A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)

When famed stage director Max Reinhardt brought his company to the USA and performed “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Hollywood Bowl, Warner Bros. was quick to sign him up in order to make it into a prestige film. Utilising many of their stars in leading roles, this unlikely production quickly became THE film to see in 1935. Co-directed by Reinhardt and William Dieterle and featuring Mendelssohn’s music arranged by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, the roadshow presentation Ron’s for 143 minutes and includes an Intermission and Overture.James Cagney is brilliant as “Bottom”, Joe E. Brown as “Flute”, Hugh Herbert as “Snout”, diminutive Mickey Rooney as an engaging “Puck”, Ian Hunter as “Theseus”, Verree Teasdale as “Hippolyta”, Dick Powell (slightly out of his depth) as “Lysander”, Ross Alexander as “Demetrius”, Olivia De Havilland as “Hermia” and a menacing Victor Jory as “Oberon”. Even a non-Shakespeare lover like me was enthralled by this enchantingly-photographed (by cinematographer Hal Mohr), which gives the film an otherworldly gleam and glimmer.

A shimmering restoration of this truly unique take on Shakespeare from Hollywood's Golden Age. The all-star cast do far better than you may imagine - though Mickey Rooney's Puck can be rather wearing after a while. The real reason for watching though has to be the glorious special effects, a triumph of 1930s design and technique.

I should add that, as ever, the service offered by Moviezyng is spit on. Great packaging means the item travels and arrives in perfect condition.

An old favorite of mine just got a lot better, with this Blu-Ray release. Keeping all of the extras that were on the DVD (including the essential closed captioning) , the picture is clear and a pleasure to watch. This Shakespeare classic comes alive with beautiful cinematography and special effects, along with an exceptional cast. Totally worth the price.