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Editorial Reviews
About the Actor
People who want a fresh 'Midsummer Night's Dream' are buying this DVD.
What would a film made on a shoestring budget look like that was created by amateur actors with no Classics credentials, who were determined to shine?
An unlikely group of amateur Shakespeareans created this cinematic vision of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in the beautiful mountains and forests of the Southwest U.S. With women playing some of the male roles, for most of the actors this was their first film work. Opening up the play and leaving film studios behind, Nature takes center stage: high mountain ledges provide the throne for Fairy King Oberon as he looks down upon the antics of the silly lovers, and pine trees provide perches for his servant, Puck.
After Puck transforms him with a donkey-head, Nick Bottom suddenly becomes the only mortal who can see, hear and talk with the fairies and their queen, Titania. In moving between mortal reality and the realm of the immortals, Bottom becomes the protagonist of the film.
The cast and crew from Virus Theater, led by director Bo Bergström (maker of ten short films and two features), transformed low-budget into a high-creativity fusion of cinematic energy, dynamic editing, distinctive imagery, graphics and tints from the digital paintbox. Unusual locations, dreamlike incongruities and ambiguity may challenge audience expectations about this familiar work.
Bergström says, I love playing with image, text and music, and this film was the perfect project in which to do that. I love art that is handmade, personal, passionate and stylistically bold. We wanted to communicate something about the human experience that suggests the depth and breadth of Shakespeare, with many different moods, emotions, locations and complications. Our film is a new take on a hallowed comedy that respects Shakespeare s poetry but is unconventional in its staging and modern-dress anachronism.
Music by Joseph Rivers. At 157 minutes, this DVD is the most complete version available, and it is the only one with cinematic playfulness to resonate with Shakespeare's wordplay.
What would a film made on a shoestring budget look like that was created by amateur actors with no Classics credentials, who were determined to shine?
An unlikely group of amateur Shakespeareans created this cinematic vision of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in the beautiful mountains and forests of the Southwest U.S. With women playing some of the male roles, for most of the actors this was their first film work. Opening up the play and leaving film studios behind, Nature takes center stage: high mountain ledges provide the throne for Fairy King Oberon as he looks down upon the antics of the silly lovers, and pine trees provide perches for his servant, Puck.
After Puck transforms him with a donkey-head, Nick Bottom suddenly becomes the only mortal who can see, hear and talk with the fairies and their queen, Titania. In moving between mortal reality and the realm of the immortals, Bottom becomes the protagonist of the film.
The cast and crew from Virus Theater, led by director Bo Bergström (maker of ten short films and two features), transformed low-budget into a high-creativity fusion of cinematic energy, dynamic editing, distinctive imagery, graphics and tints from the digital paintbox. Unusual locations, dreamlike incongruities and ambiguity may challenge audience expectations about this familiar work.
Bergström says, I love playing with image, text and music, and this film was the perfect project in which to do that. I love art that is handmade, personal, passionate and stylistically bold. We wanted to communicate something about the human experience that suggests the depth and breadth of Shakespeare, with many different moods, emotions, locations and complications. Our film is a new take on a hallowed comedy that respects Shakespeare s poetry but is unconventional in its staging and modern-dress anachronism.
Music by Joseph Rivers. At 157 minutes, this DVD is the most complete version available, and it is the only one with cinematic playfulness to resonate with Shakespeare's wordplay.
Product Description
This innovative, new approach to Shakespeare provides young people an entertaining and understandable first encounter with the great works of The Bard.
So often, the settings and the language of Shakespere's plays are confusing and intimidating to today's students, leading to a less than successful initial encounter with the great playwright's work.
Employing Shakespeare's own words, students too often and too readily say " I pray thee cease thy council, which falls into mine ears as profitless as water in a sieve."
Shakespeare 4 Kidz slightly alters some of the language in the plays into contemporary conversational English. As well, they make certain, well chosen edits to keep things moving- the major speeches, however, are included intact in their orginal glorious language.
Lastly, Shakespeare 4 Kidz add some very contemporary, memorable music to the mix, driving home the key messages in the plays.
The result is Shakespeare that is clear, inviting and entertaining to today's young audiences, while still remaining very true to its orginal form.
