At 205 minutes, this adaptation of Shakespeare's "Othello" is no TV dinner but demands attention as it is a complex tale of jealousy, intrigue and tragedy.
Returning from war, Othello (Anthony Hopkins, in a role originally intended for James Earl Jones) wins the respect of the people and marries his beloved Desdemona (Penelope Wilton). But the scheming of his false friend Iago (Bob Hoskins) threatens all he has fought for...
Bob Hoskins is an excellent Iago, played so much as the Devil Incarnate but as a cunning, almost practical opportunist pulling everyone's strings for his own gain. David Yelland and Anthony Pedley are fine as his dupes Cassio and Roderigo, and Penelope Wilton as serene and innocent as Desdemona.
I profoundly disagree with British Equity not allowing James Earl Jones to take the role of Othello, an idiotic decision at the time that would probably not happen now.
But this takes nothing away from Anthony Hopkins, at least ten years before his star-making turn in "Silence of the Lambs" and giving Othello the full breadth of nobility, vicious jealousy and eventually overpowering guilt. It's a great performance.
Some of the performances are muffled by the poor volume levels on the DVDs, and many good lines and speeches lose some of their power as a result.
Nevertheless, despite it's length, this is still great Shakespeare.
Returning from war, Othello (Anthony Hopkins, in a role originally intended for James Earl Jones) wins the respect of the people and marries his beloved Desdemona (Penelope Wilton). But the scheming of his false friend Iago (Bob Hoskins) threatens all he has fought for...
Bob Hoskins is an excellent Iago, played so much as the Devil Incarnate but as a cunning, almost practical opportunist pulling everyone's strings for his own gain. David Yelland and Anthony Pedley are fine as his dupes Cassio and Roderigo, and Penelope Wilton as serene and innocent as Desdemona.
I profoundly disagree with British Equity not allowing James Earl Jones to take the role of Othello, an idiotic decision at the time that would probably not happen now.
But this takes nothing away from Anthony Hopkins, at least ten years before his star-making turn in "Silence of the Lambs" and giving Othello the full breadth of nobility, vicious jealousy and eventually overpowering guilt. It's a great performance.
Some of the performances are muffled by the poor volume levels on the DVDs, and many good lines and speeches lose some of their power as a result.
Nevertheless, despite it's length, this is still great Shakespeare.