Othello

Plot synopsis:
=== Act I ===
Roderigo, a poor and dissolute gentleman, complains to his friend Iago, an ensign, that Iago has not told him about the secret marriage between Desdemona, the daughter of a Senator named Brabantio, and Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army. Roderigo is upset because he loves Desdemona and had asked her father for her hand in marriage.
Iago hates Othello for promoting a younger man named Cassio above him, whom Iago considers less capable a soldier than himself, and tells Roderigo that he plans to use Othello for his own advantage. Iago convinces Roderigo to wake Brabantio and tell him about his daughter's elopement. Meanwhile, Iago sneaks away to find Othello and warns him that Brabantio is coming for him.
Brabantio, provoked by Roderigo, is enraged and will not rest until he has beheaded Othello, but he finds Othello's residence full of the Duke of Venice's guards, who prevent violence. News has arrived in Venice that the Turks are going to attack Cyprus; therefore Othello is summoned to advise the senators. Brabantio has no option but to accompany Othello to the Duke's residence, where he accuses Othello of seducing Desdemona by witchcraft.
Othello defends himself before the Duke of Venice, Brabantio's kinsmen Lodovico and Gratiano, and various senators. Othello explains that Desdemona became enamoured of him for the sad and compelling stories he told of his life before Venice, not because of any witchcraft. The senate is satisfied, once Desdemona confirms that she loves Othello, but Brabantio leaves saying that Desdemona will betray Othello: "Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see:/She has deceived her father, and may thee." Iago, still in the room, takes note of Brabantio's remark. By order of the Duke, Othello leaves Venice to command the Venetian armies against invading Turks on the island of Cyprus, accompanied by his new wife, his new lieutenant Cassio, his ensign Iago, and Iago's wife, Emilia, as Desdemona's attendant.
=== Act II ===
The party arrives in Cyprus to find that a storm has destroyed the Turkish fleet. Othello orders a general celebration and leaves to consummate his marriage with Desdemona. In his absence, Iago gets Cassio drunk, and then persuades Roderigo to draw Cassio into a fight. Montano tries to calm an angry and drunk Cassio down, but end up fighting one another. Montano is injured in the fight. Othello reenters and questions the men as to what happened. Othello blames Cassio for the disturbance and strips him of his rank. Cassio is distraught. Iago persuades Cassio to importune Desdemona to convince her husband to reinstate Cassio.
=== Act III ===
Iago now persuades Othello to be suspicious of Cassio and Desdemona. When Desdemona drops a handkerchief (the first gift given to her by Othello), Emilia finds it, and gives it to her husband Iago, at his request, unaware of what he plans to do with it. Othello reenters and vows with Iago for the death of Desdemona and Cassio, after which he makes Iago his lieutenant. Act III, scene iii, is considered to be the turning point of the play as it is the scene in which Iago successfully sows the seeds of doubt in Othello's mind, inevitably sealing Othello's fate.
=== Act IV ===
Iago plants the handkerchief in Cassio's lodgings, then tells Othello to watch Cassio's reactions while Iago questions him. Iago goads Cassio on to talk about his affair with Bianca, a local courtesan, but whispers her name so quietly that Othello believes the two men are talking about Desdemona. Later, Bianca accuses Cassio of giving her a second-hand gift which he had received from another lover. Othello sees this, and Iago convinces him that Cassio received the handkerchief from Desdemona.
Enraged and hurt, Othello resolves to kill his wife and asks Iago to kill Cassio. Othello proceeds to make Desdemona's life miserable, hitting her in front of visiting Venetian nobles. Meanwhile, Roderigo complains that he has received no results from Iago in return for his money and efforts to win Desdemona, but Iago convinces him to kill Cassio.
=== Act V ===
Roderigo attacks Cassio in the street after Cassio leaves Bianca's lodgings. Cassio wounds Roderigo. During the scuffle, Iago comes from behind Cassio and badly cuts his leg. In the darkness, Iago manages to hide his identity, and when Lodovico and Gratiano hear Cassio's cries for help, Iago joins them. When Cassio identifies Roderigo as one of his attackers, Iago secretly stabs Roderigo to stop him revealing the plot. Iago then accuses Bianca of the failed conspiracy to kill Cassio.
Othello confronts Desdemona, and then strangles her to death in their bed. When Emilia arrives, Othello accuses Desdemona of adultery. Emilia calls for help. The former governor Montano arrives, with Gratiano and Iago. When Othello mentions the handkerchief as proof, Emilia realizes what her husband Iago has done, and she exposes him, whereupon he kills her. Othello, belatedly realising Desdemona's innocence, stabs Iago but not fatally, saying that he would rather have Iago live the rest of his life in pain.
