Othello
|
Our Price: $66.33 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $42.90 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of Othello
Movie Review: Great Adaptation--Wonderful Cast
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Excellent, I Beseech You
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Great Acting
Summary: 5 Stars
I've always been a fan of Kenneth Branagh and both his acting and directing abilities. However, in the film interpretation of "Othello," I was blown away by how well he fit the role of Iago. In the play, Iago has to be two-faced all the time. He shows one side of him to one person, and another side to another. In the film, Iago works very hard to keep up his appearance with all the different characters. No character sees more than one side of him, and his plots are kept to himself. Iago is an actor, and Branagh had to perform his part and I think he did it incredibly. While talking to Othello, his facial reactions would visibly change when Othello looked the other way; the audience saw glimpses of Iago's true motives, but they were always hidden from Othello. It was incredible how quickly the transition from a sinister expression to a loving and loyal expression was made. In one scene, Iago and Othello are hugging, and Iago's face reflects contempt as soon as his face is beside Othello's face. Iago's changes aren't simply when Othello is around, but the changes are the same for when Iago deals with Roderigo. In the scenes with Roderigo, Iago has to perform doubly hard because he's being partially truthful with Iago. He's showing part of his true motives, but he still has to hide them to some extent to convince Roderigo to do his bidding. The scenes between Branagh and Michael Maloney probably impressed me the most. Roderigo may have been gullible or easily convinced, but Iago was still convincing and persuasive enough to move Roderigo from absolute hatred and distrust to absolute loyalty and thankfulness. In one scene, Roderigo is threatening to kill Iago and by the end of the scene, they're hugging and Iago can barely convince Roderigo to leave his side.
The biggest change that Iago undergoes is when he is caught. In the end of the play, when Emilia finally recognizes what has happened, Iago's facial expressions finally become flat and unwavering. He puts on a stoic face and remains that way into his death. He no longer has to convince anyone of anything because they all know the truth, so he doesn't give anyone any idea of what he's thinking and doesn't talk or change his appearance. This scene left a lasting impression on me, even when he was telling Emilia to be wise or when he was killing her, there is no change in his facial expression.
Overall, I was impressed with the movie. I enjoyed the acting from all the characters (not just Branagh), and I'm sure I'd enjoy watching it repeatedly.
Movie Review: A rebuttal of the New Yorker review
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Fishburne Good, But Kenneth Branagh Better In This Remake.
Summary: 5 Stars
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.