A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968 film)

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A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968 film)
Directed by	Peter Hall
Written by	William Shakespeare (play)
Release date(s)	September, 1968 (UK)
Running time	124 min. (approx.)
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
IMDb profile

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a 1968 rendition of William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Peter Hall.

It stars Derek Godfrey as Theseus, Barbara Jefford as Hippolyta, Diana Rigg as Helena, Helen Mirren as Hermia, Ian Holm as Puck, Ian Richardson as King Oberon, Judi Dench as Queen Titania, and Paul Rogers as Bottom, as well as other members of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The film premiered in theatres in Europe. In the U.S. it premeired on television on the night of February 9, 1969. It was shown on CBS (with commercials) rather than on an educational television station.

The film runs two full hours and is quite faithful to the play, with few unusual gimmicks. One touch that may surprise viewers is that there are very few "magical" effects, especially when compared with the classic 1935 film version. The fairies are all covered in green body paint, and rather than appearing and disappearing slowly, simply burst onto the scene out of thin air.