A funny, thoughtful, easy to follow and lovely to see!
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
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Release:
Aug 5, 2008
Reviews for A Midsummer Night's Dream
This Midsummer Night's Dream shows how high the bar has been raised by Shakespeare in Love. The allure and cleverness of that film, not to mention its far more Shakespearean spirit, make it a hard act for a hodgepodge to follow.
Dangles uncertainly between mannerly devotion to Big Will and susceptibility to a recent cinematic pandemic, the update.
The story itself just isn't that exciting or, for that matter, very interesting to mainstream viewers.
The film is sweet. It is often amusing. It is only the teensiest bit dull.
Quite faithful to the original material and, as such, considerably less jarring than efforts like Baz Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo Juliet.
In spite of the cast, this is a competent but unexceptional version of one of Shakespeare's more popular plays.
It may not change your life, but for an afternoon you will be entertained.
Kline is so comfortable with Shakespearean language that viewers may forget they are hearing literature and simply enjoy Kline's revels.
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.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
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