Rating: 
Summary: Good, but Bizarre
Review: I prefer a more traditional approach, and found the funky fairies rather disturbing. The bare stage and opening and closing doors were interesting. This will do very well for what I wanted it for--contrasting different approaches to the play in the classroom; however, having seen it once, I will not choose to watch it again just for pleasure. The young boy, while cute, was very distracting--what was his purpose? I thought at first he was going to play Puck, but was quickly disabused of that notion. Again--interesting, but very strange and a bit unsettling.
Rating: 
Summary: Better on stage.
Review: I saw this RSC production four times while studying in London in 1995, and also saw Alex Jennings in his Olivier-award-winning performance in "Peer Gynt" at the New Vic. (He is an amazing actor.) I bought this to be able to relive the experience of the play, and I was delighted to see that the performers and many of the props and set pieces were just as I remembered them. It is the best version of "Midsummer Night's Dream" that I've ever seen, stage or screen. It put some new twists into a centuries-old play and made it so hilarious in the process, but not by altering the story or anchoring it in an incorrect time period. In fact, there are many periods mixed together here and it works well as a "dream". They didn't have to add the part of the little boy; he was not in the original stage production, and he detracted from the story. I wish they had left the play alone and not added sets (Theseus' palace, the boy's home, the Rude Mechanicals' rehearsal area) that weren't in the original. They seemed out of place and took away from the magical atmosphere that was, fortunately, still there in the fairies' forest. I loved it that they kept the lightbulbs!
Rating: 
Summary: classic adaption of the bard
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, it kept me wrapped in it the entire length.
The performances of Michelle Pfieffer, Rupert Everett, Stanley Tucci, and Kevin Kline were absolutely fabulous, they really captured the humor of this play.
Calista Flockhart, Christian Bale, and even David Strathairn play their roles beautifully and the whole movie had me laughing and crying at the same time.
Beautiful adaption of Shakespeare's classic play!
Rating:
Summary: A 'dream'!
Review: I was fortunate enough to see the stage version of this production (same cast, same director, etc.) when the RSC came to Broadway in spring 1996. I loved the show so much that I went to two performances in three weeks.The video preserves a lot of the most endearing characteristics of the stage show--the double casting (everyone except the four lovers has a "mortal" role and a "fairy" role), the slightly naughty atmosphere, the mystical world of the fairies. I was espcially glad to see that the "forest of light" set wasn't omitted--just as stunning on film as it was live. The cast here is top-notch. A number of the leads are Olivier Award winners, and it's easy to see why. Alex Jennings (Oberon/Theseus) is a treasure--as Oberon, he is commanding and masterful; and Barry Lynch is an impish, sexy Puck. All of the mechanicals are splendid, especially Desmond Barrit as Bottom. Among the lovers, Emily Raymond stands out--she really works to make Helena into a unique and sympathetic character. The actors here actually USE Shakespeare's words, instead of reciting them as poetry. How wonderful that all of these performances were preserved on film! Having said that, I was surprised by some of the changes made to the production for this video. For one, why is the young boy included? During a few of the scenes, the camera is so focused on his reactions that the dialogue is pushed into the background. I also missed the original music--on Broadway, it was sort of Celtic, and the fairies had a beautiful dance in the final scene. All in all, however, this is a fantastic film and the best adaptation of "Midsummer" I have seen.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent production, but way too many cuts
Review: I'm performing as Demetrius in A Midsummer's Night Dream this November (2002) for my college, and I bought this movie to see another version of the play, and perhaps to get some inspiration for how certain scenes should be played out. From what was there, it was excellent. Finbar Lynch as Puck was a great interpretation of the character. Definitely a racy version of this classic character, but it fits in well with how Shakespeare writes his plays to appeal to both the groundlings and the royalty (ie comical and slightly perverted humor vs. intelligent humor and themes). Another thing to note is the fact that the actors doubled up on parts, something common in theater (especially during the time of Shakespeare), and in this play it adds more weight to the relationships between the character's "fairy" and "mortal" counterparts. Alex Jennings does an excellent