Don’t Just Dream; Have a Midsummer Night of Shakespeare

With the delightful and sexy Oscar-winning “Shakespeare in Love” (Miramax) making its long-awaited video debut this week, it’s the perfect time to visit film adaptations of the Bard’s work.

Miramax, for example, has just debuted Shakespeare’s beloved fantasy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on tape. But this is not the recent theatrical version starring Kevin Kline and Michelle Pfeiffer. This new release is a BBC TV movie adaptation starring Alex Jennings, Lindsay Duncan, Desmond Barrit and Barry Lynch.

The best film version of “Midsummer” is the 1935 Warner Bros. all-star extravaganza (MGM, $20) starring James Cagney, Mickey Rooney, Dick Powell, Joe E. Brown and in her movie debut, Olivia de Havilland. Though it creaks a bit here and there, the film is joyously directed by Max Reinhardt and William Dieterle. Winner of Oscars for cinematography and editing, this hit was also nominated for best film of the year.

Sir Peter Hall directed members of the Royal Shakespeare Company in a fun 1968 television version of “Midsummer” (Water Bearer and Warner, $25), which aired in America on CBS. The wonderful cast includes David Warner, Diana Rigg, Judi Dench, Ian Holm and Helen Mirren.

Woody Allen pays tribute to Shakespeare, as well as Jean Renoir and Ingmar Bergman, in his 1982 comedic romp “A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy” (Warner). The farce chronicles the comedic escapades of a group of friends who have gathered at a country house. Mary Steenburgen, Jose Ferrer, Tony Roberts, Julie Hagerty and Mia Farrow, in her first film with Allen, also star.

Shakespeare plays have also been transformed into popular Broadway musicals, the most famous being Cole Porter’s “Kiss Me Kate,” which was adapted from “The Taming of the Shrew.” MGM’s venerable musical director George Sidney directed the classy 1953 movie version of “Kiss Me Kate” (MGM), which stars Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Bob Fosse and Bobby Van. The delicious Porter score includes “So in Love,” “Too Darn Hot,” “From This Moment On” and “Wunderbar.” Originally shot in 3-D.

The late great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s masterful 1957 classic “Throne of Blood” (Home Vision, $40) is based on the Bard’s Scottish play “Macbeth.” The tragedy of power, murder and greed, though, is set in medieval Japan and the samurai world. Beautifully shot and truly frightening, “Throne of Blood” is powered by the performances of Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada and Takashi Shimura.

Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” has even been blasted into outer space with the clever 1956 sci-fi adventure “Forbidden Planet” (MGM, $15). This time around, a spaceship travels to a distant planet to discover what happened to the members of a previous mission. Greeted by Robby the Robot, the crew learns that a mysterious, invisible monster has killed all the colonists save for a scientist and his daughter. Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon and Anne Francis star.

Director Paul Mazursky went the Shakespeare route with his loose version “The Tempest” (Columbia TriStar, $15). In this so-so 1982 comedy-drama, John Cassavetes plays a New York architect who is tired of the rat race and takes his young daughter (Molly Ringwald) to live with him on an isolated Greek island. Gena Rowlands, Susan Sarandon and Raul Julia also star.