Customer Reviews

Othello [VHS]

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am confused with many of the editorial reviews on the site. This incarnation of Othello is, in my mind, nearly perfect. Sure, it can't encapsulate everything Shakespeare intended, but it stays true to his themes of jealousy, obsession and power, and featured fantastic acting and production values.

What can I say about Othello that hasn't already been said in dozens of dissertations already? As one of the "big four" (Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear and Othello) it has remained a benchmark for tragedies for centuries. Some people might scoff at the film's intent to make Shakespeare accessible to the lay viewer, but it truly doesn't hurt the story or interfere with Shakespeare's always delightful prose. In short, the movie outperforms any preconceived notions one might have.

The cast is wonderful. A pre-Matrix Lawrence Fishburne stars as the Moor, Irene Jakob as Desdemona, and the infallible Kenneth Branaugh as Iago, Shakespeare's most complex and calculating villain. Often in Shakespeare plays, the villain is more interesting than the hero, and that is certainly true here. Branaugh steals every scene he is in with his coldly malevolent performance, and his asides to the audience are drenched in dread and rage. One can nearly pity the man, he comes off as so tortured. It is perhaps the best performance I've ever seen out of an actor, period. Fishburne was pretty much a nobody when the film was made, but that doesn't stop him from holding his own with Brannaugh and churning out the iambic pentameter. He hits his marks very well and is very convincing when it comes to acting with passion. Irene Jakob is not necessarily the choice I would have made for Desdemona. I would have chosen someone with a more coquettish personality. However, the fact that her loyalty is beyond question actually enhances the story by showing how obviously and irrationally jealous Othello becomes.

The production is first-rate. The sets, sounds, costumes, etc. are fantastic. One really gets a you-are-there feeling (as corny as that sounds) by watching the movie. After overstylized (and awful) postmodern Shakespeare interpretations, it is refreshing to see the world as Shakespeare himself envisioned it.

Unfortunately, the approach to involve the lay person does have a single weakness, and that is the excessive sexuality. Can we just take it at someone's word that people are deeply in love and leave something to the imagination? Sexing up Shakespeare (no pun intended) in this way just seems purely sensational, the only really problematic aspect in the film.

There are those who would call Shakespeare the greatest writer and thinker in history and there are those who would call him a hack. Thankfully, those of us in the first category can enjoy this olive branch to the second. Truly entertaining and important, and with a respect for its source and its audience, this Othello is hard to beat.

While the Orson Welles version is interesting both for its visual elements and fact that it was made over several years due to financial constraints, it does not match the passion and accessibility of the Fishburne-Branagh production.

Branagh's Iago is the soul of charming evil, while Fishburne's Othello is deeply moving as a man struggling against a jealousy that ultimately overwhelms him.

A third performance that rates special mention is that of Desdemona's maid (a fine actress whose name I do not recall). Although this character has virtually no lines for more than the first half of the film, she adds a sad, cynical counterpoint to Desdemona's romantic idealism.

Also, the production values--the setting, cinematography, and costumes--are excellent and serve the film well.

The newest version of Othello holds up perfectly well next to its older, more respected counterparts. Kenneth Branagh is perhaps the best Iago ever put on film; his cold, poisonous gaze is truly frightening. Laurence Fishburne handles himself adequately as The Moor (and is, by the way, the first African-American to play the role in a major motion picture). Irene Jacobs struggles some with her lines, English not being her first language, but her wonderful, luminous facial expressions carry her through just fine. The play is not a complete version, having been cut a bit, but most of the trimmings were not of much importance to the plot or characters.

Laurence Fishburne takes over the role owned by THE OTHER FAMOUS Laurence-yes, I'm talking about Laurence Olivier (see my review on HIS performance in the filmed theater production of "Othello")-in this remake done by Oliver Parker (who's he?), featuring Irene Jacob (who's she?) in the role formerly owned by Maggie Smith-YES, THAT Maggie Smith, when she was young and pretty and Shakespearean actor Kenneth Branagh ("Henry V," "Much Ado About Nothing," etc) as the villainous "Honest Iago." I enjoyed the film, but Branagh's sinister performance was what really attracted me to rent this movie on DVD. The R rating "For Sexuality" was very harsh and entirely undeserved. It was ONLY ONE scene (Othello used dialogue from the play) and when he saw her full frontal nudity, it was a wide shot (couldn't you have done a brief close-up of that?), so you only see a brief shot of her right breast and two instances where her nipple is exposed. Should've been PG-13 for brief nudity.

