I put off watching Julie Taymor's Midsummer Night's Dream far too long. I knew that it would be visually interesting, but I did not realize it would be stellar in nearly every aspect—from its conception to its acting to its deep understanding of the play.
I don't think I could do better than to show you some representative scenes.
In this scene, we meet the rude mechanicals and get some sense of the stage Taymor has at her disposal:
Links: The Film at IMDB.
Here's where the lyricism of Shakespeare's poetry beautifully harmonizes with the visual effects Taymor uses:
And I showed you that first scene to show you this. You have a sense of Bottom; now see Bottom translated:
It's quite a remarkable transformation—and a great piece of stage technology.
I wish I could show you the rest of the show. Puck is wild and wonderful. The woods outside Athens is created with dozens of poles that are manipulated by the actors in a terrific choreography. Francis Flute's final speech as Thisbe is remarkably moving—delivered by an excellent actor who had been playing a terrible actor and who then becomes a very good actor.
Track it down—the show bears watching and re-watching.
Links: The Film at IMDB.
Click below to purchase the film from amazon.com
(and to support Bardfilm as you do so).
(and to support Bardfilm as you do so).
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