Othello

source: Othello

Trailer—The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice

The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice

The movie starts with the scene after the events of the story. Without dialogue, we see the doomed Othello and Desdemona in a funeral procession, while Iago is placed in a suspended cage as punishment for his crimes. A powerful scene-but unfortunately the depiction of the story fails. The fatal error was the fact that while the dark visuals are impressive, I found the dialogue literally impossible to understand, let alone follow. This made the story genuinely impossible to follow- and the story did not even seem to much follow the original Shakespeare play. I cannot comment on how the original film might have been, but the restoration is a failure.

I love Shakespeare and learned to appreciate it from about aged 11. There are several fine adaptations based on his work, and for me this 1952 Othello is one of the best. The play is not my favourite from Shakespeare but it is a compelling one. The film does a lot of justice to the play and succeeds marvellously on its own merits. All the crucial scenes are done very well, especially the very intense and moving final scene, the dialogue is outstanding and the music compliments the film perfectly. Where this Othello really excels is in the superb direction from Orson Welles and the wonderful cinematography, costumes and settings complete with moody lighting. In terms of acting, Welles is extraordinary as Othello, Desdemona is appropriately poignant and delicate with evidence of intensity and Michael MacLiammoir is wonderful as the slimy and conniving irredeemable villain of the piece that is Iago. All in all, a brilliant film. 10/10 Bethany Cox

The power of Welles performance should make anyone not already an admirer stand up and take notice. The dark, brooding nature of Welles character sets the tone throughout this film. Each of the prominent characters seems to feed off this intensity, making each the better for it. The spartan sets and excellent use of lighting add to this powerful delivery making the words feel true and soul wrenching. I think this production could have been played out on a bare stage and still be regarded as a fine work, the dialogue and delivery is of such fine caliber. "The Moor of Venice" is a fine example of Orson Welles vast talents as a performer and director and should not be missed.

The re-release in the early 1990s of Orson Welles' cut-and-paste Shakespeare tragedy was greeted by near unanimous critical acclaim, but all the belated comparisons to 'Citizen Kane' couldn't hide the desperate circumstances under which the film was made. Welles himself gave an impressive, suitably moody performance in the title role, but all his efforts were undone by too many budget restrictions (consecutive scenes were sometimes shot years apart), leaving only a flimsy shadow of what could have been another masterpiece. Visually, the film highlights all the trademark eccentricities of its director, including some ostentatious, imitation Gregg Toland cinematography. But the shoddy editing and poorly recorded sound track diminish the impact and beauty of Shakespeare's language, and the occasional flash of brilliance isn't enough to salvage yet another compelling failure from a wayward genius.

I've always been an admirer of Welles movies, starting with citizen Kane and the other masterpieces. Considering Othello, I highly admired this movie since the first shot, when the face of the dead Othello appears suddenly in the dark, and then the other details begin to appear, revealing the awesome funeral of both Othello and his murdered wife. In fact the best thing about this movie is the synchronization of the camera movement and angles with the state of mind and moods of characters especially that of Othello. Sometimes we are actually looking at the world through Othello's mind, the images are bizarre and grotesque, this is accompanies by wonderful acting of the cast. For any Welles fan this is a must see, considering the beauty of picture and creativity of interpretation. It's a pity that Welles didn't have a sufficient financial support to surpass some technical problems although the final effect and meaning of this masterpiece is not affected at all!

Orson Welles' short, low-budget, and in places fairly odd look at Shakespeare's play. It suffers from some stage-bound performances which don't quite work (Micheal MacLiammoir as Iago, Robert Coote as Rodrigo) plus an undefined Desdemona from Suzanne Cloutier. However, this aside, Welles is marvellous as the Moor driven to jealousy and murder, his voice rolling through the meat of Othello's speeches, his bronze make-up creating a skin for the great general. For this performance alone the film is valuable. And it looks absolutely fantastic, springing off from its financial limitations and adding a new dimension to the often-told story.

I must be one of the few who saw this film (more than once!) before it vanished in the 60's. I saw it on TV in the last 50's, and later brought it to the small college where I was teaching 63-65. Though heavily cut and more than a little rearranged, it is one of the very finest of Shakespeare films. Performances are generally excellent and unified in style and diction. Welles, or course, is magnificent. Anyone who thinks he was never anything but a self-parodying ham has not seen this film. One could wish than MacLiammoir had had more overt FUN as Iago, who does what he does, in part at least, in an attempt to stimulate himself out of his blunted affect. The film also has some of the finest black-and-white cinematography of all time, and uses architecture in a unique and effective way.