A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)

Lovers lives are complicated by city law, feuding faerie royalty, and... love.

Director:

Michael Hoffman

Writers:

William Shakespeare (play), Michael Hoffman (screenplay)

Stars:

Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Kline	...	Nick Bottom
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Titania
Rupert Everett	...	Oberon
Stanley Tucci	...	Puck
Calista Flockhart	...	Helena
Anna Friel	...	Hermia
Christian Bale	...	Demetrius
Dominic West	...	Lysander
David Strathairn	...	Theseus
Sophie Marceau	...	Hippolyta
Roger Rees	...	Peter Quince
Max Wright	...	Robin Starveling
Gregory Jbara	...	Snug
Bill Irwin	...	Tom Snout
Sam Rockwell	...	Francis Flute

Storyline

Shakespeare's intertwined love polygons begin to get complicated from the start--Demetrius and Lysander both want Hermia but she only has eyes for Lysander. Bad news is, Hermia's father wants Demetrius for a son-in-law. On the outside is Helena, whose unreturned love burns hot for Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander plan to flee from the city under cover of darkness but are pursued by an enraged Demetrius (who is himself pursued by an enraptured Helena). In the forest, unbeknownst to the mortals, Oberon and Titania (King and Queen of the faeries) are having a spat over a servant boy. The plot twists up when Oberon's head mischief-maker, Puck, runs loose with a flower which causes people to fall in love with the first thing they see upon waking. Throw in a group of labourers preparing a play for the Duke's wedding (one of whom is given a donkey's head and Titania for a lover by Puck) and the complications become fantastically funny.

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Plot Keywords:

love | lover | fairy | fickleness | victorian era | 

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Taglines:

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Italy UK USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

14 May 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

Filming Locations:

Caprarola, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£310,464 (UK) (24 September 1999)

Gross:

£1,183,531 (UK) (15 October 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Regency Enterprises, Taurus Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the orchestral score is from Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's 1843 incidental music for the play. It has also been used in Frederick Ashton's 1964 ballet adaptation of the play, "The Dream", and in George Balanchine's ballet version of the play. The 1935 film version of Shakespeare's play also used generous chunks of Mendelssohn's music.

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Goofs

Near the end of the film, right after the players have been "Notably Discharged," there is a shot where Bottom kisses Flute on the forehead, and Quince rubs his head and brings his face down next to Flute's. If you watch closely, the next shot is the exact same moment, just shown from a different angle, so where it would seem like one sequence of events, we are actually seeing the same thing twice.

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Quotes

Tom Snout: [Puck has turned Bottom into a donkey] Bottom, thou art changed. What do I see on thee?
Bottom the Weaver: What do you see? What; do you see an ass' head of your own, do you?
Peter Quince: [backing away] Bless me. Thou art translated.
[all run off, leaving Bottom alone on the stage]
Bottom the Weaver: Why do they run away? I see their knavery. This is to make an ass of me.

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Connections

Version of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968)

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Soundtracks

"Intermezzo"
(uncredited)
from the opera "Cavalleria Rusticana"
Music by Pietro Mascagni

User Reviews

very nice to look at

I admit, that I have not read the play, so probably all of the credit for the idea goes to Shakespeare himself. But I was also caught by the magic of the pictures. The actors and actresses were so pretty, the story so nicely recited, and the atmosphere somehow magically ravishing. I got a lot of positive feelings out of this movie, and when I walk through the forest now, I am reminded of them. Well, this film did leave a wonderful trace in my mind. Hopefully, it lasts for a couple of days. I give it an 8/10.