Rating: 
Summary: Those who can do. Those who can't, play Ally McBeal again..
Review: ......and again and again and again.The 'thin one' aka Ms Flockhart almost ruins this movie.
All she does is play Ally McBeal in a long dress. Michelle Pfeiffer on the other hand gives a good workmanlike
performance - speaking the lines pretty well. Stanley Tucci
is a very good Puck and the whole thing is stolen and saved
from being a so so adaptation by Kevin Kline. His is a truly
excellent performance. At the end ( to quote Shelley ) you
feel he is "a sad and wiser man". And to those reviewers who object to some brief nudity from the
female fairies - "get over yourselves".
Rating: 
Summary: If we, these Shadows, have offended ...
Review: This production of Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" is one of the most brilliant I've ever seen, whether on stage or film. The casting, from Kevin Kline's Bottom ... to Rupert Everett's Oberon ... to Michelle Pfeiffer's Titania ... to Stanley Tucci's Puck ... is all outstanding. The play is set in the Edwardian period for this outing, with Helena, Hermia, Demetrius et al. riding bicycles throughout much of the production. David Strathairn is particularly noteworthy in his role as the Duke, bringing both dignity and humor to the part. Kline's Shakespearean background is quite evident in his portrayal of the hapless Bottom in this comedy of errors. For admirers of Shakespeare, or any of the cast members, this is a must-see.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie!
Review: This is one of my favorite movies! I think the actors were well chosen and fit their roles perfectly! It does leave a bit of the play out and the setting has changed, but it I still think it is very true to the themes of the play. Stanley Tucci, Kevin Kline, Calista Flockhart, Anna Friel, and all the others are amazing in this film!
Rating: 
Summary: Calista Flockhart is Delightful
Review: I can only give this a mixed review: it is a great play, after all, but the direction of this film is so clunky and heavy-handed that, if you aren't already familiar with the play you will wonder what all the fuss is about. Of the cast, only the bumbling actor's troupe led by the great Kevin Kline makes any impression at all. The exception is the excellent Calista Flockhart as Helena. Some have complained that her performance is too similar to "Ally McBeal." The two roles do depict young, insecure single women, but Flockhart makes something new and touching out of Helena. She actually thinks she is "ugly" (something that would never occur to Ally) and Flockhart does get across an awkward, spinsterish quality that is quite amusing. Of the young lovers, all played by plastically pretty performers, Calista comes off as fully human.
Rating:
Summary: Sensuous Fantasy Sprinkled with Fairy Dust
Review: The first scenes of the movie are in Monte Athena in Italy (A play on Athens, Greece to be sure) and this version is set at the turn of the 19th century. So, the costumes do not fit the dialogue...that can be confusing, yet amusing. There is a dialogue story going on and then the 19th century story. Then above that, there is a romantic comedy and if you look still further, there is a supernatural plot. You are really watching 4 threads of thought. First, the fairy kingdom and what occurs there, then secondly...the humans interaction with the supernatural fairy kingdom. Thirdly, Shakespeare's dialogue and then finally, you are watching a love story unfold between a couple who is destined to be, but is matched with others at the start of the story. This movie is complex. You have to listen very closely to the dialogue or you will be left in a blur or confusion as to what really is being said. The basic story line is this:
A man is in love with a woman (and is about to marry her) who is in love with another man (who is standing there fighting for her when she is about to marry the wrong man). 1. So, we have two men in love with one woman! Definitely a conflict of interests and this sets up the basis for comedy. This is the main story line and we follow their lives as they unfold in one night. This woman doesn't want to marry the man who is in love with her. Helena is in love with the man who is in love with the woman who he wants to make his bride. She chases him around on her bicycle and is rarely seen without it. 2. If she chooses him over the death her father has ordered for her if she does not obey his wishes. Rupert Everett (Oberon who is in love with the Fairy Queen, yet has a strange sense of humor) sees what is happening and sends Stanley Tucci (Puck) to cast a spell with a magical flower said to have been turned red by an arrow of Cupid. The problem is, the spell goes horribly wrong. Calista Flockhart (The love struck Helena who chases her love interest around on a bicycle) awakens the lover of her best friend who is now sleeping in the forest because he was running away with the woman who didn't want to marry the man her father chose. To make matters worse, the two women end up fighting in a mud bath and the two men chase Helena around relentlessly. 