A midsummer night s dream is a comedy written by william shakespeare in 159596. A midsummer night s dream 1999 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Most critics believe the play was written for and performed at an aristocratic wedding, with queen elizabeth i in attendance. The setting is updated to a tuscan hill town in the late 19th century. William shakespeares a midsummer night s dream 1999 this version of the renowned comedic play finds the world of humans intersecting with the realm of magic. The distraught helena, played as a handwaving, eyerolling ditz by calista flockhart, hardly fits into the same film with david strathairn s reserved duke theseus, or with rupert everett as a slinky oberon. Lovers lives are complicated by city law, feuding faerie royalty. Ive always seen a midsummer night s dream as one of shakespeare s daffier comedies what with the fairies and all so this film version, adapted by director michael hoffman one fine day. Kevin kline, rupert everett, michelle pfeiffer, stanley tucci, calista flockhart, christian bale.
The ensemble cast features kevin kline as bottom, michelle pfeiffer and rupert everett as titania and oberon, stanley tucci as puck, and calista flockhart, anna friel, christian bale, and dominic west as the four lovers. Bbc television shakespeare midsummer night s dream. In william shakespeares a midsummer nights dream, the pompous actor bottom has his head transformed into that of a donkey by the mischievous sprite known as puck or robin goodfellow. I think the characters are played to a very high standard. Apr 10, 2014 much the funniest was a midsummer night s dream as you like it, which played stratford and edinburgh in 2012. With patricia barker, paul gibson, seth belliston, julie tobiason. Also known as robin goodfellow, puck is oberons jester, a mischievous fairy who delights in playing pranks on mortals. The delightful cast of players, including rockwell. With william shakespeare now a hot commodity at the box office and his body of work conveniently out of, the usual trickle of film adaptations of the bards work is becoming a small flood, and director michael hoffman has assembled a cast of leading stage and screen actors for this whimsical film version of one of shakespeares most popular comedies. Performed in russian, the production included acrobats, dancers, puppets and a.
Michael hoffman s 1999 film version of a midsummer night s dream transports the drama s action from ancient athens to an imaginary italian village named monte athena at the turn of the nineteenth century. A midsummer night dream characters english summary. I bought this version of a midsummer night s dream to assist with writing my english degree essay. Hippolyta, queen of the amazons, betrothed to theseus. His enchanting, mischievous spirit pervades the atmosphere, and his antics are responsible for many of the complications that propel the other main plots. William shakespeares a midsummer night s dream, a midsummer nights dream.
A midsummer nights dream 1999 cast and crew credits, including actors. I found this version of the play very easy to follow, really helped me to understand the book. Puck by brenda putnam, marble, 1932, at the folger shakespeare library in washington, d. A fairy queen falls for a craftsman cursed with donkeys ears. It is an enchanted folly suggesting that romance is a matter of chance, since love is blind. Five weeks of filming almost completely at night quickly took its toll on an increasingly unhinged cast and crew, whilst all the lush greenery ultimately became poisonous the studio set was in an aircraftsized hangar where the plants all started decaying, releasing all sorts of noxious gases. Trivia although it appears to be an idyllic location, the shoot was anything but. Shakespeare, even with mud wrestling, neednt be quite so much of a slog. It stars derek godfrey as theseus, barbara jefford as hippolyta, diana rigg as helena, helen mirren as hermia, david warner as lysander, ian holm as puck, ian. A midsummer night s dream is faithful towards the famous play by shakespeare, but it seems a bit dull. A midsummer nights dream 1999 directed by michael hoffman.
