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
Orson WellesOthello
Suzanne CloutierDesdemona
Micheál MacLiammóirIago
Michael LawrenceMichael Cassio
Fay ComptonEmilia
Doris DowlingBianca
Hilton EdwardsBrabantio
Joan FontainePage Boy
Joseph CottenSenator
Robert CooteRoderigo

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

Mercury Productions

Name

Mogador Films

Distributor (Hire)

Name

BFI Film Bookings Unit

Email
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 05 Dec 2024)