''Le Songe d'une nuit d'été'' (''A Midsummer Night's Dream'') is a French TV film from 1969. It is based on '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, and was directed by Jean-Christophe Averty.

Action

The four lovers Hermia ( Christine Delaroche), Helena (

Claude Jade Claude Marcelle Jorré, better known as Claude Jade (; 8 October 1948 – 1 December 2006), was a French actress. She starred as Christine in François Truffaut's three films '' Stolen Kisses'' (1968), '' Bed and Board'' (1970) and '' Love on th ...

), Lysander (Michel Ruhl), and Demetrius (Dominique Serina) have fled to a forest near Athens to escape from their parents' marriage plans. The situation is a bad one, because Helena's beloved Demetrius is in love with Hermia. Since Helena wants to win over Demetrius, she reveals the escape plan. The four wander through the thicket in the kingdom of the elves. There, the elf couple Oberon (

Jean-Claude Drouot Jean Claude Drouot (born 17 December 1938) is a Belgian actor whose career has lasted over a half-century. At the age of twenty-five, he gained widespread fame in the French-speaking world as a result of portraying the title role in the popular ...

) and Titania (Christiane Minazzoli) are arguing furiously. Hoping to solve the lovers' romantic problems, the spirit Puck drops a magical potion into the eyes of the young man he believes to be Demetrius. The potion's effect is to make the man fall in love with the first being he sees upon awaking. But Puck is mistaken: the sleeping man was Lysander. Now both Lysander and Demetrius are competing for the same woman, Hermia, who previously nobody had loved. Hermia's jealousy is reawakened. Standing between the envious Hermia and her amorous suitors, Helena begins to despair. While the young people argue, a troupe of craftsmen become lost in the woods. The magical potion is applied to the sleeping Titania in order to play a trick on her: she falls in love with Bottom, one of the lost troupe, who has been magically given a donkey's head. Oberon ends the general confusion by sending the quartet of Athenian lovers to sleep again ...

Background

''Le Songe d'une nuit d'été'' is an early work of video art. Director Jean-Christophe Averty, who was at the time the most successful TV director in France, had his actors, who were mostly internationally known movie stars like

, Christine Delaroche,

and

Marie Versini Marie Versini (10 August 1940 – 22 November 2021) was a French film and television actress. Career Versini appeared in several international cinema productions. After playing in Karl May film adaptations she received a number of German popula ...

, perform in front of a blue screen. The Athenian forest and the palace are conjured up by a mixture of frescoes and psychedelic colours. At the same time, the relative sizes of the actors are changed, so that for example they can walk in front of a closeup of their partner, or appear to walk out of paintings on vases. Averty exploited all of the technical tricks that were available at the time. The troupe of craftsmen includes the comedy duo

Michel Modo Michel Modo (born Michel Henri Louis Goi; 30 March 1937 - 25 September 2008) was a French actor and humorist. Modo died of cancer on 25 September 2008 in Vaires-sur-Marne (Seine-et-Marne). Career He is best known in France for having formed in ...

and

Guy Grosso Guy Grosso (19 August 1933–2001) was a French actor and humorist. Guy Grosso was the pseudonym of Guy Marcel Sarrazin. He was probably best known as half of Grosso and Modo (together with Michel Modo). Selected filmography *''La Belle Amér ...

, who are best known as Berlicot and Tricart from The Troops of St. Tropez-films with

Louis de Funès Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (; 31 July 1914 – 27 January 1983) was a French actor and comedian. He is France's favourite actor, according to a series of polls conducted since the late 1960s, having played over 150 roles in fil ...

Critical reception

Maurice Clavel from the ''Nouvel Observateur'' celebrated the work as a perfectly harmonious and aesthetic piece, and compared the ecstasy of images with a galaxy. He counted the fast-paced performance of the actress Claude Jade as Helena as another miracle of the movie. ''Le Monde'' called the TV movie a "masterpiece", and ''France Soir'' called it an epoch-making date and a revolution in the history of direction. Responding to the premiere on German TV, a critic at WDR remarked: "Rather than being accused of having too few ideas, Averty has created a colourful phantasmagoria against which categories like arts, crafts, or kitsch fail."

Cast

: Helena * Christine Delaroche: Hermia *

: Oberon * Christiane Minazzoli: Titania * Michel Ruhl: Lysander * Dominique Serina: Demetrius *

: Hippolita *

Benoît Allemane Benoît Allemane (born 28 December 1942) is a French actor who specializes in dubbing. He is the official French dub-over voice of Morgan Freeman. According to IMDb, he also provided the voice of King Harkinian in '' Link: The Faces of Evil''. ...

: Theseus *

Henri Virlojeux Henri Virlogeux (22 March 1924 – 19 December 1995) was a French actor. He is known for "The 400 Blows" (1959), "Les rois maudits" (1972) and "Schulmeister, espion de l'empereur" (1971). He was married to Véronique Silver. He died on December 19, ...

: Egeus * Michel Tureau: Puck *

Michel Muller Michel Muller (born 9 September 1966) is a French actor, screenwriter and director. He is most recently known for playing Charles VIII of France in the television series ''The Borgias''. Biography Michel Muller was born 1966 in Vienna, Austri ...

: Bottom *

: Flute *

: Quinze

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Midsummer Night's Dream Films based on A Midsummer Night's Dream French comedy films 1960s French films