The bard continues to ride high in american film with william shakespeare s a midsummer night s dream, michael hoffman s whimsical, intermittently enjoyable but decidedly unmagical version of. Unfortunately, the 1999 film version of a midsummer nights dream does not exactly honor the legacy of one of william shakespeares most iconic comedies. A film adaptation of shakespeares comedy about lovers whose romantic affections are manipulated by fairy magic. William shakespeares a midsummer nights dream movie. A stellar cast, headed by michelle pfeiffer and kevin kline, bring shakespeares most romantic comedy to life. Christian bale, kevin kline, michelle pfeiffer, rupert everett, stanley tucci, calista flockhart official content from. A midsummer nights dream is a 1999 romantic comedy fantasy film based on the. Check out the latest photos and bios of the cast and filmmakers of a midsummer nights. A midsummer nights dream full movie 1999 hd michelle. The success of branaghs films created a new boxoffice vogue for shakespearean. A midsummer night s dream is a 1968 film of william shakespeare s play a midsummer night s dream, directed by peter hall. Mistaken identity, unrequited love, and the supernatural are combined in shakespeares classic set in the woods of greece on a moonlit night.
Negative although a midsummer nights dream 1999 movie has great costumes, acting, actors, and, of course, the bards well written play and dialogue, it had nudity and sexual scenes from beginning to end. The film has updated the plays setting from ancient greece to early 19th century tuscany which does produce the quaintly incongruous image of fairies and mortals quoting shakespearean dialogue while riding about on. Five weeks of filming almost completely at night quickly took its toll on an increasingly unhinged cast and crew, whilst all the lush greenery ultimately became poisonous the studio set was in an aircraftsized hangar where the plants all started decaying, releasing all sorts of noxious gases into the atmosphere. A midsummer nights dream is faithful towards the famous play by shakespeare, but it seems a bit dull. Dec 10, 2014 a midsummer night s dream trailer 1999 director. A midsummer night s dream tv movie 2016 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at. Though the actors have no major problems handling the language, the whole venture is listless when it should be sparkling. A midsummer night s dream full movie 1999 hd michelle pfeiffer, rupert everett. His enchanting, mischievous spirit pervades the atmosphere, and his antics are responsible for many of the. I bought this when studying a midsummer night s dream for a level english. Meanwhile, a band of actors come to the same woods to put on a playa play that is interrupted when its star actor bottom becomes a strange pawn in the love.
William shakespeares a midsummer night s dream 517 6. Michael hoffman s adaptation of shakespeare s a midsummer night s dream is a delightful way to spend the summer solstice evening, or any other, for that matter. The production is visually colourful in its portrayal of the play. William shakespeares a midsummer nights dream 1999. I actually loved reading amsnd, but am one of those people who does find shakespeare a little bit hard to understand at times. After watching william shakespeares a midsummer night s dream, michael hoffmans adaptation of the romantic comedy, im left with more admiration than fairy dust. But it is founded on shakespeare s language and is faithful, by and large, to the original play. In neil gaimans comicbook the sandman story a midsummer nights dream 1990, puck and other fairies watch shakespeares company of actors perform a midsummer nights dream. So says bottom in william shakespeares a midsummer night s dream, and he could be describing the play he occupies.
See below for a full list of all the characters in a midsummer nights dream. Brown, dick powell, ross alexander, anita louise, victor jory and ian hunter. There are small gems of stagecraft for all of the actors, including snout, the village tinker, who plays a wall in the performance for the duke, and makes a circle. The ensemble cast features kevin kline as bottom, michelle pfeiffer and rupert everett as titania. Jul, 2018 a midsummer nights dream is purportedly the mostproduced of all the bards plays, but neither that nugget nor its cinematically friendly fantasy elements has done it many favors on film. A midsummer night s dream 1935 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. It was featured in a 2002 episode of disney s house of mouse house of scrooge, season 3, episode 34. Read the a midsummer night s dream movie synopsis, view the movie trailer, get cast and crew information, see movie photos, and more on. A film adaptation of shakespeare s comedy about lovers whose romantic affections are manipulated by fairy magic. A midsummer night s dream presented by rice university department of visual and.