See Olivier's version first, but I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND this version, because of its faithfulness to the text, while taking a few liberties (every movie done from a play by Shakespeare has those) and the acting, ESPECIALLY by Branagh as the ruthless ancient of the Moor, seeking revenge and inciting jealousy to achieve his sinister goal. Shame that he gets his comeuppance. Rated PG-13 for brief nudity.

Kenneth Branagh was amazing in Henry V, playing a beloved and heroic character. He delighted as the witty, comical Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. How could this same man play one of the most diabolical characters every written in the English language? Just look at the guy, he's a pleasant, fair-haired man.

Branagh astonished me with the ease with which he plays a duplicitous, conniving villain. Playing off his nice guy image, the audience hates him all the more when he as Iago plays the nice guy, while secretly hatching evil schemes. In the asides, where he reveals his true dark nature to the audience alone, he is positively chilling.

Mr. Fishbourne is solid, but overpowered by Branagh. Fishbourne is far more convincing than previous actors playing Othello. His commanding presence and body of violent films help us see him as a war-weary General. In fairness, Iago almost always outshines Othello as a character - - unless the character playing Othello also directs (see Orson Welles, Olivier).

The look of the film is rich. The music and moods are well controlled. The supporting actors all do superb jobs in their roles.

The film is very true to Shakespeare's work, although there are a few cuts. In sum, this is an excellent rendition of an old classic. Branagh makes this movie an excellent purchase.

There are people in this world who are some sort of stylistic purists, and even worse, have proclaimed themselves, due to an inexplicable reason (or reasons), defenders of this stylistic purity. Yes, they believe that they have the right (and I have witnessed this with my own eyes before!) to prevent anybody from performing a theatrical work of art in any other way than "it was intended." But these people don't understand, nor are aware of, several important facts. One, the creators of these works, in this case Shakespeare, are . . . dead. (The purists just can't come to terms with that.) We, the living, can perform a work of art any way we want (i.e., Peter Sellars and Mozart operas, etc.), . . . and simply, as is always done, let the audience decide whether the work has any artistic merit. (Sounds simple to me.) Two, a part of its greatness is that a work of art can indeed be performed -- or as the Europeans like to put it, interpreted -- in any way and still maintain artistic integrity. Finally, I would truly like to know how a work of art, in this case a Shakespearean play, should be performed in order to be stylistically "pure." Is it the Ambrose series performances? Really?! I would argue that they, too, aren't stylistically pure, because, they are (1) cinematic performances, NOT theatrical performances, (2) the backdrops are Minimal and not late Renaissance/early Baroque, (3) there's filmscoring . . . Do you see where this discussion is leading to? ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE! The only way to have a "pure" performance is to go back to Shakespeare's time and see it how it was performed then. What a silly argument! What IS far more constructive and important is whether the work of art at hand, in this case Mr. Oliver Parker's production of Shakespeare's "Othello", has artistic merit and is great. And the answer to this is an overwhelming yes.

Director Oliver Parker has adapted Shakespeare's "Othello" to a cinematic production filmed "on location", as it were, as prescribed in the play in Venice and Cypress. Yes, although heavily watered-down, the dialogue loses none of its story, drama nor effectiveness, yet, perhaps, makes this production more attractive to people who might be turned off by the "heavy" Shakespearean English. The acting is superb by the entire cast: Laurence Fishburne is a commanding yet tragic Othello, Irene Jacob is his loyal wife, and Kenneth Branagh, although I am not a big fan of his, makes for a very effective Iago -- SUBTLY evil. Beautifully filmed, scored and acted, this cinematic production is in many ways far more effective than a theatrical production . . . and can certainly withstand any silly criticism from any "stylistically pure" critic. You enjoy.

The staging set the scene well, dark and moody for the dark conspiracy that underlies the plot. Fishburne excels in the role of Othello. I'm sure that future actors in that role will be judged by how well they stand up to Fishburne's portrayal and his skill in making the words come to life. If the rest of the cast had risen to his level, this could have been one of the best ever.

