William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream Movie Review 1999

Shakespeare's fantasy/romance/comedy is transported to turn-of-the-century Tuscany where Oberon (Everett), King of the Fairies, is fighting with his queen, Titania (Pfeiffer). Their spats lead to trouble for a variety of humans, including the hapless Bottom (Kline), who winds up with a donkey's head replacing his own. Kline is the most at ease with his role (Everett and Pfeiffer, primarily, have to look beautiful, which they do), while the younger foursome of would-be lovers (Flockhart, Bale, Friel, and West) prove to be less than memorable, as does the entire production.

Distribution

Fox Home Entertainment, PO Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA 90213, Phone: (310)369-3900, Toll-free: 888-223-4FOX, Fax: (310)369-5811, URL: http://www.foxmovies.com/index1.html, Remarks: Also known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 115 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Fantasy, Romantic Comedy, Trees & Forests, Plays to Film: William Shakespeare, Period Piece: 1900s, Italy, Stagestruck

Screenplay

Michael Hoffman

Cast

Rupert Everett, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kevin Kline, Stanley Tucci, Calista Flockhart, Dominic West, Christian Bale, David Strathairn, Sophie Marceau, John Sessions, Anna Friel, Roger Rees, Max Wright, Gregory Jbara, Bill Irwin, Sam Rockwell, Bernard Hill

Cinematography

Oliver Stapleton

Director

Michael Hoffman

Music

Simon Boswell

Producer

Leslie Urdang, Arnon Milchan, Regency Enterprises, Taurus Ent. Company, 20th Century-Fox