Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

classicsoncall Say, who is this Shakespeare guy anyway? He had some imagination.This film has been on my must see list for some time, and the truth of the matter is because James Cagney was in it. I didn't think his role in the story would be as prominent as it was, but he rose to the occasion quite well considering he had to step out of his more familiar characters as a gangster or tough guy. You had to wonder how audiences of the day reacted to his being turned into a jackass; Cagney himself seemed to delight in the portrayal.The other surprise for me here was Victor Jory in the role of Oberon, King of the Faeries. He played the part with a touch of malice and it occurred to me that he was more effective here than in any villain role I've seen him in. Quite comically, his instructions to mischief maker Puck (Mickey Rooney) ran the gamut of unintended consequences for a pair of star crossed lovers, not to mention Cagney's ill fated turn as a pointy eared mule.Above all however, I was impressed by the stunning cinematography, costuming and special effects. Quite honestly, for 1935 I can't imagine how the film makers achieved those wonderful sequences involving the flight of the Faeries and those dazzling dance scenes. I realize it was still too early for the use of color in movies, but wouldn't that have been a glorious enhancement? The only downside for this viewer was the extended finale that cast Cagney as Pyramus and Joe E. Brown as Thisby. It felt as if the excitement and glamour of the main story had already achieved it's desired effect, so sitting through those final moments felt like a chore to get through to make it to the end.

kijii On a hot midsummer night, what could be more appropriate than this great Max Rinhardt's Warner Brother's classic? The movie is an American classic for "doing" Shakespeare with sound. The effects are wonderful for their time, the music is just right, and American audiences of that era would have recognized many of the cast members. The characters from this version of this well-known Shakespearian play give us lots of fun and joy. They argue; they sing, they dance; they fly through the air. They could be young lovers forced to obey orders of the Duke; they could be jealous woodland fairies; they could be a group of excited simple townsmen who want to win a prize from the Duke; or they could be Athenian royalty. OK, This movie is higher on special effects like--- gossamer images and Mendelssohn's incidental music-- than it is Shakespeare's actual script. Yet, everyone who loves Shakespeare should see this version just because you might want to see Olivia de Havilland (as Hermia), Dick Powell (as Lysander), James Cagney (as Bottom the Weaver), Joe E. Brown (as Flute the Bellows-Mender), and Frank McHugh (as Quince the Carpenter). In the Fairlyland cast, Victor Jory is Oberland , Anita Louise is Titania, and a 14-year-old Mickey Rooney is Puck. The movie won an Oscar for Best Cinematography (Hal Mohr)—as the first and only write-in nominee to actually win, and Best Film Editing (Ralph Dawson). It was nominated Best Picture but lost out to Mutiny on the Bounty and a host of other great choices.

funkyfry A heap of talent was assembled for this big Hollywood adaptation of Shakespeare's classic tale. Unfortunately it does not all fit together in the most satisfying manner possible, but it's still a good show for the weird effects and the novelty of seeing some of Hollywood's big stars take smaller roles derived from the Bard.James Cagney is the biggest star in the film, but of course spends half of it with a donkey's head.... the really odd effects are in the beginning, with the faeries appearing in what seems to be a triple exposure of smoke and mannequins. There's an awful lot of half-naked children running around with wires attached to them, flying around and so forth, and I'm not sure if the whole thing is really in good taste. Mickey Rooney is given a ton of screen time, and while it's fun to see him as Puck, the fun wears off rather quickly. His screeching laugh must have seemed a good idea, to somebody.Meanwhile Olivia de Havilland and Dick Powell are embarrassing themselves as the young lovers (actors really too good for these roles), Anita Louise looks pretty but not very fay, and well what else can you say? The film's direction by Reinhardt is very good, but in its full edit the film's effects and especially its contrivances end up making it feel like a bit of a slog.

Petri Pelkonen Theseus, Duke of Athens is going to marry Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons.Demetrius is engaged with Hermia, but she does not love him.Hermia loves Lysander.And Helena loves Demetrius.Death will face Hermia is she will not marry Demetrius, the suitor chosen by her father, thus says the Athenian law.Hermia and Lysander escape through a magical forest at night.In the forest there is the realm of Fairyland.Helena leads Demetrius into the forest.Oberon, king of the fairies is upset for his queen, Titania refuses to give her Indian changeling to him for use as his knight or henchman.Oberon recruits the mischievous Puck to help him apply a magical juice from a flower called "love-in-idleness".It makes the victim fall in love with the first living thing seen upon awakening.Soon we see Titania falling for a man with the head of an ass.Also Lysander and Demetrius have great feelings for Helena and Hermia feels left out.A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) is directed by William Dieterle and Max Reinhardt.It's based on Shakespeare's play.It was written around 1594 to 1596.I just read it last week, just before they showed this movie yesterday (Sunday).I enjoyed the play as I enjoyed this movie.It is a true pleasure to watch the 15-year old Mickey Rooney as Puck.Rooney, who was born in 1920, made his first movie appearance in 1926 and is still in the pictures today.Nobody hasn't had a movie career that long! It sure is fun to watch this invisible Puck aping the mortals.Ian Hunter does great work as Theseus.Same with Verree Teasdale, who plays Hippolyta.Dick Powell is terrific as Lysander.And so is Ross Alexander as Demetrius.Olivia de Havilland is marvelous as Hermia.Grant Mitchell is great as her father Egeus.Jean Muir is very good as Helena.James Cagney does great job as Bottom, the Weaver.Joe E. Brown is magnificent as Flute, the Bellows-mender.Hugh Herbert does very good job as Snout, the Tinker.Victor Jory is brilliant as Oberon.Anita Louise is wonderful as Titania.You have to like Billy Barty playing the part of Mustard-Seed.This movie has a lot of fun moments, like when the wrong people keep falling in love with each other after Puck puts the love juice on wrong peoples' eyes.And Bottom with the head of an ass is quite humorous.People are afraid of him, and he wonders why.Then he starts to sing, and Titania notices him...A Midsummer Night's Dream is a magical experience.