The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice (1952)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Orson Welles

Writer:

William Shakespeare (play)

Release Date:

June 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Powerful drama of uncontrolled human emotion!

Plot:

Durante il periodo delle Repubbliche Marinare, in Italia, Otello, detto "il moro di Venezia", viene...

Plot Keywords:

Mistrust Of Wife | Directed By Star | Moor | Shakespeare's Othello | Interracial Romance

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Orson Welles	...	Othello
Micheál MacLiammóir	...	Iago
Robert Coote	...	Roderigo
Suzanne Cloutier	...	Desdemona
Hilton Edwards	...	Brabantio
Nicholas Bruce	...	Lodovico
Michael Laurence	...	Michael Cassio
Fay Compton	...	Emilia
Doris Dowling	...	Bianca

Also Known As:

Othello (Australia) (France) (USA)
Otello (Italy)

Runtime:

90 min | USA:93 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA | Italy | France | Morocco

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (re-release) | Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Italy:T | Australia:G | Finland:K-12 (1967) | Finland:S (1967) | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Castle, El Jadida, Morocco

Company:

Mercury Productions

Trivia:

Welles had another actress, Gudrun Ure, dub all dialogue of Suzanne Cloutier.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: There was once in Venice a moor, Othello, who for his merits is the affairs of war was held in great esteem. It happened that he fell in love with a young and noble lady called Desdemona, who drawn by his virtue became equally enamoured of Othello...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Edge of Outside (2006)

Great movie from Welles

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!