Iago refuses to explain his motives, vowing to remain silent from that moment on. Lodovico apprehends both Iago and Othello for the murders of Roderigo and Emilia, but Othello commits suicide. Lodovico appoints Gratiano Othello's successor and exhorts Cassio to punish Iago justly.

Tags: tragedy, revenge, intrigue, murder, romantic

Review:
I rented this film mainly to see Kenneth Branagh once again, but was totally surprised by the entire cast, especially Laurence Fishbourne who portrayed Othello brilliantly.
Branagh brought a depth to Iago that I hadn't seen before, especially during the scene on the beach when he and Othello hug.
Director Oliver Parker wanted to make Othello a more "pacy" story, so he omitted quite a lot of the original text when writing this version for the screen.
One of Othello's soldiers, Iago (Kenneth Branagh) fails to get a promotion of rank which he feels he deserves, and to gain revenge he engineers a series of lies and incidents designed to convince Othello that his wife is being disloyal to him by fornicating with another man.
Film buffs might go for the Welles version, with its moody b&w lighting and a now-classic murder scene, not to mention the fact that the production history itself is as fascinating as the story.
I've always enjoyed Kenneth Branagh's versions of the Shakespeare classics, as he always does a very good job, but in this movie, the one who lifts the whole movie, is none other than "the-always-great-actor" Laurence Fishburne.
Surely he has made some poor choices in films, even though he's a wonderful actor, but in this one we're truly given the real Othello: the passion, the intensity of jealousy as it grows stronger alongside with Fishburne's well portrayed paranoia and, furthermore, we're finally given a black Othello!I don't think they could have chosen a better Othello.
Branagh is good as always, but not at his peak, Iréne Jacob's Desdemona is fairly good but a bit bleak, whilst Laurence Fishburne truly lifts it and makes it a very interesting and enjoyable movie.
As my Shakespeare Professor had mentioned, the part of Othello is highly challenging, which is why many don't perfect it or intend to play it.
He provided us an astonishing portrayal of how even a noble, righteous and even intelligent man, can succumb to "the green eyed monster."  The calculatingly evil Iago was FLAWLESSLY portrayed by veteran Shakespearian actor Kenneth Branagh, who occasionally stared into the eyes of the camera itself, explaining his dark plans and expectations..
For me, the Lawrence Fishbourne version of "Othello" is the best ever put on film.
Olivier's "Othello" was essentially a film of the stage production, and for me the Orson Welles version was a failure, despite Welles' star performance, because most of the other actors were almost devoid of charisma.
Likewise, Othello's readiness to believe the worst of Desdemona, and the ease with which Iago leads him on to murder, makes the title character look quite pathetic, almost simple-minded.In this film, the cutting of the text to the absolute minimum helps to hide the play's inherent faults and tighten the action, and Fishbourne's wordless suffering speaks volumes that more than make up for the loss of Shakespeare's lines.
Here Brannagh's Iago is almost as good as Fishbourne's Othello, and he makes the most of the lines he has.To sum up, ten out of ten.
To my surprise Othello was great!Iago's character was played so well by the Kenneth fellow!
even thoough Iago is really evil and despicable, the character was played so well that it does what shakespeare intended for the charater to be, a pleasure for the audience to hate.
i have to say that fishburne's performance here was really good as well.i recommend this for shakespeare scholars and lazy students (who refuse to read the book) alike..
While maintaining the location and time period of the original play, this film gives us a much clearer insight into Othello as a character and as a story than many of the supposedly more important versions.
Lawerance and Kenneth just capture the story so well and understood it's darkness.Othello is the big time soldier in his city, he is loved by everyone, including the king.
Othello is driven insane and doesn't have pleasant plans for Desdemona or Cassio and Iago is more than happy to help him out.Othello is an incredible story, I highly recommend that you read it.
Othello the movie is also great and once again I recommend it, it captured the story perfectly and has a big tearjerker type of feel, or you could just be in utter shock of what happens between Othello and Desdemona, how quickly he believes that his true love would betray him.
This is a terrific movie, great acting, good sets, and good direction, this is what Shakespeare meant when he wrote the story.10/10.
You do not get more dark or tragic than "Othello" and this movie captures the play fairly well, with outstanding performances by Lawrence Fishburne and Irene Jacob.
Fishburne's expresses to the viewer Othello's torment as he falls prey to Iago's lies very convincingly, even providing a realistic epileptic episode.
I have not checked the movie against the play to see how many lines were cut out, but I know that Shakespeare tends to develop his characters, even the seemingly unimportant ones, very well.If I had any criticism of the movie it would be that the story unfolds too quickly, and that the relationships between some of the characters are not laid out more.
The relationship between Cassio and Othello and that between Emilia and Desdemona need to be further developed earlier in the film.
However I do like the cut versions (Richard III, Romeo & Juliet etc), yes they are for the short of attention MTV generation, but is that a bad thing?It's good to get a new generation into these plays.
