A visually delightful but curiously flat adaptation...
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)
Tomatometer
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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
Reviews for A Midsummer Night's Dream
Injecting the film with fun and pathos, Kline makes a superb Bottom; it's his play and he acts it to the hilt.
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.
I remain skeptical about the ability of even the best American actors to read Shakespeare's lines without giving the impression that they are enduring very painful cultural root canal work.
Your high school English teacher would approve, and parts are terrifically enjoyable.
Flockhart's delivery of the Shakespeare lines is faultless, her energy level charged, and her charm considerable as she pursues her beloved, Demetrius.
A rambling and disjointed play that tries to blend plotlines involving unrequited love, fellows putting on a play, and of course, fairies.
With the finely timed comedic performances of, most notably, Kevin Kline and Stanley Tucci, one can't help but [laugh].
The movie adds delicate beauty to what we already consider a rollicking Shakespearean comedy.
The director made a lot of odd choices in this film that take away somewhat from the magical feeling of the play...
After watching William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, I'm left with more admiration than fairy dust.
If you’re looking for romantic fizz, A Midsummer Night’s Dream comes out of the pack like a can of flat soda.
The first two-thirds of the movie is entertaining in spots, but flat as a pancake in others.
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