A Midsummer Night's Dream

• Director: Howard O. Sackler
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Fantasy
• Movie Type: Romantic Comedy, Comedy of Errors
• Themes: Unrequited Love, Wedding Bells, Mistaken Identities
• Release Year: 1963
• Run Time: 111 minutes

Plot

This 1961 adaptation of Shakespeare's magical comedy of errors was performed entirely by puppets. Let's qualify that: the puppets are of the stop-motion variety, expertly manipulated into "humanity" by Czech animator Jiri Trnka. The adaptation is faithful to the text, while the technique allows a wider range of visual delights than any previous movie Midsummer--and an eminently convincing man-to-jackass transformation for vainglorious amateur thespian Bottom. The English-language version of this Czech animated feature was directed and adapted by Howard O. Sackler, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Great White Hope. Richard Burton provided the narration for this version, which was issued in 1963 and is still in circulation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast

Joss Ackland - Quince; Patrick Allen; Tony Bateman; Ann Bell - Hermia; Jill Bennett; Tom Criddle - Lysander; Laura Graham - Hippolyta; Jack Gwillim - Oberon; Eira Heath; Barbara Jefford - Titania; Barbara Leigh-Hunt - Helena; Cyril Luckham; Hugh Manning - Theseus; Alec McCowen - Bottom; Michael Meacham - Demetrius; Stephen Moore - Flute; Roger Shepherd - Puck; John Warner - Egeus; Richard Burton - Narrator; John Fraser

Credit

Howard O. Sackler - Director, Howard O. Sackler - Screenwriter, Felix Mendelssohn - Featured Music, William Shakespeare - Play Author