Search - The Shakespeare Collection: Othello (1965) [Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Joyce Redman, Frank Finlay, Derek Jacobi; Stuart Burge]; A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) [James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, Mickey Rooney, Joe E. Brown; Max Reinhardt; Felix Men on DVD

The Shakespeare Collection Othello A Midsummer Night's Dream James Cagney Olivia de Havilland Mickey Rooney Joe E Brown Max Reinhardt Felix Men 1965 Actors: Kenneth Branagh Gerard Depardieu Robin Williams Rufus Sewell Kate Winslett, Julie Christie Billy Crystal Charlton Heston Derek Jacobi Jack Lemmon, James Cagney Joe E. Brown Dick Powell Jean Muir Victor Jory Verree Teasdale Ross Alexander, Hugh Herbert Anita Louise Frank McHugh Mickey Rooney Olivia De Havilland Ian Hunter, Norma Shearer Leslie Howard John Barrymore Basil Rathbone Directors: Max Reinhardt, George Cukor, Kenneth Branagh, Stuart Burge 11hr 10min 5 DVD's; Here are four high-profile productions. Extra features and gorgeous prints make this a valuable release. Romeo and Juliet is a lavish if heavily trimmed treatment of the play. Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer are ...  more »full of passionate fervor, though they are a little old for the roles; John Barrymore, as Mercutio, works up an antic, sarcastic energy. The lavish sets and costumes are wonderful. Director George Cukor does well with the central romantic pulse, and the film zips right along, proving the durability of a well-built story. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a moon-dappled folly based on Max Reinhardt's smash stage production. It's dazzling to look at, with sparkles and fairies in every corner of the frame. Olivia de Havilland is magical, and James Cagney and Joe E. Brown make a fine Pyramus and Thisby, but the unstoppable performance is by 14-year-old Mickey Rooney as Puck, whose feral mockery of the other action makes him a little postmodern imp before his time. This is a production that's as much a tribute to the high studio era as it is to Shakespeare. Othello faithfully captures Laurence Olivier's stage performance of Othello; it is shot on plain sets and uses the stage cast. This film preserves Olivier's volcanic turn, a fascinating example of a performer building a performance not organically but with layer upon layer of effects until he reaches his breaking point. Frank Finlay's Iago, Maggie Smith's Desdemona, and Joyce Redman's Emilia are excellent. Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet presents Shakespeare's greatest text uncut. The elaborate production is marvelous and the entire cast is a consistent delight. Experienced Shakespearians such as Derek Jacobi and Richard Briers thrive, but so do Julie Christie and Kate Winslet. Branagh is one of the great Hamlet's of his time. Billy Crystal and Jack Lemmon are surprisingly good, Charlton Heston is an inspired choice as the Player King, and the rest of the cast is superb.  « less

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Movie Details Actors: Kenneth Branagh Gerard Depardieu Robin Williams Rufus Sewell Kate Winslett, Julie Christie Billy Crystal Charlton Heston Derek Jacobi Jack Lemmon, James Cagney Joe E. Brown Dick Powell Jean Muir Victor Jory Verree Teasdale Ross Alexander, Hugh Herbert Anita Louise Frank McHugh Mickey Rooney Olivia De Havilland Ian Hunter, Norma Shearer Leslie Howard John Barrymore Basil Rathbone Directors: Max Reinhardt, George Cukor, Kenneth Branagh, Stuart Burge Format: DVD Run Time: 11hr 10min Number of Discs: 5 SwapaDVD Credits: 5 Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 3 Similar Movies Romeo And Juliet 1968 Director: Various 2    PG   2013   2hr 19min A Midsummer Night's Dream Directors: Max Reinhardt, William Dieterle 7    NR   2007   2hr 13min Smilin' Through Director: Sidney Franklin ?    NR   2014   1hr 37min Romeo Juliet 66    PG   2000   2hr 18min William Shakespeare's Romeo Juliet Director: Baz Luhrmann 148    PG-13   1999   2hr 0min Marie Antoinette Director: Julien Duvivier W.S. Van Dyke ?    NR   2013   2hr 37min Julius Caesar Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz 10    NR   2006   2hr 0min Shakespeare - The Winter's Tale / Royal Shakespeare Company Barbican Theatre 1    NR   2005   2hr 50min

Member Movie Reviews K. K. (GAMER) Reviewed on 2/11/2023... A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) - Quite a production!