Othello (1995)

Fresh and Exciting

The acting in this movie is really good.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Scheming, seduction passion and betrayal. All of the elements of Shakespeare's classic tragedy are here, but they add up to only a rather tepid melodrama thanks to a bland leading lady, a flat supporting cast and the ham-fisted and uninspired direction of Oliver Parker.Thankfully, there's Lawrence Fishburne and Kenneth Branagh. The former skillfully portrays the Moor's decent from charming hero to jealous madman, while the latter deliciously steals the show as the plotting and treacherous Iago. This may not be the best version of 'Othello' put on film, but it's worth watching thanks to the performances of its two leads.

Jealousy and treachery. Othello, through the devious machinations of Iago, is very concerned that his bee-yotch hasn't been faithful. In terms of Shakespearian tragedies Othello is a paradox, Bill's vivid, limber language comes from the mouths of characters who obstinately refuse to communicate directly; strung up as they dance around topics and answer both charges and questions obliquely - suffering a major point: Othello never confirms his conclusions with the suspect (Desdemona). In gravitas and and enacting jealous fits, Fishburne gives an absolutely absurd performance. "Yah-GO!" On the other hand, as Amelia (Mrs. Iago) is sublime. She has a low voice that is gracious and weary, pitying the priveleged dummies who provide her livelihood. I have no thoughts whatsoever about Branagh except that this has the feel of him ticking another role off his Shakespeare checklist. The story arc here is plodding and not particularly engaging.Although Roger Ebert has mocked Charlie Moles score, the melody he provides for the Willow song is transcendent.

This film is violent, prurient, and exploitative. It is unjust. It is needed that a great actor should be Iago, but here in this perfect performance from Kenneth Branagh, we are abused. We are shorted our Othello. The camera lingers on handsome Iago, catches his every thought - but the Moor is more a distant spectacle, meted more thriftily the camera's time and the microphone's. We see him feast, dance, fight, consummate his vows, but we don't get the Promethean heat. Our hero is tormented by salacious visions, unnecessary, over-long, and ineffective. Fishburne is obviously comfortable with Shakespeare and capable of the range of emotions, but he stays too aloof, too formal. He is most tormented by the mere idea of Desi's disloyalty, tbe matter of proof and of her more incriminating acts are de-emphasized, and doubt (of Iago) holds no place. All pathos is Desdemona's and much of hers taken, too. The music is quite good, including Iago's and Desi's songs. Roderigo and Cassio well done. Desdemona has an annoying accent and too much of a single look - very young and innocent. Emilia quite good. The whole doesn't hold together. I love Branagh, I think Fishburne could do better, but Orson Welles is still the standard for Othello, piteous, subtle, a man driven by irresistible suggestion, whereas Fishburne seems willingly to go along, and kills more violently than gently and regretfully. Perhaps it is an unwhitewashed Othello...

Ludwig van Beethoven composed great works by just imagining the music in his mind and then trying to duplicate it on paper. The problem, of course, was that he was deaf and thus couldn't understand the basis of day-to-day life. Either a genius or a lunatic, you decide.Translating Shakespeare into the context of film (a good 300 years apart) takes a degree of Beethoven acting itself. The production must turn a blind eye to the world itself and be obsessed with their work in order to make a satisfactory Shakespeare adaptation. I am tough on Shakespeare versions for this very reason, if the producers have the guts to make one, it better be great.Othello is an interesting combination of teen ideas set in the adult world. For once, a director with some sort of vision is put in charge, and we get a better movie. It's too bad that Oliver Parker hasn't done anything similar because he understands the film and context better than Olivier or Branagh.Laurence Fishburne is particularly interesting as Othello, I find it insulting that he degraded himself with Matrix Reloaded. He knows the rhythm of Shakespeare, so his dialog is better than everyone else. There is Iago (Kenneth Branagh actually doing something constructive with the source material! SHOCKING!), the scurvy friend with too much time to himself. His asides are no different than Matthew Broderick in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and almost as witty. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast (once again) don't get any sympathies from me.The camera is once again blank, torn between wanting to search for something interesting and being bound to the rules of the film world. How many films since The Terminator have used the (in)famous "clenched hands during sex" shot?Overall, a better film version of the Bard. More worthwhile than most, 3 out of 5 stars.