A Midsummer Night's Dream

A fine, and sadly forgotten, version of Shakespeare's most amusing play. I suppose I am not the only male person who discovered a simultaneous love for the Bard and Diana Rigg in what was (then) a scandalously scantily clad television spectacular. This is, if nothing else, one of the many evidences that the Brits breed actors in a way we don't. The cast, which is by British standards only second-tier, outdoes anything that we could scrape together. Sheer fun; it's us, and not just Shakespeare, in love.

I originally expected to watch a few seconds of this and turn to another channel; however, the film style intrigued me, so I kept watching. Then, I saw Titania...

She was beautiful. Her acting was sublime. The enthusiasm she had for the ass-headed Bottom was palpable. I had to tape it. Fortunately, there was another showing later in the day.

To my surprise, the beautiful Titania was none other than a youngish Judy Dench. Diana Rigg also appears as Helena, the spurned lover, who joins three other young people for the familiar comedy of errors.

Besides the fairies, the actors dress in modern garb...casual: Button-up shirts, mini-skirts, go go boots. The acting is wonderful and the choppy editing very appropriate. Was it as good as Propero's Books? No, but it gives it a run for its money...

Yes, it's clear that director Peter Hall was influenced by Richard Lester in his filming of Shakespeare's classic comedy/fantasy: the hand-held camera, jump cutting, etc. And while one could quibble with some of his derivative directorial choices, there's no arguing that this is the best-acted "Dream" on film available.

There's hardly a weak link in the cast, with the exception of David Warner and Michael Jayston as the male half of the quartet of lovers. Warner is a skilled classical actor, but he never had an ounce of charm. Jayston is competent, but dull and colorless.

But the rest of the cast is marvelous, with special kudos to Helen Mirren, Diana Rigg, Ian Richardson, and Judi Dench as a very sexy Titania. Ian Holm's snake-tongue bit as Puck gets old, but his somewhat malevolent rendition of Puck is well done.

I'm surprised that no one has made more out of Paul Rodgers superb Bottom, by far the best I've ever seen on stage or screen. Unlike so many actors who broadly overplay the role to wring laughs, Rodgers plays Bottom completely straight and with total conviction - never descending to self-conscious comedic playing. And he's all the more hilarious for it. This Pyramus and Thisbee playlet at the end is the funniest ever.

There were little jumps and quirks in this production by the Royal Shakespeare Company - but in reality they merely added to the otherworldly and ethereal overall effect. I liked the art design very much and found it charming. The cast was superb - and for those who only know Judi Dench as dowdy or as Queen Elizabeth, in this film she plays the queen of the fairies, Titania, in a costume consisting only of three small leaves! She might have been the sexiest Titania ever.

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.