A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)

A Midsummer Night's Dream

“A translation of director Max Reinhardt’s Hollywood Bowl production, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the most sumptuous, shimmering, and enthralling adaptations of Shakespeare’s work. Yes, the use of movie stars was and remains controversial (the more things change, right), but there’s surprises aplenty in discovering how wonderful, say, James Cagney is with the language. Combining ballet interludes, expressionistic visuals, Shakespeare’s language, and a general air of magic throughout, this is a film from the golden age ripe for rediscovery.   Here is the first big budget crack at the Bard during the talkie era, and it combines elements of accepted “High Art” like classical music and dance with the new-kid-on-the-block energy of the cinema. The results are a prestige ” read more