Restoring A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Germany, 1925/U.S., 1928)

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (Germany, 1925/U.S., 1928), which has its Los Angeles restoration premiere this Saturday, April 6, 2024 at the UCLA Festival of Preservation, was long considered lost until a nitrate print was discovered in Oregon in 2010, buried under a cellar and coated in machine oil.
The UCLA Film & Television Archive, with help from fellow archivists in Germany and Austria, augmented this North American release print with film fragments, stills and the original German intertitles for a hybrid restoration. A new 35mm negative and a new 35mm polyester print of the restoration are now conserved in our vaults for posterity, as well as the nitrate print that was found.
This silent adaptation of the Shakespeare play will be presented digitally with live musical accompaniment by Cliff Retallick 🎹
Free admission! Details: cinema.ucla.edu/festival
Restoration funded by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. Restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation from a 35mm nitrate silent tinted print. Laboratory services by Roundabout Entertainment, Inc. and FotoKem. Special thanks to Oliver Hanley, Henry Esau.

[@robatsea2009]

Again, just jaw-dropping quality in the restoration - even more so given the conditions of how the print was discovered. Given the volatility of nitrate were any special safety measures required in handling it?

[@rockinyouallnight]

And how can we see the entire newly restored film?

[@UCLAFTVArchive]

Hi! "A Midsummer Night's Dream" will screen at our UCLA Festival of Preservation this Saturday, April 6, and any theater that requests a booking. It has not been picked up for home video distribution at this time. If it does get a release, we'll announce it on our social media channels @UCLAFTVArchive and email newsletter.