Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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52 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A simple test for whether you will like this or not...., October 7, 2005
A quick scroll through the reviews shows a sharp divide. Some like this Hollywood-style rendition of Midsummer's Night while others, (to be polite) do not. To make matters more confusing, several reviews are deceptive because the reviewer seriously misjudges his/her depth of experience with this kind thing. To find out your probable reaction in less than 20 seconds, just answer these questions:
Do you see live Shakespeare every year or two? Do you know who Iago is? Who Prospero is? Do you know what the Queen Mab speech is? Have you seen a film with Ian McClellan in a Shakespearean role?
If you mostly answered "yes," you are likely to squirm in pain throughout this movie. (See Category B below.) On the other hand, if you are not particularly conversant with Shakespeare (if you answered "no" to more than a couple questions above, you're not, something many reviewers both in the newspapers and here fail to fathom), chances actually become much higher that you will be okay with this. (See Category A.)
Category A: If you enjoy movies and have read a few of the Bard's plays here and there, perhaps back in school, you might be enjoy this. The Hollywood actors provide familiar faces, and a couple give respectable performances--Kevin Kline, for instance. If you find Shakespeare too long, the play here has been lopped roughly in half. If you find Elizabethan dialogue goes by too fast, several visuals have been inserted, generally slowing the pace.
The problem is this: When you finish watching, you might be tempted to think this story is just a lark and that Shakespeare was just writing wierd stuff about faeries. But that's just this movie's hacked-up version of the story, not Shakespeare's actual play. If you're curious, watch the BBC version. You will see just how much dramatic weight has been cut, and how the play is exponentially more poetic and thought-provoking than what this pedestrian movie would lead you to think.
Category B: If you could answer most of the questions above (or have recently read this play), you will likely roll your eyes throughout this movie. Despite its cagey marketing, this is NOT a Kenneth Branagh-type affair where Hollywood actors are tossed into minor roles for financial reasons. This movie is Hollywood through and through, meaning inane special effects and actors, for the most part, way out of their league. (The exceptions, like Bernard Hill, appear to have been cast to give the movie at least a veneer of authenticity.)
Worst of all, the director, in typical Hollywood fashion, does not trust the viewer and does not trust the Bard. So he has inserted several ponderous minutes of Hollywood-style back story for Bottom. Silly sight gags, with no relation to the text, abound. It's as if the director doesn't think the Bard is actually funny. All the while, some of the most humorous lines are cut or, worse, delivered with no understanding of their meaning. Stick with the BBC version for real Shakespeare.
By the way, many reviewers have scratched their heads at why they shot this as 19th Century Tuscany. Just follow the Hollywood thinking. Branagh's Much Ado had just come out, set in 19th Century Tuscany just the year before....
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30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lyrical and Truly Enchanting, May 22, 2000
The village of Monte Athena, Italy, at the turn of the Nineteenth Century is the setting for this delightful version of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," directed by Michael Hoffman. Bustles are in decline, and a new invention, the bicycle, is rising in popularity; and on this one particular night in the forest, mortals and fairies come together for a mirthful interlude rife with mischief, unsolicited intercession and the pursuit of love. This is a most engaging production, highlighted by a number of outstanding performances, beautiful photography and a wonderful score by Simon Boswell which features the talents of Cecilia Bartoli, Luciano Pavarotti, Renee Fleming and Roberto Alagna. Kevin kline gives an especially noteworthy performance as bottom, while Rupert Everett (Oberon), Dominic West (Lysander), Anna Friel (Hermia) and Sam Rockwell (Flute) are also exemplary. Michelle Pfeiffer is absolutely stunning as Titania, Queen of the Fairies, and Stanley Tucci delivers a nimble Puck. There are some wonderful moments in this movie, and one especially memorable scene in which Bottom and his troop perform "Pyramus and Thisbe" for the Duke (David Strathairn) and Hippolyta (Sophie Marceau); it is hysterical. Rounding out this superb cast are Calista Flockhart (Helena), Christian Bale (Demetrius), Roger Rees (Quince), Max Wright (Starveling), Gregory Jbara (Snug), Bill Irwin (Snout), Bernard Hill (Egeus) and John Sessions (Philostrate). Extremely well done, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a comedy that will lift your spirits and keep you smiling for hours. A great addition to anyone's video collection, this one is not to be missed.
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51 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not stellar, but fun., May 24, 2000
This is not the best version of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM out there. Once again, for some strange reason, it has been decided that Shakespeare didn't know what he was doing, and actually, the setting for the film is Italy, not Athens. And as the film opens we discover that characters like Hippolyta (Queen of the Amazons) and Theseus (Duke of Athens) actually live in a 19th century villa. Rather remarkable, that. Oh, and wait till you hear! Nick Bottom the Weaver has a wife. Where she came from, I guess we'll never know. She even has a speaking part. There's also the mystery of the bicycles. They're definitely not from Athens or from Greek mythology. And the fairies' haunts in the woods look amazingly pre-Raphaelite. All that aside, there are some nice performances in this film. Stanley Tucci does a wonderful Puck, Kevin Kline actually manages to do a good job with Bottom once his wife is out of the picture, and the other tradesmen are quite well done. Flockhart does a passable Helena, and Michelle Pfeiffer is ravishing as Titania. One thing I couldn't get past in this movie is that there are at least four, count 'em, four different accents being employed. Hermia is obviously a long lost sister of Elisa Doolittle, while Lysander sounds a lot more like, oh, James Mason... meanwhile, Hippolyta seems to have gone to the Gina Lolabrigida school of diction and Calista Flockhart... well who knows WHERE she got HER accent. Oh, while we're at it, is it REALLY necessary to have mud wrestling in bloomers? I mean, we all would have paid just to catch a glimpse of Michelle Pfeiffer and Kevin Kline. Yes, this video is worth seeing. No, it isn't great Shakespeare. Watch it just for fun. Let's hope Branaugh is over his Hamlet fiasco and back producing SERIOUS performances of the Bard's work.
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