Othello (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

Description

Gloriously cinematic despite being made on a tiny budget, Orson Welles’s Othello is a testament to the filmmaker’s stubborn willingness to pursue his vision to the ends of the earth. Unmatched in his passionate identification with Shakespeare’s imagination, Welles brings his inventive visual approach to this enduring tragedy of jealousy, bigotry, and rage, and also gives a towering performance as the Moor of Venice, alongside Suzanne Cloutier as his innocent wife, Desdemona, and Micheál MacLiammóir as the scheming Iago. Shot over the course of three years in Morocco, Venice, Tuscany, and Rome and plagued by many logistical problems, this fiercely independent film joins Macbeth and Chimes at Midnight in making the case for Welles as the cinema’s most audacious interpreter of the Bard. TWO-BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES - New, restored 4K digital transfers of two versions of the film, the 1952 European version and the 1955 U.S. version, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks - Audio commentary featuring filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich and Orson Welles scholar Myron Meisel - Return to Glennascaul, a 1953 short film made by MacLiammóir and actor Hilton Edwards during a hiatus from shooting Othello - New interview with Welles biographer Simon Callow - New interview with Welles scholar François Thomas on the differences between the two versions - New interview with Ayanna Thompson, author of Passing Strange: Shakespeare, Race, and Contemporary America - Interview from 2014 with Welles scholar Joseph McBride - More! - PLUS: An essay by film critic Geoffrey O’Brien Gloriously cinematic despite its tiny budget, Orson Welles's Othello is a testament to the filmmaker s stubborn willingness to pursue his vision to the ends of the earth. Unmatched in his passionate identification with Shakespeare's imagination, Welles brings his inventive visual approach to this enduring tragedy of jealousy, bigotry, and rage, and also gives a towering performance as the Moor of Venice, alongside Suzanne Cloutier as the innocent Desdemona, and Micheal MacLiammoir as the scheming Iago. Shot over the course of three years in Italy and Morocco and plagued by many logistical problems, this fiercely independent film joins Macbeth and Chimes at Midnight in making the case for Welles as the cinema's most audacious interpreter of the Bard. TWO-BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES - New, restored 4K digital transfers of two versions of the film, the 1952 European one and the 1955 U.S. and UK one, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks - Audio commentary from 1995 featuring filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich and Orson Welles scholar Myron Meisel - Filming 'Othello,' Welles s last completed film, a 1979 essay-documentary - Return to Glennascaul, a 1953 short film made by actors Micheal MacLiammoir and Hilton Edwards during a hiatus from shooting Othello - New interview with Welles biographer Simon Callow - Souvenirs d' 'Othello,' a 1995 documentary about actor Suzanne Cloutier by Francois Girard - New interview with Welles scholar Francois Thomas on the two versions - New interview with Ayanna Thompson, author of Passing Strange: Shakespeare, Race, and Contemporary America - Interview from 2014 with scholar Joseph McBride - PLUS: An essay by film critic Geoffrey O'Brien Review: Excellent Adaptation Of Shakespeare - Excellent Criterion Set - One of Orson Welles's more overlooked masterpieces, presented here in both the European and American versions of the film. This superb adaptation of Shakespeare's brutal tragedy brilliantly takes advantage of efficient cinematic technique (not to mention a limited budget) to create a streamlined and abridged film version of the play. An interesting but remarkably effective interpretation, focusing on the core theme of the story- jealousy, and tones down or removes much of the ugly and problematic racism of the text. Even with these omissions, and being half the length of the play, it is still recognizable as the bard and works well. In my opinion this is still the best cinematic version of Othello. Intensely acted and ingeniously directed, with an incredible pacing of rapid edits, and highly visual creative use of location filming and rich B&W photography. A foreshadowing of Welles's Shakespearean masterpiece Chimes At Midnight. This 2 disc Criterion Collection Blu ray set is exceptional, with two cuts of the film- the 1952 European cut and the 1955 American cut -the little differences are rather fascinating. Extras include a fine audio commentary, feature length documentary on the making of the film, several interviews and shorter documentaries, and an essay, all quite informative, intelligent and erudite. Also recommended: the wonderful Chimes At Midnight, Welles's Macbeth, and Roman Polanski's Macbeth. Review: A solid version - Great acting from Orson Welles. Come for the brooding, stay for the Venetian architecture.