Critic Reviews
Midsummer Night's Dream, A (1999) Rank 3 Reviews
Expert Review Summary
based on (117) reviews
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating
Reviews by Score:
NandoNext (Tanesha Williams)
San Francisco Examiner (Wesley Morris)
San Francisco Chronicle (Peter Stack)
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)
"What fools these mortals be," declares Puck, the mischievous fairy, as he spies on the clumsy antics of human lovers.But the trickster ofA Midsummer Night's Dreamproves that fairies, too, can be pretty darn foolish.All this delightful ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)
Scott Renshaw
Writer/director Michael Hoffman transports the tale from Greece to 19th century Tuscany, where many plotlines swirl around the impending wedding of Duke Theseus (David Strathairn) and Hippolyta (Sophie Marceau). Hermia (Anna Friel), the daughter of one ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at Scott Renshaw
Daytona Beach News-Journal (Fl.) (Jeff Farance)
Season some Shakespeare with special effects and the results are surprisingly magical. ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at Daytona Beach News-Journal (Fl.) (Jeff Farance)
Scott Renshaw's Screening Room (Scott Renshaw)
A fanciful comedy deserving enough of the author's name. ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at Scott Renshaw's Screening Room (Scott Renshaw)
UTK Daily Beacon (Valerie Crawford)
LowComDom Online Film Reviews
A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)
Teen Movie Critic (Vivian Rose)
Movie House Commentary
Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)
Director Michael Hoffman ("Soapdish") does a fine job of keeping that fine balance between humor and pathos (Hoffman also adapted the screenplay). Kline does a good job of making an ass of himself, so to speak. Flockhart, better known as Ally McBeal, is ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)
SF, Horror and Fantasy Film Review
Filmic Shakespeare adaptations - such as the classic Laurence Olivier
versions of Henry V (1944), Hamlet
(1948), Richard III (1953) and Othello
(1956) and the Cinerama versions of the 1950s such as Julius
Caesar (1953) and Romeo and Juliet
(1954) - ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at SF, Horror and Fantasy Film Review
Reviews by John (John Haywood)
Cinematter (Matt Williams)
Not to be confused with all those other Midsummer Night's Dreams out there, William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is an adaptation of, you guessed it, William Shakespeare's beloved comedy. Boasting a star-studded cast, Michael Hoffman's ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at Cinematter (Matt Williams)
Detroit News (Susan Stark)
Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
In saying, "Lord, what fools these mortals be," Puck (Stanley Tucci), the engagingly meddlesome sprite in "William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream," effectively summarizes that play's theme, as well as the major theme in just about all of ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)
So all in all A Midsummer Night’s Dream is pretty good, considering it’s fluff. And if you have a couple hours to spare — say Star Wars is sold out and you have made no other plans — see Kline and Tucci play their parts. It may ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)
Globe and Mail (Rick Groen)
Hoffman charts a middle course, and travels it quite well -- his version is neither as elaborately baroque as Max Reinhardt's 1935 film treatment nor as starkly sexual as Peter Brooks's celebrated 1970 staging. ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at Globe and Mail (Rick Groen)
Akiva Gottlieb
This version of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM moves the setting to Italy towards the end of the 19th century. It is the story of one night when all sorts of unexpected twists occur involving a few couples falling in and out of love.Demetrius(Christian ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at Akiva Gottlieb
Nathaniel R. Atcheson
I've always been sort of a purist when it comes to Shakespeare. I think it is possible to update his plays and place them in a period of time in which they were not intended to be set. But this is not an easy thing to do. Those who have seen William ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at Nathaniel R. Atcheson
Palo Alto Weekly (Jim Shelby)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