3. So, both "couples" end up in the forest and stay there all night. The magic flower love potion is applied to the wrong man and things go awry, making this a comedy of sorts. The love potion also works strange magic in the fairy kingdom and Michelle Pfeiffer makes the perfect Queen of the Fairies (Titania). 4. So, the fairies are having too much fun causing mischief and Kevin Kline ends up in a fantasy adventure of King Oberon's doing. Kevin Kline (who seems to want to escape from his wife) steals the show, but spends most of his time as the enchanted ass. He ends up in the forest because he is supposed to be acting/practicing in the play mentioned above. The fairies play a bit of a game with him and he wanders off into fairy land. His character is a bit overplayed. The enchanted moonlit forest is beautiful and the fireflies/fairies floating about like shinning stars was very amusing. The fairies are a feast for the eyes. The food themes were also delicious and started to make me hungry. A bowl of popcorn hardly sufficed to say the least. Barbecues, tables loaded with produce and delicacies. While I was delighted by the fact that this was "based" on Shakespeare's Romantic Comedy, I was not at all pleased with a few scenes of partial nudity, should be rated R. So three stars it will be. The costumes are incredible, the music is inspiringly beautiful and the use of the records as fairy serving dishes, amusing! This movie will make you want to see the real play! If you are a child at heart or still believe in the magic of love, this might be for you. If you want a good laugh...there are some scenes which will make you laugh out loud. TheRebeccaReview.com
Rating: 
Summary: Totally Horrible!
Review: Whoa! Worst acting I ever seen in the worst version of the play I have ever seen! Much of Shakespeare's script is left out. The special effects are cornery. The drama is transferred from Athens, Greece to Monte Athena in Italy and from the 16th century to the 19th century. And what's with the bicycle?! I've seen better and I've seen bad, but this is by far the worst! At the end the four main characters are naked with the fairies having washed their clothes and leaving the clothes near the characters sleeping under a tree! Like what's with that? Did someone need to see nude men and women? Horrible! Absolutely, totally, horrible!
Rating:
Summary: Did you forget your brain ?
Review: I don't quite understand how several reviewers felt the need to trash this adaptation as a mix of fanciful actors tossing lines on beautiful sets. While the scenery may be the saving grace of the film, the more adept performers (Tucci, Flockhart) have no problem keeping anyone with a functioning mind in play. Does anyone really watch Shakespeare expecting simple dialogue ? But the rest of the cast is in no way lost. I found the adaptation more than willing to display the maleability of the characters; not the vertigo of the players. This film correctly portrays the supporting cast as it should be: Lost in a world which they cannot control; lost in a dream from which they cannot wake.
Rating:
Summary: For the true Shakespearean fan only ¿
Review: A charming adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy of errors, A Midsummer Night's Dream is for the true Shakespearean at heart. While the scenery is breathtaking and the costumes are beyond beautiful, unless you are a Shakespearean fan, you will not understand the dialog or the subplots of this movie. While the story does stray from the original play, the all-star cast creates a delightful dream world in which you will embark for your two-hour journey to Athens.
Rating:
Summary: Shakespeare at his worst
Review: Of all the attempts at making Dream work on film, this has got to be the worst ... and with an all star cast to boot, whose performances could be and were outdone by an elementary school production in Upstate New York. To date, Peter Hall has been the only director to accomplish this play on film.
Rating:
Summary: luminous
Review: this play was one of my least favorite of shakespeare's work mostly due to the terrible versions i had seen on the amateur stage. this film version brought back the beauty and the innocence and the dreams of love that are at the core of this play. herein lies some of shakespeare's most beautiful love poetry and a perfect example of his genius as a comic writer. the three main plot points are twined all together in a manner that is nothing short of delightful. a perfect movie that is wonderfully acted by all. my faith in the all-knowing bard is restored.
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