Every 30 years or so, we are treated to a new iteration of Shakespeare's classic romance, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Beginning in 1935, directed by Max Reinhardt with a cast including Olivia DeHavilland and Jimmy Cagney, the show was golden on the big screen and was hailed as an astonishing adaptation of Shakespeare. In 1968, director Peter Hall tried his hand at working as the Bard in a production starring Judy Dench and Helen Mirren of Checkers in a well-received television special on CBS. And more recently, director Michael Hoffman's 1999 adaptation features a cast of TV and film stars, including Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer and Stanley Tucci to name a few- some. The film received mixed reviews, however, with some criticizing Hoffman for taking artistic liberties in changing the setting from traditional Athens to provincial Italy, and for casting actors without Shakespearean experience in leading roles. I found Michael Hoffman's adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream entertaining, well-directed, and performed in a way that simplified the viewer's identity of the characters; I believe, however, that the film will serve as a suitable vehicle to bring Shakespeare into the living rooms of the masses over the next twenty years, while continuing the tradition. While the action takes place in a forest during a long night, the events... The history of the fairy world spills over into the moral domain, confusing the relationships of four young people. As the king and queen of the fairies, Oberon (Everett) and Titania (Pfeiffer) fight over a changeling boy. When Titania refuses to give in to Oberon, the king of the fairies resorts to trickery to satisfy his desires. Oberon instructs his mischievous elf Puck...... middle of paper ...... the visual opulence and dedication to Shakespeare's original words to satisfy any proven Shakespeare fan, and the tasteful application of special effects and dynamic staging for any undiscovered Shakespeare fan follows the action and the characters. This version of the tale of A Midsummer Night's Dream fits well into the sequence of film versions, and just as previous versions serve as time capsules, this latest version will be a lasting example of the talent and technology we have we are at the turning point of history. the century. I predict that this movie will continue to delight fans and torture high schoolers for at least the next 20 years, that is, until some director circa 2020 decides to remake the movie with starlets from the era, maybe Miley Cyrus and some CGI. William Shakespeare himself, to continue the tradition. After all, a true classic never dies.