Othello

Audience Reviews

View All (88) audience reviews

William L Orson Welles brings his own unique acting intensity to a classic role. Not as influential as some of his better publicized work, but still well worth the watch. Liammóir as Iago is a particularly solid casting choice. (4/5) Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/09/20 Full Review Audience Member Between 2.5 and 3. Kenneth Branagh was cleverer when he assigned a good actor (no matter it was himself) to Iago, the really interesting character in the play. MacLiammoir is not bad, but not enough to maintain an interest. It seems Welles could have done brighter changing roles. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Although Welles' Othello puts forth a very serviceable reading of the Bard's tragedy of jealousy, the real magic here lies in the circumstances of its production and the way that Welles welded together diverse elements (with string and bits of sealing wax) to create an alternate reality that never really existed except in the minds of the viewer. Shot variously in Morocco, Venice, and other parts of Italy, it would be impossible to create a map that links the various locations together. Yet, miraculously, the film feels whole, in glorious black and white with Welles' eye for the wondrous shot in fine form. Of course, it is the editing that keeps the disparate parts together, with shots and counter-shots apparently filmed years apart in different locations, and sometimes the cutting is fast and furious (but never less than astounding). The acting can be variable (Suzanne Cloutier seems a weak Desdemona - and, apparently, she was dubbed for the 1955 version, re-edited by Welles for the US release) but somehow Welles (as Othello) and Michael MacLiammoir (as Iago) pressed on, even when other members of the cast were absent (and shot with doubles from behind). If all this sounds like it might distract one from Shakespeare's words, well, yes and no - the tragedy is still terrible (with Iago cruelly convincing pitiful Othello that innocent Desdemona has cheated on him), even with Welles' condensing, but the amazing spectacle of the production itself creates the most awe. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Great direction by Orson Welles, and goes to show not only how much he understands the difficult source material but also how creative he can be in taking liberties with it. He adds another realm of sense with the visuals and solid lead performances. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member 10 out of 10: Even with a low budget, this adaptation of Othello is still captivating with direction, sets, and acting. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review s r Welles once again impresses with a limited budget. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Othello

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW