Ein Sommernachtstraum (1925)
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Directors
Cast
Theodor Becker, Paul Günther, Charlotte Ander, André Mattoni, Barbara von Annenkoff, Hans Albers, Werner Krauß, Lori Leux
A modernist reworking of Shakespeare’s classical plot, complete with anarchic twists and a gender-swapped fairy king.
The story
Neumann’s film loosely follows the basic plot of Shakespeare’s original while reshaping its classical material with modernist touches and anarchic ideas. Theseus uses a telephone, and a battle scene pits Greek warriors against an Amazon army. At several points, the actors step out of their roles and appear to improvise. The fairy king Oberon is played by Tamara Geva, a 17-year-old Russian dancer, rather than by a man. The source describes these choices as loosening the classical material and potentially provoking audiences who prefer conventional views.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
While loosely following Shakespeare’s original in its basic plot, Neumann’s film features all sorts of modernist touches—Theseus, for example, uses a telephone—and anarchic ideas, such as a battle scene between Greek warriors and an Amazon army. These loosen up the classical material and may be understood as provocative by an audience that prefers conventional views. On several occasions, the actors step out of their roles and seem to improvise in those moments. The fairy king Oberon is played not, as is usual, by a man, but by a woman: Tamara Geva (1907–1997), the 17-year-old Russian dancer and wife of George Balanchine at the time of filming.
Genres
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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