A Midsummer Night's Dream with Derek Godfrey: DVD Cover
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A Midsummer Night's Dream Director: Peter Hall, Peter Hall Cast: Derek Godfrey, Barbara Jefford, Hugh Sullivan, Nicholas Selby

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  • DVD Release Date: 03/10/2005
  • Original Release: 1968
  • Rating: Not Rated
  • Sales Rank: 27,965

Viewer Rating: (6 ratings)

Detailed Rating: "Funny" See All

 
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  • Editorial Reviews
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  • Customer Reviews
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Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Opening Credits [2:15]
2. Act 1 - Scene 1: The Palace of Theseus [11:02]
3. Scene 2 - Quince's House [5:41]
4. Act 2 - Scene 1: A Wood Near Athens [13:13]
5. Scene 2 - Titania, Queen of Fairies [9:51]
6. Act 3 - Scene 1: Enter the Clowns [12:45]
7. Scene 2 - Oberon, King of Fairies [22:25]
8. Act 4 - Scene 1: Titania and Bottom [14:26]
9. Scene 2 - The Rabble [4:22]
10. Act 5 - Scene 1: The Play Within the Play [22:16]

Scene Index

Editorial Reviews

British director Peter Hall's 1968 filmization of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, starring the Royal Shakespeare Company, is faithful to the text and to the main plot, which involves the "bewitching" of several groups of mortals by a covey of mischievous invisible fairies. So why did critics complain? Hall's handling of Shakespeare's prose and iambic pentameter didn't bother the purists as much as the director's visual choices. Hall was criticized for staging the film in a typically rainy British winter rather than the mid-Summer alluded to in the play's title. The director responded by pointing out that the fairies, led by Oberon and Titania, were deliberately toying with the expectations and sensibilities of the Mortals -- thus, it made sense to confuse the "human" characters by playing havoc with the weather. Other stylistic alterations included updating the story to the 19th century, and the near-nudity of Judi Dench as Titania. Most of the film is shot in close-up (most effectively during the soliloquies of Diana Rigg, as Helena), not so much to hide budgetary deficiencies as to play better on television. Also featuring Ian Holm (as Puck) Barbara Jefford, Helen Mirren, Michael Jayston, Paul Rogers, Ian Richardson and David Warner, this Midsummer Night's Dream premiered in the U.S. on the CBS TV network on Sunday evening, February 9, 1969. Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Customer Reviews

Very good and enjoyableby SP3481MWJD

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March 07, 2009: Well acted by everyone. The Queen of Faries is played by Judi Dench. It is well done. The whole cast is great.

Midsummernights dream Film reviewby Anonymous

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September 09, 2007: The only reason this film didn’t totally suck was because you can’t possible ruin one of the best scrips ever written. Starring: Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, Anna Friel, Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Stanley Tucci. Director: Michael Hoffman Writer: Michael Hoffman This is one of those films best watched curled up on the couch with a pillow and blanket beside you "encase you fall asleep" and a dictionary for all the words that are over your head. It’s a film not to watch with your children because, despite its rating "PG", it contains sexual references, nudity, sex scenes and death threats. The plot is complicated as two lovers steal away in 19th centaury Italy. The setting is a valid point as here is another fault in the film. It is supposed to be set in Athens yet none of the characters have Greek ascents, especially not Kevin Kline "who plays Bottom". Also I would like to point out that the director chose to set the film in England when it was supposed to be in Athens. That was part of the beauty of the film. Ten minutes into the film your head is spinning. Who’s in love with who? Where is it set? Everything is going in one side of the brain and out the other. By the time the fairies and mechanics have entered the film you will probably be asleep, but don’t because the only good bit is yet to come. When Calista Flockhart "Hermia" enters the stage you are immediately amazed at her brilliant acting. She portrays the role of a desperate lover drowning in self pity, rejection and lust, perfectly. Her performance was the only reason my rating for the film is higher than one. The forest "where the fairies live" is plastic. Its one of the worst sets I have ever seen. The artificial leaves and ridicules fairies make you feel as if you’re in a theme park. All the colours are exaggerated and the fairies become dots which are embellished. I was expecting to see a tall, sleek Oberon dressed in fine silks and vines but they gave us fat boy in a toga. The casting is HORRIBLE, not one of the actors felt in place, other than. Calista Flockhart. Anna Friel was so bad I had to close my eyes and go "lalalala" until her scenes were over. Cute lady yes, but Shakespearean actress she is not. The film is not as enchanting as it is supposed to be or even as it needs to be. Many of the intended magical elements turn dry. Having Puck ride a bicycle again and again is just not all that funny. Having him ride a silly-looking plastic turtle intended to be real is even less so. Hoffman even has a mud-wrestling scene with Helena and Hermia. Over all the film just didn’t appeal to me. Yes it took me to another world, but I’m not sure that’s a world I would like to return to. In some ways the movie is entertaining as the lines are kept to the original Shakespearian script however the movie adds nothing to it. I rate this film 1.5 stars.


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