Othello (1995)

Great Adaptation--Wonderful Cast
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...

A passionate production
While the Orson Welles version is interesting both for its visual elements and fact that it was made over several years due to financial constraints, it does not match the passion and accessibility of the Fishburne-Branagh production.

Branagh's Iago is the soul of charming evil, while Fishburne's Othello is deeply moving as a man struggling against a jealousy that ultimately overwhelms him.

A third performance that rates special mention is that of Desdemona's maid (a fine actress whose name I do not recall). Although this character has virtually no lines for more than the first half of the film, she adds a sad, cynical counterpoint to Desdemona's romantic idealism.

Also, the production values--the setting, cinematography, and costumes--are excellent and serve the film well.

Branagh Shines
Kenneth Branagh was amazing in Henry V, playing a beloved and heroic character. He delighted as the witty, comical Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. How could this same man play one of the most diabolical characters every written in the English language? Just look at the guy, he's a pleasant, fair-haired man.

Branagh astonished me with the ease with which he plays a duplicitous, conniving villain. Playing off his nice guy image, the audience hates him all the more when he as Iago plays the nice guy, while secretly hatching evil schemes. In the asides, where he reveals his true dark nature to the audience alone, he is positively chilling.

Mr. Fishbourne is solid, but overpowered by Branagh. Fishbourne is far more convincing than previous actors playing Othello. His commanding presence and body of violent films help us see him as a war-weary General. In fairness, Iago almost always outshines Othello as a character - - unless the character playing Othello also directs...

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