ChicDragon
It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.
Hadrina
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Clarissa Mora
The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.
Tweekums
Set in the Italian town of Monte Athens during the nineteenth century this Shakespearean comedy follows a group of young lovers. Hermia and Lysander are very much in love but her father has forbidden then from marrying as he has promised her hand to Demetrius. Meanwhile Helena loves Demetrius but he doesn't love her. Lysander and Hermia escape to the nearby woods but are pursued by Demetrius who is in turn followed by Helena. Also present in the woods are a group of actors looking for somewhere quiet to rehearse. Unknown to any of them the wood is part of the fairy realm and they soon find themselves subject to all sorts of mischief as Oberon, king of the fairies, has his servant Puck sprinkle a magic love potion that causes some of the four lovers to change who they love; those unaffected are understandable rather perturbed. Puck also affects one of the actors, Bottom the Weaver, who is turned into a donkey; and Titania, the queen of the fairies, who falls in love with Bottom.This adaption of Shakespeare's play is a lot of fun with its expected romantic confusions and generally silliness. The transatlantic cast, including actors from Britain and the United States, does a fine job bringing their characters to life. These include Dominic West and Anna Friel as Lysander and Hermia; Calista Flockhart and Christian Bale as Helena and Demetrius; Kevin Kline as Bottom and Rupert Everett, Michelle Pfeiffer and Stanley Tucci as Oberon, Titania and Puck. The story may be over four hundred years old but it still provides plenty of laughs... especially during the final scene when we finally see the actors' hilariously bad production. It is also surprisingly sexy for a PG rated film... at one point we even have Hermia and Helena wrestling in a muddy pond! Overall this is a lot of fun; don't be put off by the Shakespearian English it is easy to understand... certainly easier than some slang used in 'modern' films!
Red-125
Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) was directed by Michael Hoffman. who also wrote the screenplay. This is an excellent version of MND, a play that has been filmed many times. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This version worked for me.Some of the casting was excellent--Michelle Pfeiffer as Titania, Stanley Tucci as Puck, and Rupert Everett as Oberon. Calista Flockhart was miscast as Helena. In the play, Helena is supposed to be tall. (There's an entire scene where the fact that she's taller than Hermia is discussed.) However, Hoffman wanted a marquee name, and he chose Flockhart.Kevin Kline plays Nick Bottom, the weaver. Kline is a superb physical actor, but he looks too handsome and intelligent for the role. Director Hoffman got around this by making him a dandy. When we meet Bottom on screen, he's dressed in the height of fashion, flirting with all the women who gather around him. Bottom is supposed to be a working class rustic, a "rude mechanical," and that's not Kline. However, once you accept the fact that this is how Bottom will be portrayed, Kline's excellent acting skills carry it off.This film will work better on a large screen, but we enjoyed it on DVD. Production values are excellent, and, more important, Shakespeare's concept shines through. This is a fine film if you are a Shakespeare expert, but it's also a great introduction to Shakespeare for someone unfamiliar with his work.For some reason, this movie carries a dismal 6.5 IMDb rating. It's much better than that. Don't miss it.
Armand
it is not easy to surprise with a Shakespeare adaptation. and this film is a courageous act in this sense. but, scene after scene, it becomes more. the secret - deep respect for text, the splendid performance, the interesting solutions for each detail. but basic virtue is the science of director to create a pure Shakespeare adaptation and the new location is a piece who has its perfect role. than, the balance between impressive cast and the play. and, sure, the flavor of exemplary old fashion show. for a Shakespeare admirer, it could be a delight. for the common public , good remember and new occasion to discover an unique universe. for the young viewer - victim of internet and not very close by book, maybe, a form of revelation. that is the splendid gift of film - to be useful more than charming. to recreate emotion who has , in few moments, the status of magic.
friendsxoxo
The movie "A Midsummer Night's Dream" directed by Michael Hoffman was just about two hours long, the average length of a movie, but it was the longest two hours of my life. This misguided attempt at a classic uses many lines from the play, but the way the actors struggle getting the language down-pat changes the interesting, fun, and engaging script to a boring mess. In the book, Bottom (portrayed by Kevin Kline) thinks he is something extra special, as he does in some moments of the movie, but as they tried to add some depth to his character, we saw moments where he felt dejected, which didn't really flow with the character Shakespeare originally intended Bottom to be. It is also worth mentioning that although Titania did have a train of fairies in both the book and the movie, Shakespeare wrote them as male and Hoffman used female sprites. Oscar nominee Michelle Pfeiffer is a talented actress with a lot of experience, but perhaps not the best casting choice for Titania. Although she has the beauty and grace of the fairy queen, she seemed uncomfortable making lengthy speeches. On the other hand, I was surprised to see Calista Flockhart do a great portrayal of desperate Helena and use her frog-like facial features to entice the audience to watch the scenes. Unfortunately, Calista Flockhart provides some of the only star quality in the entire film. There are some strange contradictory moments; for example, when Robin says he will "Put a girdle round the earth in forty minutes", just like it is written in the play, he uses a turtle (a notable representative of slow movement) to get around. The plot of the movie is crucial to a story like this, and although it usually stays on point with Shakespeare's play, there are momentary lapses that don't fit in- like the use of the bicycles, which is just silly. The complex love quadrangle between Hermia, Lysander, Helena and Demetrius is recognizable, but not quite as tragic and confusing as you can picture when reading the book. This play is supposed to be a comedy, but the only laughter comes a brief moment at the end of the movie where a dog (which isn't in William Shakespeare's version) comes running onto the stage during the tradesmen's performance. Other than that, the humour is turned into boredom. Another reason why I found this movie boring was because it was not aesthetically pleasing. The set looks extremely unreal and there is not much more to elaborate about it. Likewise, I found the costuming to have little excitement, and I was especially disappointed with Bottom's ensemble. I had pictured an actual ass-head when reading the book, but all he had was donkey ears and some excess hair. The type of music was passable, but the sheer volume of it was unsatisfying. The only part of the setting that was identical to the book was which scenes took place at night and which scenes took place during the day. I would not recommend watching the 1999 film version of A Midsummer Night's Dream to anyone that gets confused easily, or any students having a test on the play. Instead of understanding the play more because of watching the play and getting to see the set and characters' body language, I am more perplexed than ever. There are obvious similarities, like many parts of the script and the relationships between the characters, but there is a dictionary full of differences- one huge one being that it takes place several centuries later in history. If you are in the mood to see a dramatic, romantic comedy, I suggest watching Enchanted, which brought in double the laughs, smiles, gasps and money in the U.S. Box Office.