A Midsummer Night's Dream and Macbeth were filmed live in performance by the Shakespeare 4 Kidz Company, a fully professional national touring theater company in the UK, who have successfully brought Shakespeare 4 Kidz to tens of thousands of UK middle schoolers.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cameraman's Review,
This review is from: A Midsummer Night's Dream (DVD)
Having been present for most of the shooting of this movie, I am at once a biased reporter and a privileged witness. In fact a fair bit of what appears on the screen passed through my camera.
Shakespeare's story has been in production more or less continuously for over 400 years. It has its own life, incarnating upon innumerable stages through countless casts and directors. It has lived into the time of motion pictures, appearing in diverse real and constructed locations. This version unfolds in a fairyland lovingly evoked in rural New Mexico. It burrows in caves, clings to cliffsides, dances in forests. If you want your Shakespeare blocked out on stage, this one is not for you. If you love the story and the permutations of it, you'll enjoy this telling. If you are dedicated to extreme low-budget movie production or aspire to such work, the piece will be both inspirational and instructive. It demonstrates how craft, imagination, skill and patience can work magic from almost nothing - especially in comparison to the production budgets of today's super-glossy "real" movies. As is often the case with bare-bones productions, sound quality suffers at times. A few lines are hard to understand, especially given the unfamiliar language and phrasing. But the players ARE acting. If your ears didn't catch some words their body language conveys mood and meaning. Occasionally a performer or interaction falters and I wish there had been another, better take. But this happens also on stage, where there are no retakes. In these bits momentum is quickly recovered...the ball may be fumbled but it is never dropped. Story and locations are well seen but it is evident that this is a digital video production shot on locations, mostly by available light. It is far from studio gloss and I believe that's a good thing. The show has just enough DV home movie quality to where we have no doubt that these performers are real people in real places, telling this story, drawing us deeper and deeper into its humor, beauty and wisdom. No small thing. Time and again the story rises to a magical plane - notably in the Fairies' Lullaby, in Bottom's transformation and his capture by Tatania. Oberon's lair, Titania's fury, the sonambulastic dance of those two. Hermia and Helena's bewilderment and rage. The finale. For all its humble origins there's potent cinema here. I have some reservations about Bergstrom's use of overlaid titles but the device is employed sparingly and in a consistent fashion. As a filmmaker I find myself pondering this element, anticipating that a response will someday appear in my own work. Heather Costellos's perfermance as Hermia, Sam Bensusan's Bottom, Rory Gregory's Changeling, Becca Anderson as Puck - all stand out in my mind among the large, focused cast who gave a great deal over a long time to gift us with this playful play. The score and musical performances by Joseph Rivers are potent assets. A world-music flavor floating in today's world, it maintians a wonderful 17th Century mood, sustaining our "Dream" without ever becoming bombastic. Songs by Maria Casler from the original Virus Theater production just melt my heart every time. At 157 minutes this is a long show. It rewards repeated viewing.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Want your kids to get a little culture? Buy this....,
This review is from: A Midsummer Night's Dream (DVD)
This version of a Midsummer Night's Dream is very funny and cute. The girls adored it, because it had fairies and such... they also loved Puck. The story line holds true for a child's version, so that you can enjoy it too. It will entertain all of your family...not only the kids... if you have children under 12, (especially girls) buy this version. Our girls were mesmerized, and did not fall asleep even though it was late when they watched it. Funny, entertaining and full of morals. Great story for kids!
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't resist the spell,
This review is from: A Midsummer Night's Dream (DVD)
This Midsummer Night's Dream will surprise and delight you. The directorial choices of Bo Bergstrom will make you marvel at the richness of his homespun production AND wonder why conventional films are so conservative.
There is so much more texture that could be explored that most directors, in their slavish thrall to narrative, simply ignore. Notable exceptions are Julie Taymor and Peter Greenaway. Bergstrom's MND is a lot of fun. With the accessibility of effects in software editing programs why not explore the possibilities so the film becomes more painterly. The altered palette in the dance between Titania, Oberon and the changeling is really beautiful as is the music and the chorus work. The blurry distortions of faces adds to the psychological POV of a character. Bergstrom uses font play and graphic inserts to reiterate the script. "What fools these mortals be" and "You minims...you acorn" etc. are highlighted and often tied back to the titles. I enjoyed the concept/settings: caves, New Mexico national park woods and the deserted industrial site. Theater has used off-gender casting to great effect and so does Bergstrom. Don't resist the spell. May you keep reason and love in your company.
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