huge sum to) gets to appear in the film as the helpful, kind social worker. When you see him, your heart swells with sympathy, feeling sorry for the man who was once going to be the next big thing in the movies, and now he's playing a distant second or third fiddle to Freddie Highmore, sob.
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