job at being Oberon. He commands respect in his performance. Same goes with his performance as Theseus, although we don't see much of him because of cuts (more on that later). Lindsay Duncan does an excellent job at being Titania. She conveyed the sense that she lived in a sensuous environment, and made this known when she was charmed to fall in love with Bottom. But, because of cuts, her Hippolyta fell flat, and it made it difficult to understand why Hippolyta was so angry at Theseus in the beginning of the play, but came around at the end. Desmond Barrit was an excellent Bottom, much better than Kevin Kline's in the 1999 production. Bottom came across as a well-meaning, although slightly egocentric man that just wants to put on a very realistic play for the duke. When confronted with Titania, you get the sense that he just rolls with the punches and accepts this new thing thrown at him. His braying as a donkey is awesome, and I couldn't keep from laughing. And the "love" scene between Bottom and Titania is absolutely hilarious. About as raunchy as one can get while keeping all the actors' clothes on. The mechanicals played their parts well too, although I wish they wouldn't have cut out the part in the woods where Bottom comes up with ideas on how to solve different problems, such as the lion with ladies problem, the wall problem, and the moonshine problem. The one problem they DID address (the need for a prologue) was then cut out in Act 5. Peter Quince never said the Prologue that he was supposed to prepare. He instead jumped straight to the "dumb-show" where the actors played out the play quickly. If one says they are going to add something, then it shouldn't be cut... Which brings me to the one problem with this production. The overabundance of cuts to the script and scenes. One can notice I haven't mentioned the lovers at all yet. That is because their parts were practically butchered. The lovers are what tie the story together with the fairy land, and I didn't get a sense of that when I watched this production. Lines were snipped, scenes split up, and an entire sequence was completely omitted, which serves to tie in several important parts of the play which dealt with the mortals. First, Lysander and Demetrius I felt were mis-cast. I felt Kevin Doyle would have been a better Lysander, and Daniel Evans would have made a better Demetrius. Kevin Doyle's Demetrius comes across as flakey and a little slow. Daniel Evans seems a little too angry to be Lysander, who is the slightly more sensitive of the two. Yes, the parts are virtually interchangable, but Demetrius is not dimwitted, he just doesn't like it when there is disorder (the woods). Maybe I'm biased because I am cast as Demetrius myself, but hey, that's my interpretation of the character. The ladies fair much better though. Monica Dolan did a good job at being Hermia, although there were times when I thought that she could have turned up her energy just a bit (when she had the nightmare about the snake. I didn't get a sense that she was scared at all). Emily Raymond's Helena was excellent, and one could really feel bad for her. It's very easy for Helena's complaining to become annoying (as Calista Flockhart sometimes did in the 1999 production), but Emily avoided this with great acting. One minor complaint though, she should have dyed her hair blond. Helena, according to words in the script, is blond. What angered me was that the second half of Act 4 Scene 1 was completely cut. This is just too important a scene to leave out. This is where Theseus, Hippolyta, and Egeus are out hunting. In the first part, Theseus and Hippolyta finally make a connection because they both like hunting, and we, as an audience, see how Hippolyta finally falls in love with Theseus. They then come upon the lovers sleeping (either naked or in torn clothing). When they are awakened, Lysander tries to explain that it isn't what they think, and Egeus gets angry and tries to get Lysander executed. Demetrius steps in and explains that he now loves Helena, but that he doesn't exactly know why. This is enough for Theseus to overbear Egeus' will, and then invites the lovers to be wed alongside Hippolyta and himself. It brings closure, explains why the four lovers end up in Theseus' court, and explains what happens to Egeus. Without this scene (as this production did), one is left to wonder why they ended up where they are, and Hippolyta and Theseus come across as rather one-dimensional in their actions. That, and the boy in this story was totally unnecessary, and I could not understand what he was doing in here. The prospect of a young boy (not even in middle school yet) reading Midsummer is laughable, and it really made no sense. Aside from those complaints, this is still the best film version of Midsummer that I have seen. Maybe some day an uncut version of the play will be filmed, but until that time comes, this is a very good version to watch.
