Cheap A Midsummer Night's Dream (DVD) (Adrian Noble) Price

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Customer Reviews of A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Thoroughly Delightful Production
This 1996 film adaptation of the 1994 RSC stage production of A Midsummer Night's Dream is marvelous. The acting is outstanding throughout the cast and the beauty of Shakespeare's language shines like a jewel. The costuming and setting are a rather non distinct present day time. The stage design is quite different than anything I've seen before - quite original and quite effective. The woods around Athens are represented by a blank stage with hanging light bulbs and various moveable doors about the set. Umbrellas are used in a number of unique and creative ways both to denote scene changes and as the bowers in fairyland. Also creatively used is a doll-house. Another unusual aspect of this production is the use of a young boy and his dream as a framing device for the play. The boy is also the "Changling Child" and he observes each of the scenes and takes part in the scene changes. Fairyland is often the most difficult effect for a modern director to conceive and Noble's concepts are both effective and delightful. The doubling of Theseus / Oberon and Hippolyta / Titania also works to tie the storylines together thematically. The staging of the Pyramus and Thisby play within a play during the fifth act is both touching and funny and again Noble's direction brings out Shakespeare's messages about the nature of love in a most perceptive manner. My only criticism of the casting (and it is a very minor one) involves the two female lovers. As Shakespeare wrote the play, Helena is a tall blonde. In this production Emily Raymond as Helena is a short-haired brunette only an inch or so taller than Monica Dolan's long-haired brunette Hermia. Both actresses' performance is superb, and the similarity of their looks does increase the confusion and emphasizes the theme of the lack of reason when considering love. Demetrius and Lysander are virtually interchangeable as Shakespeare wrote them. At 103 minutes, the play moves along briskly and some cutting of lines must have occurred but the cuts must be deftly handled because I didn't notice them. All of the famous passages are there as well as all the memorable quotes. I consider this production much superior to the more well known and highly publicized lavish Hollywood 1999 production directed by Michael Hoffman starring Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Stanley Tucci.

I give this production five stars.

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A lavish production of a timeless classic...
This is NOT the weak Hollywood version released earlier this year, but a tremendous production by the Royal Shakespeare Company a few years ago. I saw this production in England in 1995 and it is truly phenomenal. Alex Jennings is an actor of true power, forcefully taking on the dual roles of Theseus and Oberon (an interesting, though not uncommon approach). Desmond Barritt is absolutely hilarious leading the band of mechanicals. I would HIGHLY recommend this video to anyone, but particularly to those who have seen the play performed by other (particularly American) actors. You will truly have an appreciation for how truly gifted Royal Shakespeare Company actors are.

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Good, but Bizarre
I prefer a more traditional approach, and found the funky fairies rather disturbing. The bare stage and opening and closing doors were interesting. This will do very well for what I wanted it for--contrasting different approaches to the play in the classroom; however, having seen it once, I will not choose to watch it again just for pleasure. The young boy, while cute, was very distracting--what was his purpose? I thought at first he was going to play Puck, but was quickly disabused of that notion. Again--interesting, but very strange and a bit unsettling.