Shakespeare in Performance: Film
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968, Peter Hall)
| Title | A Midsummer Night's Dream |
|---|---|
| Year | 1968 |
| Release Locations | GB |
| Director | Peter Hall |
| Medium | Color video |
| Length | 2 hrs, 4 mins |
| Languages | English |
| Audience | general public high school |
| Play Connections | A Midsummer Night's Dream (interpretation) |
Description
Originally made for tv and nationally broadcast in the USA in 1969, this film combines the expressionism of a Reinhardt with the realism of the Italian movie makers. Shot outdoors in Warwickshire at Compton Verney, emphasis falls on the down-to-earth problems of the young lovers (their faces are even daubed with mud). At the same time, however, the peculiar color of the terrain, the whippings about of Puck, the bizarre nature of the fairy world speak to an expressionistic, or even surrealistic, vision at odds with the mundane and prosaic. The costumes reflect also the swinging new London of the late sixties when mini-skirts and Carnaby Street dominated the scene. (A film that perfectly captures the essence of this last gasp of Victorian culture is Georgy Girl [1966], starring Lyn Redgrave and Alan Bates.)
Description from Shakespeare on Screen : an International Filmography and Videography by Kenneth S. Rothwell and Annabelle Henkin Melzer. ©1990 Kenneth S. Rothwell. Cited by permission. — Added 2008-11-14
Cast Overview
Production Team and Crew Overview
| Director | Peter Hall |
|---|---|
| Producer | Michael Birkett |
| Editing | Jack Harris |
| Composer | Guy Woolfenden |
| Costumes | Ann Curtis |
| Camera | Peter Suschitzky |
| Production | John Bury |
Company Overview
| Playgroup | Royal Shakespeare Company |
|---|
Production information courtesy of: Kenneth Rothwell