Direct amplitude and phase shaping of mid-infrared femtosecond pulses is realized with a calomel-based acousto-optic programmable dispersive filter transparent between 0.4 and $20\mathrm{\mu m}$ . The shaped pulse electric field is fully characterized with high accuracy, using chirped-pulse upconversion and time-encoded arrangement spectral phase interferometry for direct electric field reconstruction techniques. Complex mid-infrared pulse shapes at a center wavelength of $4.9\mathrm{\mu m}$ are generated with a spectral resolution of $14{\mathrm{cm}}^{-1}$ , which exceeds by a factor of 5 the reported experimental resolutions of calomel-based filters.