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Movies / Upcoming / 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

US Box Office: $0

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]

Reviews for A Midsummer Night's Dream

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61 - 78 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

The director is putting on a play for us, and it works.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Oz
Oz
eFilmCritic.com

It's captivatingly modest.

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine

A playful, sexy piece of work -- just what the Bard might have conjured up for a movie adaptation of his beloved spring-fever comedy.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Peter Stack
Peter Stack
San Francisco Chronicle

Needs a flight of fancy to be truly memorable!

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Philip Wuntch
Philip Wuntch
Dallas Morning News

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

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

Has a seductive, genuinely dreamlike feel that invites total surrender to its spell.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Russell Smith
Russell Smith
Austin Chronicle

A magical world of wonder and delight, full of memorable performances and hearty laughs.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
01/01/00
Sandra Ramani
Sandra Ramani
Citysearch

A fanciful comedy deserving enough of the author's name.

Full Review Source: Scott Renshaw's Screening Room | comment Comment
01/01/00
Scott Renshaw
Scott Renshaw
Scott Renshaw's Screening Room

Combines some of Hollywood's finest acting ingredients but comes up with little more than leftover hash.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

It is Kevin Kline who is the real star of the film.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
01/01/00
Sue Pierman
Sue Pierman
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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

A magical film!

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News

Captures hardly any of the play's delicious whimsy or its poetry!

comment Comment
01/01/00
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press

Aside from a handful of shining performances and strong scenes, this Midsummer Night's Dream lacks the steady direction essential to any successful Shakespeare adaptation, leaving the players to flounder like the fools we mortals (often) be.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Vanessa Vance
Vanessa Vance
Reel.com

A gorgeous sliver of grown-up ambrosia.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
01/01/00
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
San Francisco Examiner

If there's a reason that this film rises above the comic tomfoolery, it's that Kevin Kline takes his character of Bottom and performs true magic with it.

Full Review Source: Needcoffee.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Widgett Walls
Widgett Walls
Needcoffee.com
 
 
61 - 78 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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