Othello
- Synopsis
- Feature film. Welles’ first European work, shot in fits and starts over four years at various locations in Morocco and Italy, due to lack of finance. This accounts for the inconsistent technical quality, but Welles turned the limitations into strengths. The film slashes the text but the spirit remains wholly Shakespearean.
- Language
- English
- Country
- Morocco
- Medium
- Film
- Technical information
- Black-and-white / Sound
- Year of release
- 1952
- Duration
- 91 mins; 8,157 feet
Credits
- Director
- Orson Welles
- Producer
- Orson Welles
- Cinematographer
- Anchise Brizzi; G.R. Aldo; George Fanto
- Writer
- William Shakespeare
- Screenplay
- Orson Welles
- Music
- Alberto Barberis; Francesca Lavagnino
- Cast
Additional Details
- Production type
- Fiction Films
- Historical period
- Medieval
- Plays
- Othello
- Subjects
- Drama; Shakespeare
- Keywords
- Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
- Related items
- Filming ‘Othello’
- Orson Welles’ Othello Restored
- Put Money in Thy Purse
Notes
- Notes
- A restored version was released in 2003 on VHS and DVD by Second Sight video with the title ORSON WELLES’ OTHELLO.
Birmingham Shakespeare Library holds a typescript. - General
- Welles provided the voice for most of Roderigo’s dialogue. Welles has stated that the Italian Renaissance artist Carpacchio was the source of the costumes and the general aesthetic of the film.
- History
- Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 10 May 1952, where it won the Grand Prix. Released in the United States in June 1955 and in Great Britain February 1956. The actual title of the film is THE TRAGEDY OF OTHELLO: THE MOOR OF VENICE.
- Documentation
- For additional information on the story of Welles’ film, see ‘Put Money in Thy Purse’ by Michael MacLiammoir, Methuen Press, 1952, is recommended.
- Reviews
- Anderegg, Michael. Orson Welles: Shakespeare and Popular Culture (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. (esp. chapter 6, pp 98-122).
Production Company
- Name
Mogador Films
Distributor (Hire)
- Name
BFI Film Bookings Unit
- bookings.films@bfi.org.uk
- Web
- http://www.bfi.org.uk/about-bfi/help-faq/film-bookings External site opens in new window
- Phone
- 020 7957 8938 / 8935
- Address
- 21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN
Distributor (Sale)
- Name
4 Front Video
- Phone
- 020 7079 6000
- Fax
- 020 7079 6524
- Address
- Universal Pictures Video
Prospect House
Third Floor
80-110 New Oxford Street
London
WC1A 1HB
- Name
Retail outlets
How to cite this record
Shakespeare, "Othello". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/15828 (Accessed 19 Sep 2024)