I did not see Branagh's Iago in the same class as Fishburne's Othello, though. The role calls for a smiling traitor, lying to Othello's face and scheming behind his back. Instead, this Iago looks more like a grinning dolt. Irène Jacob's Desdemona lacked passion, as well. Oh, she was passionate enough around the marriage bed, that was fine. She just never projected a convincing emotionality, even under threat of death.

This really is an outstanding production, and maybe I should have given it five stars. So much in it was so good, however, that the flaws seemed especially disappointing.

//wiredweird

As with most Shakespeare tragedies, it is difficult to make the magnificent play "Othello" into a film without making it seeming overly dramatic and haughty. This film is neither,and draws you in from the first scene taking place on a dark night in Venice.

When a director takes on a Shakespeare play, he has a slight advantage in that he already has an incredible stroy to work with that he does not have to (and should not) alter it at all.
The daunting part is finding actors who can play these characters, who have been read about and loved for centuries.
Laurence Fishburne's Othello is more sympathetic and noble than many would imagine the play's Othello to be. This works out nicely, as the viewer feels for Othello the entire time, and fears his downfall. Fishburne makes a remarkable transition in the film, and his love for Desdemona is very convincing.
Desdemona (Irene Jacob) is the picture of innocence and love. Irene Jacob and Laurence Fishburne have a great on-screen connection.
Kenneth Branagh (who plays Iago) brings yet another eye-catching Shakespeare character to the screen. He plays Iago with restrained anger and hate...you can see it bubbling through his calm demeanor.

If you enjoyed this film, you must rent Branagh's other Shakespeare films such as "Much Ado About Nothing" if you are in the mood for a comedy, or "Henry V" for an emotional epic.

Rated R for Sexuality and some violence

I'm writing this to rebut the negative review from the New Yorker magazine.

Oliver Parker has considerably shortened the play, cutting many memorable speeches, with Michael Cassio in particular losing several prime lines. But Othello was written for the stage; the visual richness of the movie was beyond Shakespeare's ken and some of what has been cut was mere scene setting and omitted without loss from a movie shot so gorgeously on location.

The chief accusation, that Othello's actions seem disconnected from their cause, is a claim that can also be made against the uncut play. The loss of lines from Othello's role doesn't create the problem and it exacerbates it only slightly. But Shakespeare understood that preparing Othello's murder of his wife with sufficient motive was both impossible and unimportant; the audience could be persuaded to take on trust what wasn't made explicit. He trusts the audience to understand Iago's motives too, and makes no more than a half-hearted stab at fleshing them out with Iago's confidence about his wife's possible infidelity with the Moor. The whys are unimportant, and being made slightly more perplexing by a reduced script is trivial. Oliver Parker moves us convincingly and engagingly to the heart of the matter: Othello's agonized conflict between love and honor, and its horrific resolution in the murder of Desdemona. The final twenty minutes of the movie, from the putting out of the lights in the bed-chamber, to the sinking of the bodies in the bay, are masterful and compelling, and I have watched them several times over.

Oliver Parker's Othello is a wonderful translation from stage to screen, full of acting and directorial brilliance. Whether like me, you've seen Othello performed many times in many ways, or if this will be your first experience, don't miss it.

This version of Othello is excellently done. The choice of actors is tantalizing, the stage, set by the hand of a masterful Shakespearean director, adds fresh breath to an old script, and the portrayl of Iago by Kenneth Branagh is enough to keep you glued in your chair. Laurence Fishburne is a wonderful choice for Othello. He is graceful, and stunningly beautiful even as he is forced into epelectic fits by the scheming Iago. The combintations of actors portray this film so that even a child could understand what was going on (although it is a very adult content.) The scenes and costuming are superb. A realistic stage is set in the Mediterranean, of earth tones and golden blends that set the mood for a beautiful story. After all of that though, the portrayl of Iago is the best part. He is almost likable through his evilness, and it is all because of Kenneth Branagh. The audience can tell that he has fun in this role and it sets the whole stage on fire. I thouroghly enjoyed this film, even through my tears. I could watch it a hundred times and not loose intrest.