7.3/10
274
3 user 1 critic

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1959)

Sen noci svatojánské (original title)
| Animation , Comedy , Fantasy | 25 September 1959 (Czechoslovakia)
A Midsummer Night's Dream Poster
The first puppet kinescope in the world. It is based on the famous poetic comedy by William Shakespeare. Three worlds meet in this story: the noble world of three Athens couples, a common ... See full summary »

Director:

Jirí Trnka

Writers:

Jirí Brdecka, Josef Kainar | 3 more credits »

Stars:

Joss Ackland, Ann Bell, Richard Burton | See full cast & crew »
Reviews
1 win & 1 nomination. See more awards »

Photos

Add Image Add an image

Do you have any images for this title?
Learn more

More Like This 













◄ Prev 6 Next 6 ►

Next »
Ruka (1965)
Animation | Short | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

A delicate and secluded ceramist sees his orderly life turn upside down, when a gigantic hand in a white glove invades his space, demanding that a sculpture of itself is made. When will the hand's obstinate demands stop?

Director: Jirí Trnka

Next »
Staré povesti ceské (1953)
Animation | Fantasy | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

Excellent stop-motion animation film from one of the best Czech filmmakers, Jirí Trnka. It tells the ancient story of Czechoslovakia, how it was founded by Czech, the Forefather, and a ... See full summary »

Director: Jirí Trnka
Stars: Zdenek Stepánek, Eduard Kohout, Karel Höger
Next »
Bajaja (1950)
Adventure | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

Bayaya, a young peasant, protected by the spirit of his dead mother, arrives at the castle of the King, where he entertains his three daughters. He soon realizes that the three princesses ... See full summary »

Director: Jirí Trnka
Stars: Detsky pevecky sbor Jana Kuhna
Next »
La chute de la maison Usher (1928)
Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

Allan visits the sinister Usher family mansion, where his friend Roderick is painting a portrait of his sickly wife Madeline. The portrait seems to be draining the life out of Madeline, slowly leading to her death.

Director: Jean Epstein
Stars: Jean Debucourt, Marguerite Gance, Charles Lamy
Next »
Spalicek (1947)
Animation
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  
Director: Jirí Trnka

Next »
Hamlet I (1964)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

The highly successful 1964 Richard Burton Broadway production of "Hamlet", deliberately staged in the style of a "dress rehearsal", but performed in front of a live audience.

Directors: Bill Colleran, John Gielgud
Stars: Richard Burton, Hume Cronyn, Alfred Drake
Next »
Nezha nao hai (1979)
Adventure | Animation | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

Tells the fable from Chinese mythology about the young warrior Zezha who takes on a group of evil dragons.

Directors: Shuchen Wang, Jingda Xu, and 1 more credit »
Stars: Ke Bi, Banjô Ginga, Daisuke Gôri
Next »
Ice Palace (1960)
Adventure | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

After WW1, Zeb and Thor start a cannery business in Alaska but eventually they drift apart with Zeb becoming unscrupulous and Thor becoming involved in Alaskan politics.

Director: Vincent Sherman
Stars: Richard Burton, Robert Ryan, Martha Hyer
Next »
Chronopolis (1982)
Animation | Drama | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

Weary immortals inhabit a metropolis in the sky and amuse themselves with constructions as they kill time and await whatever comes next.

Director: Piotr Kamler
Stars: Michael Lonsdale
Next »
Baron Prásil (1962)
Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

The outrageous Baron Munchausen tells of his many adventures, from meeting the Man in the Moon to defeating a Turkish army all by himself.

Director: Karel Zeman
Stars: Milos Kopecký, Rudolf Jelínek, Jana Brejchová
Next »
Dead Leaves (2004)
Animation | Action | Adventure
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

Two awaken on Earth with no recollection of their past and embark on a devastating crime spree but are sent to an infamous lunar penitentiary named Dead Leaves.

Director: Hiroyuki Imaishi
Stars: Kappei Yamaguchi, Takako Honda, Yûko Mizutani
Next »
The Blood of a Poet (1932)
Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

A young artist draws a face at a canvas on his easel. Suddenly the mouth on the drawing comes into life and starts talking. The artist tries to wipe it away with his hand, but when he looks... See full summary »

Director: Jean Cocteau
Stars: Enrique Rivero, Elizabeth Lee Miller, Pauline Carton
Edit

Cast

Credited cast:
Joss Ackland ... Quince (voice)
Ann Bell ... Hermia (voice)
Richard Burton ... Narrator
Tom Criddle Tom Criddle ... Lysander (voice)
Jean Desailly ... Récitant / Narrator (French version) (voice)
Laura Graham Laura Graham ... Hippolyta (voice)
Jack Gwillim ... Oberon (voice)
Barbara Jefford ... Titania (voice)
Barbara Leigh-Hunt ... Helena (voice)
Hugh Manning Hugh Manning ... Theseus (voice)
Alec McCowen ... Bottom (voice)
Michael Meacham Michael Meacham ... Demetrius (voice)
Stephen Moore Stephen Moore ... Flute (voice)
Rudolf Pellar ... Narrator (original Czech version) (as R. Pellar)
Roger Shepherd Roger Shepherd ... Puck (voice)
See full cast »
Edit

Storyline

The first puppet kinescope in the world. It is based on the famous poetic comedy by William Shakespeare. Three worlds meet in this story: the noble world of three Athens couples, a common popular world of tradesmen amateur theatre and a fairy-tale happiness of magic creatures as elves and nymphs. The film is considered the most remarkable Jirí Trnka's work and a milestone in the history of the world animation. Written by KrátkýFilm

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

puppet | stop motion animation | puppet animation | foreign language adaptation | stop motion | See All (7) »

Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

Certificate:

See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

Add content advisory for parents »
Edit

Details

Country:

Czechoslovakia

Language:

Czech

Release Date:

25 September 1959 (Czechoslovakia) See more »

Also Known As:

A Midsummer Night's Dream See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Studio Kresleného a Loutkového Filmu See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See full technical specs »
Edit

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of A Midsummer Night's Dream (2010) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

A Stop-Motion Masterpiece
6 April 2000 | by laughingegg – See all my reviews

In my opinion Czech puppet animator JIRI TRNKA outdid himself when he created this version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream".This film's aesthetic beauty is only superceded by it's technical excellence for clearly TRNKA had moved away from his earlier techniques and developed a new one.

In his film "The Emperor's Nightingale" the puppets were silent, as actors were silent in the days before talkies. But in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" the puppet's were silent in the way that actors in mime, or ballet dancers are silent.

There was also a basic difference in expression: In the first film the movement was symbolic,in the second, the action was expressed through the language of mime.

All in all... a triumph of stop-motion cinema.

Steve Weber The Laughing Egg Studio
8 of 11 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 3 user reviews »
Getting Started | Contributor Zone »

Contribute to This Page

Stream Trending Movies With Prime Video

Enjoy a night in with these popular movies available to stream now with Prime Video.

Start your free trial


Clear your history

Recently Viewed