In this version Brannagh gives an effortless performance (he can do shakespeare in his sleep) and Fishburne is great as the main character tortured by the betrayal and lack of honour of those around him.(although at times i was listening for the "Shaft" theme song - he did play it a bit street-tuff at time!).A cut version yes, but it looks beautiful and is more accesible than other versions..
First of all, I would like to say that Laurence Fishburne's performance as Othello did not impress me.
Although he is good, I think he maintains a bit too much dignity at the end of the film, making his tragedy less tragic.
Then, at the end, we lose him and Oliver Parker makes the great ending of the play way too long and we quickly get bored and annoyed at the melodrama of the last scene.
This is because both Parker and Redford adapt Shakespeare, not to make auteur films, like Orson Welles did, but to make them as Shakespeare would have were he alive at the time of cinema.
But this version by Oliver Parker seems to pull it off.Being a touch put off by the fact that he had cast Laurence Fishburne as the moor, I watched it for the mere fact that Brannagh was playing Iago.
If I didn't already know the story I may have though he was telling the truth half of the time.Fishburne himself actually gives in a good if somewhat restrained performance and Irene Jacob as Desdemona is convincing, but it is the boy from Belfast, Brannagh, who steals the show.There are many excellent minor performances in the movie also, Michael Maloney as Rodrigo and Anna Patrick as Emilia to name but two.Parker's direction of the piece is also very good, especially visually, the love scenes with the black/white skin are a bit obvious, but still a nice touch.The bottom line for me, would be if you enjoy Shakespeare and Othello isn't on at your local Theatre - rent the video, or go to the cinema to see this version - you won't be disappointed.
I was especially delighted that in this movie Othello himself was dark-skinned and Desdemona didn't have fair hair like almost always.
Price's 1995 version of Shakespeare's 'Othello' keeps the viewer's interest while staying true to the story.
Branagh and Fishburne deliver excellent performances in this version of the Shakespeare classic.
Branagh plays Iago better than I've seen the character played in film or on stage.
Fishburne, the first black Othello in film history ironically, delivers a powerful performance.
Fishburne has always been a good actor, but this performance as the Moor of Venice may be one of his best.
One of the worst cuts made by Branagh in this film, was the subtraction of a conversation between Iago and Desdemona at the beginning of the second act.
However, if you have not read the play, or seen a film version of Othello before, I recommend this movie.
If some important scenes had been added, and Desdemona's character been prioritized a bit further, this would be a great movie.
Fishburne is a good actor but illicits no sympathy for his Othello and Irene Jacob is a total waste as Desdemona she did not even seem to know what she was saying!) Oliver Parker redeemed himself with IDEAL HUSBAND  but Othello is a take it or leave it adaptation..
I just watched the full length version of the play, televised by BBC in 1981 with Anthony Hopkins in the title role of Othello and Bob Hoskins playing Iago.
It made me realize just how much the Fishburne/Branagh version from 1995 suffers by being cut to ribbons to fit in a much shorter time slot.
Laurence Fishburne is good in the title role but not incredible, and again, he is missing some of his best lines due to editing.
or was Honest Iago actually smirking at the end, as he died?Loved how the Bard's iambic pentameter just rolled of Fishburne's tongue, with excellent clarity and emotion.And how Branagh made Honest Iago seem to celebrate his own evilness...This is a wonderful film.I have often thought that Shakespeare is inherently not film-friendly: He uses words to create pictures in our minds, which creates a perennial battle with the camera, which only knows to show us what we need to think and feel.
Instead of chewing the scenery in the approved fashion for such high-powered roles, Fishburne's portrayal is focused more on Othello's love for his wife, and on his profound sadness at her supposed betrayal, than on violence and vengeance.
Laurence Fishburne is a fine actor, and deserves respect for trying this, but he is not in a class with the great Shakespeareans like Olivier and Welles; and he further suffers from Kenneth Branagh.
I didn't nearly realize the possibilities of Iago, Shakespeare's most evil character, but Branagh shows us the depths.
Fishburne was wonderful as Othello - played him as a military man par excellence, and with great credibility.
-about a month ago i made a lukewarm commitment to finish all movies that i start watchingNow that you know where i am coming from, I will tell you that I am very pleased with this film,with the story that shakespear tells us, and with the adaptation.
Oliver Parker directed the 1995 version of William Shakespeare's Othello starring Laurence Fishburne in the titular role.
Presenting the danger of isolation as a master manipulator takes advantage of another man, Othello plays out a cautionary tale of power and struggle.Iago (Kenneth Branagh) is furious that his loyalty and civility has been overshadowed by another, and he instantly begins devising an elaborate plot to seek revenge against Othello and bring about his downfall.