R eason and love keep little company together nowadays.So says Bottom in "William Shakespeare's a Midsummer Night's Dream," and he could be describing the play he occupies. It is an ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
DVD Talk (Chris Hughes)
Shakespeare purists will probably disdain this release for its copious editing of the original dialogue. On the other hand those who have a casual interest in Shakespeare should find the film very entertaining. This most recent version of A Midsummer ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at DVD Talk (Chris Hughes)
Palo Alto Online (Jim Shelby)
Film Blather (Eugene Novikov)
Planet Sick-Boy (Jon Popick)
cinEncanto (José Luis Orozco)
Movies 101 (Robert Glatzer)
The Phantom Tollbooth
The Critic's Homepage reviews A Midsummer Night's Dream
You know what, I just got bored with this movie really quickly and lost a lot of interest whenever Tucci and Kline were not on screen. Tucci is one of my favorite actors whose last directorial attempt, The Impostors, was very weak. Here he is lively ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at The Critic's Homepage reviews A Midsummer Night's Dream
FilmHead.com - Video Pick
Christian Spotlight on the Movies
digitallyOBSESSED! DVD Reviews
DVDTown.com (John J. Puccio)
...even sapped of some of its magic, much of the story's poetry remains. ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at DVDTown.com (John J. Puccio)
MC Journal (Dr. Brad Eden)
DVDTown (John J. Puccio)
DVD Town (John J. Puccio)
Rotten Tomatoes - Reviews from the Nation's Top Critics
Cinemaphile.org (David Keyes)
Needcoffee.com - Movie Review
When Duke Theseus (David Strathairn) is due to be wed to the lovely Hippolyta (Sophie Marceau), even faerie royalty shows up to make an appearance. Oberon (Everett) and his estranged queen Titania (Pfeiffer) make an appearance, complete with the court ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at Needcoffee.com - Movie Review
filmcritic.com sleeps through its Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is hardly Shakespeare's best work. Memorable only for the role of the impish Robin "Puck" Goodfellow (Tucci, here), Midsummer is a rambling and disjointed play that tries to blend plotlines involving unrequited love, fellows ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at filmcritic.com sleeps through its Dream
Educational Media Reviews Online
Salon.com (Stephanie Zacharek)
Wolf Entertainment Guide (William Wolf)
The Cranky Critic (Chuck Schwartz)
DVD Net (Martin Friedel)
Anchorage Press (Brenda Sokolowski)
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
The New York Times - Family Movie Guide (Peter M. Nichols)
World Socialist Web Site
Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
Reel.com (Vanessa Vance)
Foster on Film - Shakespeare
Philadelphia City Paper (A.D. Amorosi)
Houston Community Newspapers (Gary Brown)
At The Movies- Midsummer Night Dream Review
Sun Newspapers of Cleveland
Albuquerque Alibi (Devin D. O'Leary)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Mixed Reviews: The Arts, The World, and More (Jill Cozzi)
culturevulture.net, Choices for the Cognoscenti
Virtual Urth Movie Channel
Movie Magazine International
Sean Townsend
If you want to know how the plot of this thing unfolds, read the frickin' play, because it's pretty convoluted. Let's just say it involves a love triangle complicated by political intrigue, an attempted elopement by night, a female stalker, a troupe of ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at Sean Townsend
filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
A Midsummer Night's Dream is hardly Shakespeare's best work. Memorable only for the role of the impish Robin "Puck" Goodfellow (Tucci, here), Midsummer is a rambling and disjointed play that tries to blend plotlines involving unrequited love, ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
SPLICEDwire (Rob Blackwelder)
Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
The director made a lot of odd choices in this film that take away somewhat from the magical feeling of the play... ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
The fun and heart of the story takes place with one overnight trip into the woods, where the unrelenting lovers travel to in their planned elopement. The fun part begins when these mortals run unbeknownst to them into the everplayful Puck (Tucci), the ...read the complete Midsummer Night's Dream movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
from $3.87 (17 sellers)
del.icio.us
Digg
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! My Web
Facebook
Google Bookmarks
ma.gnolia
Newsvine
reddit
Windows Live
