Midsummer night's dream
(DVD)

Based on the play by William Shakespeare.

Special feature: Original theatrical trailer (2 min.).

Director of photography, Oliver Stapleton ; editor, Garth Craven ; production designer, Luciana Arrighi ; music, Simon Boswell ; costume designer, Gabriella Pescucci.

Christian Bale (Demetrius), Rupert Everett (Oberon), Calista Flockhart (Helena), Anna Friel (Hermia), Bernard Hill (Egeus), Bill Irwin (Tom Snout), Gregory Jbara (Snug), Kevin Kline (Nick Bottom), Sophie Marceau (Hippolyta), Michelle Pfeiffer (Titania), Roger Rees (Peter Quince), Sam Rockwell (Francis Flute), John Sessions (Philostrate), David Strathairn (Theseus), Stanley Tucci (Puck), Dominic West (Lysander), Max Wright (Robin Starveling).

In the village of Monte Athena in Italy at the turn of the 19th century, necklines are high, parents are rigid, and marriage is seldom a matter of love. Thus, Demetrius and Lysander both want Hermia but she only has eyes for Lysander, while her father wants only Demetrius for his son-in-law. Poor Helena burns hot for Demetrius, who avoids her like the plague. Meanwhile, fairy king Oberon is engaged in a battle of wits with his queen, Titania, and has commanded a trick of Puck, which naturally goes horribly wrong. They are all in the enchanted wood on a midsummer's eve, coming out in the end charged with a gift from the fairies--an enchanted eroticism--that sweeps them away to bed chambers and weddings. The film celebrates love's ability to alter reality while quietly acknowledging that any attempt to portray the feeling of love ultimately falls short.

MPAA rating: Rated PG-13 for some sexual content.

DVD ; 5.1 Dolby digital surround; region 1.

Soundtrack in English with optional subtitles in English and Spanish. Subtitled in English for the deaf and hard of hearing [SDH].