Rating:
Summary: A Thoroughly Delightful Production
Review: This 1996 film adaptation of the 1994 RSC stage production of A Midsummer Night's Dream is marvelous. The acting is outstanding throughout the cast and the beauty of Shakespeare's language shines like a jewel. The costuming and setting are a rather non distinct present day time. The stage design is quite different than anything I've seen before - quite original and quite effective. The woods around Athens are represented by a blank stage with hanging light bulbs and various moveable doors about the set. Umbrellas are used in a number of unique and creative ways both to denote scene changes and as the bowers in fairyland. Also creatively used is a doll-house. Another unusual aspect of this production is the use of a young boy and his dream as a framing device for the play. The boy is also the "Changling Child" and he observes each of the scenes and takes part in the scene changes. Fairyland is often the most difficult effect for a modern director to conceive and Noble's concepts are both effective and delightful. The doubling of Theseus / Oberon and Hippolyta / Titania also works to tie the storylines together thematically. The staging of the Pyramus and Thisby play within a play during the fifth act is both touching and funny and again Noble's direction brings out Shakespeare's messages about the nature of love in a most perceptive manner. My only criticism of the casting (and it is a very minor one) involves the two female lovers. As Shakespeare wrote the play, Helena is a tall blonde. In this production Emily Raymond as Helena is a short-haired brunette only an inch or so taller than Monica Dolan's long-haired brunette Hermia. Both actresses' performance is superb, and the similarity of their looks does increase the confusion and emphasizes the theme of the lack of reason when considering love. Demetrius and Lysander are virtually interchangeable as Shakespeare wrote them. At 103 minutes, the play moves along briskly and some cutting of lines must have occurred but the cuts must be deftly handled because I didn't notice them. All of the famous passages are there as well as all the memorable quotes. I consider this production much superior to the more well known and highly publicized lavish Hollywood 1999 production directed by Michael Hoffman starring Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Stanley Tucci. I give this production five stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Tedious brief Mess
Review: This is a way too precious and over directed mess of a production. The play has had over half an hour slashed from the script, and what they do bother to perform has been over designed and over directed. Alex Jennings and Lindsay Duncan are the only at all known performers in it and I predict the rest will remain obscure. What was Adrian Noble (Normally an excellent director) and the RSC thinking hiring these ...? It features the most unattractive Bottom I've seen since Dennis Franz's nude scene on "NYPD Blue"! The addition of a child "Dreaming" the play is ghastly and intrusive. In the "Pyramus & Thisbe" scene, which SHOULD be the comic highlight, they play Pyamus's death for pathos and it's beyond embarrassing. Skip this turkey and see the Kevin Kline film instead, which is gorgeous, well acted and sexy, although they play Thisbe's death for pathos. MISTAKE!!!!! I've seen amateur productions that were better than this RSC-produced wreck.
Rating:
Summary: An enchanting fairy tale
Review: This is an enchantig fairy-tale adaption of Shakespeare's comedy. Since it is performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, all actors are excellent (of course they are - it's the RSC!), but Alex Jennings as Oberon really stands out, he IS the fairy king. For 2 hours it transported me into another world, with fairies, enchanted woods, Amazons and Athenian noblemen. It is the most entertaining adaption of Shakespeare's play I have ever seen. Unfortunately, there are no subtitles, but I could still follow and enjoy it, even as a non-native English speaker.
Rating:
Summary: A lavish production of a timeless classic...
Review: This is NOT the weak Hollywood version released earlier this year, but a tremendous production by the Royal Shakespeare Company a few years ago. I saw this production in England in 1995 and it is truly phenomenal. Alex Jennings is an actor of true power, forcefully taking on the dual roles of Theseus and Oberon (an interesting, though not uncommon approach). Desmond Barritt is absolutely hilarious leading the band of mechanicals. I would HIGHLY recommend this video to anyone, but particularly to those who have seen the play performed by other (particularly American) actors. You will truly have an appreciation for how truly gifted Royal Shakespeare Company actors are.
Rating:
Summary: excellent movie
Review: This movie is much better than the version with Kevin Kline and the other high-profile actors. The sets were minimal but beatiful - they didn't try to drown you in scenery, but let you concentrate on what matters - Shakespeare's language. It is a little racy, as another reviewer said, but Shakespeare wrote on many levels for all types of people, not just highbrow aesthetes. I'm not an expert but I love Shakespeare, and if you love Shakespeare you'll more than likely enjoy this movie.
|
