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A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Fantasy · Romance · Comedy · 1935

Four young people escape Athens to a forest where the king and queen of the fairies are quarreling, while meanwhile, a troupe of amateur actors rehearses a play. When the fairy Puck uses a magic flower to make people fall in love, the whole thing becomes a little bit confused...

Movie details

A Midsummer Night's Dream

“Three Centuries In The Making! An immortal literary classic becomes a triumph of the ages!”

1935 Fantasy · Romance · Comedy 2h 23m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

Four young people escape Athens to a forest where the king and queen of the fairies are quarreling, while meanwhile, a troupe of amateur actors rehearses a play. When the fairy Puck uses a magic flower to make people fall in love, the whole thing becomes a little bit confused...

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over A Midsummer Night's Dream?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Babes in Toyland

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The Gnome-Mobile

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A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits

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A contemporary musical version of the classic Cinderella story in which the servant step daughter hope to compete in a musical competition for a famous pop star.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

William Dieterle · Max Reinhardt

Written by

Mary C. McCall, Jr. · Charles Kenyon

Ian Hunter

Ian Hunter

Theseus

Verree Teasdale

Verree Teasdale

Hippolyta

Hobart Cavanaugh

Hobart Cavanaugh

Philostrate

Dick Powell

Dick Powell

Lysander

Ross Alexander

Ross Alexander

Demetrius

Olivia de Havilland

Olivia de Havilland

Hermia

Jean Muir

Jean Muir

Helena

Court is in session

Put A Midsummer Night's Dream on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.