''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' ( cs, Sen noci svatojánské) is a 1959

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

animated puppet film directed by Jiří Trnka, his last feature length film before his death 10 years later in 1969. It is based on the

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

play of the same name.

Production

Trnka, working under the Czech communist regime who had previously been denied in his wish to adapt '' Don Quixote'', worked for several years on his adaptation of ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

''. The film established a new pinnacle of craftmanship. Beyond the artistic aspects the film was technically advanced. Trnka used expensive Eastmancolor stock* Every scene was shot with two cameras simultaneously—one shooting

Academy ratio The Academy ratio of 1.375:1 (abbreviated as 1.37:1) is an aspect ratio of a frame of 35 mm film when used with 4-perf pulldown.Monaco, James. ''How to Read a Film: The Art, Technology, Language, History and Theory of Film and Media''. Rev. ...

, and one shooting in the then new

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

format, effectively producing an in-camera

pan-and-scan Pan and scan is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown in fullscreen proportions of a standard-definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus ...

version—all so Trnka could ensure that his widescreen production would not be presented letterboxed. The film thus exists in ''two'' definitive editions. The score was composed by Václav Trojan.

Reception

The film received a lukewarm initial response, but was entered into the

1959 Cannes Film Festival The 12th Cannes Film Festival was held from 30 April to 15 May 1959. The Palme d'Or went to the ''Orfeu Negro'' by Marcel Camus. The festival opened with '' Les Quatre Cents Coups'', directed by François Truffaut and closed with ''The Diary of An ...

where it tied for the (the selection of the Technical Committee) alongside Vojtěch Jasný's ''

Desire Desires are states of mind that are expressed by terms like "wanting", "wishing", "longing" or "craving". A great variety of features is commonly associated with desires. They are seen as propositional attitudes towards conceivable states of aff ...

'' ( cz, Touha). It also won an Honourable Medal at the

20th Venice International Film Festival The 20th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 23 August to 6 September 1959. Jury * Luigi Chiarini (Italy) (head of jury) * Georges Altman (France) * Sergei Bondarchuk (Soviet Union) * Ralph Forte (USA) * Luis Gómez Mesa (Spai ...

in 1959; first prize for best film in Bucharest in 1960; second prize in Montevideo in 1960; and first prize—the "Golden Mercury"—for music in Valencia in 1962.

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

magazine included the film in the Top 10 foreign movies of 1961. Cerise Howard, discussing the film in a retrospective on Trnka for ''

Senses of Cinema ''Senses of Cinema'' is a quarterly online film magazine founded in 1999 by filmmaker Bill Mousoulis. Based in Melbourne, Australia, ''Senses of Cinema'' publishes work by film critics from all over the world, including critical essays, career ...

'', describes the puppet animation as "more liquid, more balletic than ever"; the scenes between Nick Bottom and Titania are "achingly tender"; Titania's train is "an especially astonishing, luminous creation… constituted of tens of fairies, individually animated amidst reams of gorgeous, extensive coral garlanding". Overall the film is "distinguished by exquisite design throughout".

English-language version

An English-language version was made with narration by Richard Burton and voice work by

Alec McCowen Alexander Duncan McCowen, (26 May 1925 – 6 February 2017) was an English actor. He was known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. Early life McCowen was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Mary (née Walkden), a dancer ...

Voice cast

* Hugh Manning as

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describe ...

*Laura Graham as

Hippolyta In Classical Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; grc-gre, Ἱππολύτη ''Hippolytē'') was a daughter of Ares and Otrera, queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Gr ...

* Jack Gwillim as Oberon *

Barbara Jefford Mary Barbara Jefford, OBE (26 July 1930 – 12 September 2020) was a British actress, best known for her theatrical performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic and the National Theatre and her role as Molly Bloom in the 1967 ...

as Titania *Roger Shepherd as Puck *

as Nick Bottom * Ann Bell as

Hermia Hermia is a fictional character from Shakespeare's play, '' A Midsummer Night's Dream''. She is a girl of ancient Athens named for Hermes, the Greek god of trade. Overview Hermia is caught in a romantic entanglement where she loves one man, Lysa ...

* Barbara Leigh-Hunt as

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer *Helena, mother of Constantine I Places Greece * Helena (island) Guyana * ...

Joss Ackland Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE (born 29 February 1928) is an English retired actor who has appeared in more than 130 film and television roles. He was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for portraying Jock Del ...

as Peter Quince *Michael Meacham as Demetrius * Stephen Moore as Francis Flute *Tom Criddle as

Lysander Lysander (; grc-gre, Λύσανδρος ; died 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to capitulate and bringing the Peloponnesian War to an en ...

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Midsummer Night's Dream 1959 films 1959 animated films 1950s stop-motion animated films Animated adaptations of William Shakespeare Czechoslovak animated films 1950s Czech-language films Czech animated films Czech fantasy films Films about fairies and sprites Films directed by Jiří Trnka Films based on A Midsummer Night's Dream Puppet films Films with screenplays by Jiří Brdečka Czech animated comedy films Czech animated romance films