At the same time, titania is made to fall in love with the mortal actor nick bottom who has. With maureen freehill, skunk tweed, patrick gant, elizabeth mccarthy. Shakespeares puck mickey rooney, bottom james cagney and fairies prompt wedding. After watching william shakespeare s a midsummer night s dream, michael hoffman s adaptation of the romantic comedy, im left with more admiration than fairy dust. Check out the latest photos and bios of the cast and filmmakers of a midsummer night s. I remain skeptical about the ability of even the best american actors. A midsummer night s dream 1999 fullhd movie cast a midsummer night s dream 1999 fullhd movie english subtitle a midsummer night s dream 1999 fullhd movie release date. The performances are fine, and the scenery is quaint, but the movie just seems a bit offcenter. Shakespeares a midsummer nights dream, a midsummer nights dream. One of the greatest features of this film is its allstar cast. The ensemble cast features kevin kline as bottom, michelle pfeiffer and.
Michael hoffmans popular film adaptation features an allstar ensemble cast and shifts the setting from ancient athens to nineteenthcentury tuscany. The hoodwinked characters of a midsummer night s dream are meant to be mismatched much of the time. Though a midsummer nights dream divides its action between several groups of characters, puck is the closest thing the play has to a protagonist. William shakespeares a midsummer nights dream movies on. To optimize your experience with your screen reading software, please use our website, which has the same tickets as our fandango. The play consists of multiple subplots that revolve around the marriage of theseus and hippolyta. A film adaptation of shakespeares comedy about lovers whose romantic affections are. Other fairies attending on their king and queen attendants on theseus and hippolyta. Alongside the tempest c1611, a midsummer nights dream 1595 is the most fantastical of all shakespeares plays. A midsummer night s dream 1999 movie cast and actor biographies. Read the a midsummer nights dream movie synopsis, view the movie trailer, get cast and crew information, see movie photos, and more on. William shakespeares a midsummer nights dream variety. A midsummer night s dream was written in a highly creative period in shakespeare s career, when he was moving away from the shallow plots that characterized his earlier drama and discovering his more mature style.
A midsummer nights dream 1999 movie cast and actor biographies. Directed by sir peter hall and using the royal shakespeare academys cast of actors including helen mirren, judi dench and ian holm this 1968 version of. One subplot revolves around a conflict between four athenian lovers, one about a group of six amateur actors who has to act out their interpretation of the play pyramus and thisbe at the wedding of theseus and. Stanley tucci is delightful as a drole erring puck carrying out the directives of rupert everetts pompous oberon.
A midsummer nights dream 1999 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Michael hoffmans a midsummer nights dream is by far the best film version of the play i have seen. A midsummer night s dream is a 1999 romantic comedy fantasy film based on the play a midsummer night s dream by william shakespeare. William shakespeares a midsummer nights dream 1999 rotten.
Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing a midsummer night s dream 1935 near you. Wallis for warner brothers, and adapted by charles. A midsummer nights dream 1999 michael hoffman synopsis. An abbreviated version of a midsummer night s dream was made into an animated short with the same title by walt disney television animation in 1999 as part of the mouse tales series. The staging of the mechanicals the characters quince, bottom, snug, and others is a joy to behold being so animated. Overall, cinemagoers and film critics broadly agree on the merits of the movie, with critics giving it an average score of 65% and users giving. That cast includes legendary stars like michelle pfeiffer and oscarwinner kevin kline. Enter city, state or zip code go fandango fanalert. In this rendition of the play, duke theseus isnt a conquering hero but a tired and seemingly ineffectual bureaucrat.
Yes, there was an attempt to partially modernise it, therefore the script wasnt as good as it could have been. Michael hoffman s new film of william shakespeare s a midsummer night s dream who else s. This is the best version of midsummer nights dream i have seen, there is a little. The ensemble cast features kevin kline as bottom, michelle pfeiffer and rupert everett as titania and. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing a midsummer nights dream 1999 near you. With kevin kline, michelle pfeiffer, rupert everett, stanley tucci. Normally i used the 1999 movie to supplement their reading which has some actors they are familiar with such as stanley tucci who is amazing as puck. A midsummer night s dream is a very complicated play, and can get very silly at times, and this film is surprisingly faithful to the play.