GamerTab That was an excellent one.

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

oOoBarracuda Adrian Noble created cinematic greatness with his take on William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. This 1996 version brought together Lindsay Duncan, Alex Jennings, and Kevin Doyle for a vibrant different take on a classic Shakespeare comedy. Different worlds are woven together in this delightful adaptation of the Bard's work.Theseus (Alex Jennings) is preparing for his marriage to Hippolyta (Lindsay Duncan). He is committed to finding the best amusement for the four-day festival. Simultaneously, deep in the woods live two very different groups of people. A band of fairies led by Oberon (Alex Jennings) and Titania (Lindsay Duncan) King and Queen of Fairies, respectfully lives in the woods and have been commissioned to bless the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. Then there is a group practicing a play that they hope to perform at the wedding affair. Traveling between the two worlds simultaneously was a brilliant decision by Noble and created a wonderful screen adaptation of Shakespeare's work. This film is so well done. The set design was fantastic, the colors were incredible, and the zany acting was amazing. I've been struggling trying to find a way to write this review in an unbiased fashion, but not finding a way to succeed. I felt changed by this film, much like my first experience with a David Lynch film. I also find the film a bit difficult to explain. The colors are incredible among so much else in the film. Please carve out some time for this film. You will not be disappointed.

italyzmafiachick While it does take a bit of time to get things going, I found that it was REALLY well done! The way they did the woods scenes with the lights and the doors it made me look at it in a whole new way. The scenes in the woods required the watcher to use their imagination and it was so lovely! The characters and the dialogue are well done by the actors! The costuming and make up are wonderful and full of color!! I enjoyed it! The boy did puzzle me, but that was the only thing I could have done without! I just love Lindsay Duncan who most would know from HBO's ROME, she is such a classy lady and a very good actress. Puck reminded me of a young Robin Williams and was very good in his part. It was a good production and I would love to see it again!

Ann Noble's adaptation of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is highly interesting in many ways which highlight the issues explored within the play, bringing many of them into a new light. The introduction of the new character 'The Boy' highlights the interaction between reality, dreams and imagination as the viewer is forced to reconsider the relationship between these concepts. Despite the fact that we appear to enter the boy's dream world, we are confronted by a number of inconsistencies which challenge this assumption, not least of which being the extensive doubling of the characters, as well as the apparent recognition between Hippolyta and Bottom when they are back in the 'real' world. There is also a suggestion that Theseus is fully aware of the events that took place in the fairy wood. The interaction between the boy and the fairies in both the 'dream' and 'real' world also complicates the straight forward assumption that we are witnessing the boys dream.

Ray Girvan I just love this film. I didn't see the stage version, but this is an extremely clever adaptation of the play: a nice parallel construction where the human court is pointed up by using the same actors as the fairy court, and Bottom's friends reappearing as his fairy attendants. Desmond Barrit is brilliantly characterised, and the Mechanicals very creatively presented as English working-class (for instance, Bottom on a motor-bike combination). And we're left with no doubts that he does have sex with Titania, and donkey's ears are not all he gets from the transformation! I think it's one of the hallmarks of good Shakespearian productions that it manages to make the humour genuinely funny, and the play-within-the-play combines slapstick with genuine pathos. Ultimately, it was a very moving production, whose end (despite my being fairly hard-bitten) brought tears to my eyes with its deep nostalgia and Englishness. You are sorry to leave the world of these characters.