A Midsummer Night's Dream

This 1935 film stages Shakespeare's play with the resources of a Hollywood studio. Direction was shared between Max Reinhardt, the man of the theatre who had staged the play many times in Europe and America, and William Dieterle. Four young people fleeing Athens for the forest, the quarrel of the fairy king and queen, and a troupe of amateurs rehearsing a play all tangle together in one night as Puck's magic flower points love at the wrong people. What stands out are the forest sections: built out of mist, light and dance choreography, they resemble a design for a dream more than a stage. Mendelssohn's music runs through the whole film. The casting is odd and particular, placing the studio's contract players inside Shakespeare. It won Academy Awards for cinematography and editing. Who it's for: viewers who like classic Hollywood and Shakespeare adaptation. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a plain staging faithful to the text; the film favours spectacle.