This is a wonderful film and an excellent version of the classic that was done so very, very well in 1935 and 1968. No, this is not the Royal Shakespeare Company, it's Hollywood but damn good Hollywood. Why? How can canned commercial movie-making compete with the Bard's best? Why does this version make that of the RSC three years before PALE? Well, there's the cast, for one. Stanley Tucci is delightful as a drole erring Puck carrying out the directives of Rupert Everett's pompous Oberon. The delightful Cast of Players, including Rockwell, Irwin, Rees, Wright and (tah-DAH!) Kevin Klein as Bottom. The scenes with the lovelier than lovely Michelle Pfeiffer's Titania are wonderful and poignant. It is delightful to see that gentle erotica can be suggested without nudity or slathering tongues, sucking lips as well as the usual grunts-pants-moans, etc. The lovers are likewise delightful with great, fun-packed performances by Christian Bale's Demetrius and Dominic West's Lysander in complete tune with Anna Fiel's Hermia and Calista Flockhart's Helena. Even David Strathairn's Theseus and Sophie Marceau's Hippolyta are wonderful. The story is moved from Athens Greece to Athens, Italy, at the turn of the 19th century with the lovers escaping on bicycles. Stanley Tucci's confrontation with the bike is a delight. This is a wonderful film with some new twists that depart from but do not detract from the Bard. The bit with Kevin Kline's wife, hard-looking but attractive Heather Parisi, works well with the setting of this fun-filled, joyful presentation.

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. Yes, there was an attempt to partially modernise it, therefore the script wasn't as good as it could have been. The film itself is lovingly designed, with lavish costumes, stunning sets(my favourite being the wood set) and handsome cinematography. The music was lovely with clever use of music by the likes of Mendelssohn and Verdi. I thought the acting was very good indeed, Kevin Kline stealing the show as Bottom, most of the time hilarious, especially in the play scene, when we are shown what a bad actor Bottom really is. Michelle Pfeiffer is lovely also, and Rupert Everett is very charming also as Oberon. Callista Flockhart convinces also as Helena, and Stanley Tucci has a ball as Puck. The direction is competent, but my only other criticism is that the film is a little overlong. Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this film, not as good as Much Ado About Nothing(with Kenneth Branagh) or Macbeth (with Jon Finch),so I will happily award it 8/10. Bethany Cox.

I remember that when "A Midsummer Night's Dream" came out, many critics considered it a weird version of Shakespeare's play. I didn't see anything particularly wrong with it. Granted, they did change some things (namely moving the setting about 300 years ahead of the original play's setting),but there's nothing bad about that. I probably should admit that one thing which I've never quite understood about the play is whether or not one of the stories portrayed is supposed to eclipse the others. The one that most sticks in my mind is Nick Bottom getting turned into a donkey (especially thanks to Kevin Kline's neat interpretation of the role).

So, while I wouldn't consider this movie the ultimate masterpiece (particularly in a year that saw "The Sixth Sense", "American Beauty" and "Being John Malkovich"),it's a fairly edifying experience. It's a little strange to see Calista Flockhart as Helena, given that she's best known as Ally McBeal, but she still does OK with the role). So overall, I do recommend the movie. Also starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Stanley Tucci, Rupert Everett, Christian Bale and David Strathairn. To paraphrase the cast: the "Fish Called Wanda" thief, Ally McBeal, Catwoman, Walter Winchell, a certain character actor, Batman and Edward R. Murrow.

To think. After Bottom gets turned into a donkey and has a fling with Titania, she says that she was enamored an ass. No matter how you look at it, he always sounds like a posterior.