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Movies / On DVD / A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream

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A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)

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Reviews Counted:74

Fresh:50

Rotten:24

Average Rating:6.3/10

Consensus: Faultless production and shining performances display the Bard's talent propitiously.

Runtime: 2 hrs

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Michael Hoffman's film adaptation of Shakespeare's magical comedy of a love-tangled quadrangle shimmers with sumptuous cinematography and a truly stellar cast that includes Kevin Kline, Michelle... Michael Hoffman's film adaptation of Shakespeare's magical comedy of a love-tangled quadrangle shimmers with sumptuous cinematography and a truly stellar cast that includes Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stanley Tucci, Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, and Sam Rockwell. Relocated from Athens to an Italian villa, the film follows the romantic misadventures of four would-be lovers; at the beginning of the film Helena loves Demetrius who loves Hermia who loves Lysander, but all of that undergoes a change when the four young people chase each other into the woods and wander into the domain of Oberon and Titania (King and Queen of the Fairies), and the mischievous magic of Puck who possesses a flower that causes people to fall in love with the first person they encounter. Into the hilarity and confusion stumble a hapless band of laborers rehearsing a play for the Duke's wedding. One of the band, Nick Bottom, a humble weaver, is given the head of donkey and then, through the power of the flower, wins the love of Titania herself. After a dizzying whirl of magic, mayhem, and a million minor follies of the heart, everything is sorted out and everyone finds, at last, their match. [More]

Starring: Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart

Starring: Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, Stanley Tucci, Anna Friel, Christian Bale, Dominic West, David Strathairn, Sophie Marceau, Roger Rees, Bernard Hill, Bill Irwin, Sam Rockwell, John Sessions, Max Wright, Gregory Jbara

Director: Michael Hoffman

Director: Michael Hoffman
Story: William Shakespeare
Producer: Leslie Urdang
Composer: Simon Boswell

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Aug 5, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • A stellar cast, headed by Michelle Pfeiffer and Kevin Kline, bring Shakespeare's romantic comedy to life. When two pairs of star-crossed lovers, a feuding pair of supernatural sprites and a love potion gone awry all come together in an enchanted moonlit forest, the result is a delightful mix of merriment and magic. Also starring Calista Flockhart, Stanley Tucci and Rupert Everett.
  • Source: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
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    Reviews for A Midsummer Night's Dream

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    1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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    Injecting the film with fun and pathos, Kline makes a superb Bottom; it's his play and he acts it to the hilt.

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    02/09/06
    Derek Adams
    Derek Adams
    Time Out

    It has fun and makes you laugh.

    Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
    06/03/06
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Combustible Celluloid

    I felt like a kid on the outside of the club house looking in -- and not seeing anything through the window that made me feel like I was missing out.

    Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
    09/16/01
    Ross Anthony
    Ross Anthony
    Hollywood Report Card

    Sufficiently contemporary and fresh!

    Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    James Berardinelli
    James Berardinelli
    ReelViews
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A decent enough Shakespeare film, but with the toned-down comedy, there's nothing to make this interpretation stand out...

    Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Rob Blackwelder
    Rob Blackwelder
    SPLICEDWire

    The film is sweet. It is often amusing. It is only the teensiest bit dull.

    Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Liz Braun
    Liz Braun
    Jam! Movies

    The first two-thirds of the movie is entertaining in spots, but flat as a pancake in others.

    Full Review Source: Houston Community Newspapers | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Gary Brown
    Gary Brown
    Houston Community Newspapers

    A well-crafted film!

    Full Review Source: Norman Transcript | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Jim Chastain
    Jim Chastain
    Norman Transcript

    The execution of the Bard's comic work is less than sparkling.

    Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
    04/09/05
    Robin Clifford
    Robin Clifford
    Reeling Reviews

    Unfortunately, despite the wonderful locations, sets, costumes, and strong acting, this adaptation has a strange lack of magic or chemistry between players.

    Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment Comment
    06/23/02
    Paul Clinton (CNN.com)
    Paul Clinton (CNN.com)
    CNN.com
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It is the timeless appeal of those words, the impassioned performances, and a bring-down-the-house third act that make this high-spirited production live up to its title.

    Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Michael Dequina
    Michael Dequina
    TheMovieReport.com

    Gentle and lighthearted!

    Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Roger Ebert
    Roger Ebert
    Chicago Sun-Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Sporting a shamelessly commercial all-star cast and textually shorn to make a comfortable, diverting two-hour flick, it's the lack of intellectual pretensions that finally makes this version so endearing.

    Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
    03/03/02
    Leslie Felperin
    Leslie Felperin
    Sight and Sound

    Funny and sexy!

    Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Jonathan Foreman
    Jonathan Foreman
    New York Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A funny, thoughtful, easy to follow and lovely to see!

    Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Jack Garner
    Jack Garner
    Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

    It's a charming, frothy frolic that captures the enchantment and delight of Shakespeare's most magical comedy.

    Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Susan Granger
    Susan Granger
    rec.arts.movies.reviews

    Hoffman charts a middle course, and travels it quite well -- his version is neither as elaborately baroque as Max Reinhardt's 1935 film treatment nor as starkly sexual as Peter Brooks's celebrated 1970 staging.

    Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
    03/19/02
    Rick Groen
    Rick Groen
    Globe and Mail
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It's a wildly entertaining romp that should delight fans of this year's Oscar-winner Shakespeare in Love.

    Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
    04/07/04
    Louis B. Hobson
    Louis B. Hobson
    Jam! Movies

    A sweet springtime surprise!

    Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Dan Jardine
    Dan Jardine
    Apollo Guide

    Playfully sexy fun...

    Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    MaryAnn Johanson
    MaryAnn Johanson
    Flick Filosopher
     
     
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