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Shakespeare
Online
The Hollywood
Bard
A Midsummer
Night's Dream
The Internet Movie Database lists ten theatrical productions
(one of which hasn't been released yet) and eight made-for-TV
versions of this play. The only one I've seen is the 1982
made-for-TV version (which I believe was filmed in Central
Park). It had William Hurt as Oberon, Diane Venora as Hippolyta
and Christine Baranski as Helena. Baranski was hilarious, and
practically stole the show. Hurt, on the other hand, was dismal.
No sense of meter or rhythym, speaking like a wounded Captain
Kirk with ... all sorts of ... unnecessary and ... annoying pauses.
Painful to watch, too: I winced every time he opened his mouth.
Other than that, the movie was terrific.
 I
meant to go see the recent Fox
Searchlight Pictures version released this past spring. Unfortunately,
I worked the weekend it was released, and by the following weekend,
it was out of theaters. I'm probably exaggerating a bit, but
it did seem like it went away pretty quickly, which was unfortunate.
I know hindsight is 20/20, but in my opnion, they probably released
it too soon. I mean, three weeks before "Star Wars"?
Of course, they probably didn't want to compete with Kevin Kline's
other big movie of the summer, so releasing it in July (or ...
Midsummer) was out of the question. Maybe they should have waited
until September or October, or even November. That seems to be
the time of year that non-action-oriented films seem to do best.
Anyway, they did put up a nifty Shockwave-enhanced
website, but I'd visit it quickly before they decide to remove
it. By the way, the movie is going to be released on video on
November 23, but it's priced for the rental market: $103!! Usually,
if you wait six months or so, the studio will re-release it at
a lower price, or you can purchase a previously-viewed copy at
your local video store. On the other hand, the DVD
version is being released, on the same date, at $24. (Of
course, I don't have a DVD player, so a fat lot of good that'll
do me.)
Another interesting version, and well-received, judging by
the customer comments, is the 1996
Royal Shakespeare Company version of the play. I haven't
seen this, but most of the people who have gave it great reviews
on Amazon.com. Unfortunately, as with the above title, it's priced
pretty much out of my reach (again at $103). Hopefully, the price
will drop on this one, too, since I doubt I'll be able to find
it at a local video store.
 A
little more reasonably priced is the 1935
Max Reinhardt version, at $17. This is the one with James
Cagney as Bottom, a rather young Mickey Rooney as Puck, and featured
the screen debut of Olivia de Havilland as Hermia. This might
be worth buying just to see Cagney doing Shakespeare; I mean,
I like just about everything Kevin Kline has done, but let's
face it, he's no Cagney. On the other hand, Mickey Rooney has
a habit of annoying me in whatever I see him in (with the definite
exception of the TV movie "Bill",
and its sequel).
Of course, this version is probably pretty popular, so you might
be able to find this one locally (although it might take two
or three visits to different video stores).
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