A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999 film)

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A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream Promotional Movie Poster
Directed by	Michael Hoffman
Produced by	Michael Hoffman Arnon Milchan Leslie Urdang Ann Wingate
Written by	William Shakespeare (play) Michael Hoffman (screenplay)
Starring	Rupert Everett Calista Flockhart Kevin Kline Stanley Tucci and Michelle Pfeiffer
Distributed by	Fox Searchlight
Release date(s)	April 26, 1999
Running time	116 minutes
Language	English
IMDb profile

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a 1999 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same title. The film sets the play in the fictional Monte Athena in the late nineteenth century. The film stars Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, Kevin Kline, Stanley Tucci and Michelle Pfeiffer.

1 Cast
2 Background
3 Critical reception
4 External links

[edit] Cast

[edit] Background

The film was released in the midst of the short-lived Shakespeare-on-film revival initiated by the success of Kenneth Branagh's Henry V. Director Michael Hoffman reset the play in Italy in the mid-nineteenth century, and several of the characters were seen riding bicycles. There was also a rather notorious mud wrestling scene between Anna Friel (as Hermia) and Calista Flockhart (as Helena). Actor Kevin Kline was cast as a more handsome Nick Bottom than is usual, and was even given a wife (she, however, has no speaking lines and only appears in two scenes). Along with veteran Shakespeare actors, director Michael Hoffman also cast Calista Flockhart, Michelle Pfeiffer, David Strathairn, Sophie Marceau and Stanley Tucci in major roles.

The film used portions of Felix Mendelssohn's incidental music to the 1843 stage production of the play, along with generous helpings of music from Italian opera.

Although the film was reset in Italy, every mention of Athens, Greece (the play's original setting) was still retained.

In contrast to the earlier 1935 film version, Helena was given more screen time in the film than Hermia.

[edit] Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews when released theatrically, but far more positive ones when the DVD was issued. The greatest praise went to the performances of Kevin Kline, Rupert Everett, and Stanley Tucci, while the performances most panned were those of David Strathairn and Sophie Marceau.^{[citation needed]} It has been criticised by some for the resemblance between Michelle Pfeiffer and Calista Flockhart, leading some to confuse their different characters.^{[citation needed]}