Becoming obsessed with his master plot, Iago develops a narcissistic addiction to bringing about Othello's downfall.The highlight of this film is the acting of Kenneth Branagh's Iago.
Fishburne plays this distinction well and the film prospers from his lead role.Days ago after my initial viewing of this film, I thought it was wonderful; after taking some time to process it, however, I think it was pretty forgettable.
As good as Branagh's Iago was, it was played differently than I imagined from the Shakespeare original.
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.
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..
And I was very impressed; I am not sure whether I can add much to the other wonderful reviews here but I'll try.Some people may find this is not their most ideal Othello, some may despair at the cuts and the short length, but on its own and as a introduction to Shakespeare films it is very impressive.
Michael Maloney, Nicholas Farrell, Nathaniel Parker and especially Anna Patrick are excellent in support, but the standouts were Laurence Fishburne's brilliant and very powerful yet restrained Othello and Kenneth Branagh in a literally seething albeit sometimes human account of the evil-incarnate character of Iago.
Irene Jacob wasn't quite as good, Desdemona is a very delicate and poignant character, and while Jacob does what she can looking suitably delicate and beautiful her performance was a little on the dull side for me.I also have to agree on a side note that those into opera should see or hear Verdi's Otello, the music is phenomenal and Iago's Credo is living proof in my opinion that the original source material can be improved upon as you see much more of Iago's villainy.
Shakespeare's text is strongly truncated and the film contains material which earned it an "R" rating.I have several reasons for using this production: First, I had not seen a depiction of the Moor that actually made me sympathetic to Othello until I saw Fishburne play him.
Fishburne's depiction is therefore classically tragic.Second, Fishburne is the first black actor to play Othello in a film.
Female actors bring a special quality to female roles on the Shakespearian stage because they understand best what Shakespeare's genius was trying to present.
^^), the actors, especially Branagh, are superb and I even was surprised by Laurence Fishburne's performance...
Well everything's good, I think (although I don't like Othello saying 'Amen' like 'Hey men' instead of 'aaah men', and the place where Desdemona is in Venice is not the rights place, but those are details...) So, it's a very good film you Shakespearians should know.
I applaud Oliver Parker's (first film?) adaptation of "Othello" for being clear and imaginative with the story and text; not an easy task.
Fishburne is a good actor, and I found his Othello very moving, though missing a touch of the stuff myths are made of.
Working with one of the best Shakespeare sources, this film manages to be creditable to it's source, whilst still appealing to a wider audience.Branagh steals the film from under Fishburne's nose, and there's a talented cast on good form..
First I love Kenneth BRanagh as Iago, he was perfectly complicated and worked very well in this adaptation.
Lawrence Fishburne shows that American actors can play Shakespeare just as well as British actors can do.
I like the idea that this was the first movie by Oliver Parker and that mister Fishburne was the first Black man to play Othello.
This one is just a very good quality film and a good way for an introduction to the world of W.S. Brannagh is solid too, but I think the excellent Irene Jacob could have a little more place, like Suzanne Cloutier did in the Welles version..
A missed opportunity which is regrettable because it is nice to see the Moor played by a real black, and Fishbourne and Branagh are quite good..
It is needed that a great actor should be Iago, but here in this perfect performance from Kenneth Branagh, we are abused.
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.
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.
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.
After watching Welles and Olivier in their performances as a black-faced Moor, Fishburne is a breath of fresh air, and comes across as the first actor who has ever portrayed Othello's truth on-screen.
The only downside to this wonderful film is the casting of Kenneth Branagh in the role of Iago.
However, if you want to consider Iago as an effeminate and baby-faced schemer who has major issues about his masculinity, then Branagh is your man.An erotic and dark rendering of one of Shakespeare's most famous works, Oliver Parker's OTHELLO is definitely worth the time for its direction, its unique interpretation, and Laurence Fishburne, who makes Othello into one of the most dangerous and masculine sexual presences on film..
This movie is a videoclip, nothing to do with the great version by Orson Welles, nothing to do with Shakespeare..
The language is some of Shakespeare's most complex, yet when understood, also some of the most eloquent and beautiful ever written.The film had a lot to live up to.(This may contain plot spoilers.)In my opinion, Fishburne was an excellent Othello - brooding, jealous, suspicious, in anguish - everything I expected.
A wonderfully chilling performance, which left me convinced that Iago was possibly the most evil villain I have come across in any of Shakespeare's works.
There are two time frames, it seems, in the play, which is hard to put across in a film, but which I think worked well enough that I wasn't bothered by it.
:)Overall, a very good film adaptation of a wonderfully moving and disturbing play.
It wasn't actually my choice to watch this film based on the story by William Shakespeare, it was part of a study in Secondary School.
It wasn't directed by him, but I really like Kenneth Branagh in this film.