GusF As with "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Romeo and Juliet", this is another Shakespearean play with which I was only familiar through reputation but I have been familiar with three of its characters for most of my life. My first exposure to Shakespeare was through the classic 1990s animated series "Gargoyles" in which Puck, Oberon and Titania were all recurring characters, as were Macbeth and the Three Witches. One of the cleverest and most complex of the Shakespearean plays which I have read or seen performed, it features three interconnected story lines and wonderfully blends the lines between fantasy and reality. The play is also extremely witty and occasionally downright hilarious. Made by the Royal Shakespeare Company, it has one of the best casts of any film that I have ever seen: Judi Dench, Ian Richardson, David Warner, Helen Mirren (who also appeared in the 1981 BBC adaptation, though as Titania rather than Hermia), Diana Rigg, Michael Jayston and Ian Holm. Rigg was already very famous for her role as Emma Peel in "The Avengers" and Warner had starred in several big films such as "Tom Jones" and "Morgan - A Suitable Case for Treatment". While most of the other cast members were not well known for their on screen work in 1968, they became so in the years and decades that followed. The strongest performer is certainly Judi Dench, whom I consider to be the best living actress. She is captivating as the proud, forceful queen of the fairies whose dispute with her husband Oberon, played wonderfully by Richardson, serves as the catalyst for the events of the play. However, she is just as good in the scenes in which she is required to be softer such as those with the fairy children (two of whom are played by her nieces Clare and Emma) and those in which she professes her love to Bottom after Puck has given him the head of a donkey. All of the actors whom I have mentioned are top notch but I have to single out Rigg as the kind and vulnerable Helena who sharply feels the pangs of her unrequited love for the Hermia loving Demetrius, who can't stand her until the fairies have their way with him, and Warner as the dashing, romantic Lysander, who adores Hermia until the fairies have their way with him and then comes to despise her before going back to adoring her! For much of his later career, he was typecast as sinister characters and was and is excellent at that but it's always great to see him play a gentler character (for the most part, anyway).The rest of the film's cast is just as strong, particularly Paul Rogers as Bottom (who also played the role in a 1958 TV adaptation), Sebastian Shaw as Quince, Derek Godfrey as Theseus, Barbara Jefford as Hippolyta and Bill Travers as Snout, who was one of the then best known actors in the film in spite of his fairly small role. Rogers, one of the few actors in the film with whom I was largely unfamiliar, is an absolute laugh riot as the overly enthusiastic Bottom, who seeks to take over the play-within-the-play "Pyramus and Thisbe" by playing every part himself. I wonder if the exasperation felt by Quince whenever Bottom made a suggestion came from Shakespeare's own experience working with difficult actors. With his infectious hearty laugh, Rogers is even funnier once he receives the head of a donkey. The scenes with Judi Dench in which Titania fawns over Bottom are the funniest in the entire film.In spite of the strength of its cast, however, the film is not perfect. Peter Hall may have been a great theatre director and the British theatrical world owes him a huge debt for founding the RSC but he was not a good film director. Compared to other Shakespearean films that I have seen, this one is shot in a fairly mechanical, workmanlike fashion and the editing is often very bad. Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh's versions of "Hamlet" and Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" were all beautiful looking films but, in spite of the location work, this seems more like a filmed stage play rather than a film adaptation of one. As much as I loved Bottom, the scenes featuring the entire acting troupe were the least interesting of the play. Consequently, the film drags a bit after Lysander, Hermia, Demestrius and Helena leave the forest. While the acting troupe's terrible production was funny, it was not as funny as it could have been and went on a bit long. Since I haven't read the play, however, I don't know what, if anything, was left out and the final act may have been better structured if it had been performed in full.If it were to rate this film based solely on the acting, I would give it full marks without hesitation but there are other issues to consider so I can't, I'm afraid.

fire_eel52 I would only recommend this movie to people who would like to see a laughably horrible version of a great play. All the actors are horrible, except for whoever plays Bottom. They deliver their lines incredibly dry. The costumes are also bad, as the female characters are in mini skirts most of the time. Surprising, considering the movie takes place in Ancient Greece, or, at least, it's supposed to, but the director decided to say it was in Athens, when all the costumes and sets look like the Victorian times. The editing in this film is nonsensical. The fairies, instead of being graceful, disappear and move thanks to the magic of film cutting. Human characters find themselves in random places in between lines of monologues, even in between lines of dialog, where it makes even less sense, when one character is suddenly up a tree. It's a funny movie, but not because the play is a comedy, but because it's all so horrible.Thumbs down, way down.

Donald Kruse I was channel surfing one day and came upon this film. Unbelievable acting and costumes. I was glad I found it, most entertaining. This is one movie which should go down in history as one of the "must sees". Wish I could personally shake Clive Swift's hand for a wonderful performance in this classic, along with all the other performers! The "costumes" used to portray the individuals in each of their roles was wonderfully done. Also, the "life" put into each of Shakespeare's characters is outstanding. If one does not understand the play by reading it, one will surely understand it after watching this film! This is also a perfect film to see Clive Swift do some other acting other than his extraordinary performance upon "Keeping up Appearances".

Bologna King This movie looks like it was hastily committed to film by high school students. The lighting changes constantly so one is never sure whether the scene is intended to be at night or during the day. The fairies appear to be various shades of green at different times. The lovers get muddier and muddier as the story progresses, and the stains migrate around their clothes and faces. The sound is exactly the same wherever the action is. There is a frequent use of jerky stop action to move the scene from place to place and to show fairies moving at the speed of light. The dreadful music is earnestly trying to be avante-garde and succeeding in being cacophonous and out-of-place. The costumes were trendy then but look rather silly now.The virtually uncut script, an advantage for students, has the disadvantage of occasionally slowing the action to a near stop.It's a pity because these are great performances by an amazingly talented cast. Helen Mirren's Hermia, less strident than most, Ian Holm's doglike Puck and Judi Dench's near naked Titania are standouts certainly. Best of all for me was Derek Godfrey as Theseus. He brings a lot of dignity and urbanity to a part often played as a pompous bore or a chump. Theseus is given a lot of lines, sadly cut in many productions, which comment on literature and drama. "The best of this kind are but shadows, and the worst no worse, if imagination amend it." You need a fair bit of imagination to amend the shortfalls of this film, but the effort is well worth it.