Othello (1995 film)
Encyclopedia
Othello is a 1995 film
based on William Shakespeare
's tragedy
of the same name
. It was directed by Oliver Parker
and stars Laurence Fishburne
as Othello
, Irène Jacob
as Desdemona
, and Kenneth Branagh
as Iago
. This is the first cinematic reproduction of the play released by a major studio that casts an African-American actor to play the role of Othello, although low-budget independent films of the play starring Ted Lange
and Yaphet Kotto
predated it.
, a scene in which Desdemona dances for Othello and a final scene in which the bodies of those killed are buried at sea
. The film also uses strong imagery - at the moment that Emilia says that men belch women when they are done with them, Iago, who has used her in his plot against Othello, is seen closing the door in the background.
on its $11 million budget (however, it had a very limited theater count). It received largely positive reviews, especially for Branagh's Iago
. Janet Maslin
wrote in the New York Times "Mr. Branagh's superb performance, as the man whose Machiavellian
scheming guides the story of Othello's downfall, guarantees this film an immediacy that any audience will understand." Branagh was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance, in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role category.
1995 in film
-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
based on William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
of the same name
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
. It was directed by Oliver Parker
Oliver Parker
Oliver Parker is an English film director.-Biography:Parker was born in London, the son of Jillian, Lady Parker, a writer and GP , and Sir Peter Parker, formerly Chief executive of British Rail...
and stars Laurence Fishburne
Laurence Fishburne
Laurence John Fishburne III is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner...
as Othello
Othello (character)
Othello is a character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's origin is traced to the tale, "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. There, he is simply referred to as the Moor....
, Irène Jacob
Irène Jacob
Irène Marie Jacob is a French-born Swiss actress considered one of the preeminent French actresses of her generation. Jacob gained international recognition and acclaim through her work with Polish film director Krzysztof Kieślowski, who cast her in the lead role of The Double Life of Véronique...
as Desdemona
Desdemona
Desdemona is a character in William Shakespeare's play Othello.Desdemona may also refer to:People* Desdemona , a soprano role in the 1816 opera Otello by Gioachino Rossini...
, and Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
as Iago
Iago
Iago is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's source is traced to Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi . There, the character is simply "the ensign". Iago is a soldier and Othello's ancient . He is the husband of Emilia,...
. This is the first cinematic reproduction of the play released by a major studio that casts an African-American actor to play the role of Othello, although low-budget independent films of the play starring Ted Lange
Ted Lange
Theodore William "Ted" Lange is an American actor, director, and screenwriter best known for his role as the bartender, Isaac Washington, in the 1970s TV series The Love Boat...
and Yaphet Kotto
Yaphet Kotto
Yaphet Frederick Kotto is an African-American actor, known for numerous film roles , and his starring role in the NBC television series Homicide: Life on the Street .-Early life:Kotto was born in New York City, the son of Gladys Marie, a...
predated it.
Adaptation
The film, shot in Italy, follows the story of the play closely, but cuts many lines. In addition it adds scenes not in the play, including a sex scene between Othello and Desdemona, dreams in which Othello imagines Desdemona's supposed affair with CassioMichael Cassio
Michael Cassio, or simply Cassio, is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's Othello. The source of the character is the 1565 tale "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio; Cassio is unnamed in Cinthio but referred to as "the squadron leader." In the play, Cassio is a young and handsome lieutenant...
, a scene in which Desdemona dances for Othello and a final scene in which the bodies of those killed are buried at sea
Burial at sea
Burial at sea describes the procedure of disposing of human remains in the ocean, normally from a ship or boat. It is regularly performed by navies, but also can be done by private citizens in many countries.-By religion:...
. The film also uses strong imagery - at the moment that Emilia says that men belch women when they are done with them, Iago, who has used her in his plot against Othello, is seen closing the door in the background.
Cast
| Characters | ||
|---|---|---|
| Role | Actor | |
| Othello Othello (character) Othello is a character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's origin is traced to the tale, "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. There, he is simply referred to as the Moor.... |
Laurence Fishburne Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner... |
|
| Desdemona Desdemona (Othello) Desdemona is a character in William Shakespeare's play Othello . Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a man several years her senior. When her husband is deployed to Cyprus in the service of the... |
Irène Jacob Irène Jacob Irène Marie Jacob is a French-born Swiss actress considered one of the preeminent French actresses of her generation. Jacob gained international recognition and acclaim through her work with Polish film director Krzysztof Kieślowski, who cast her in the lead role of The Double Life of Véronique... |
|
| Iago Iago Iago is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's source is traced to Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi . There, the character is simply "the ensign". Iago is a soldier and Othello's ancient . He is the husband of Emilia,... |
Kenneth Branagh Kenneth Branagh Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from... |
|
| Cassio Michael Cassio Michael Cassio, or simply Cassio, is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's Othello. The source of the character is the 1565 tale "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio; Cassio is unnamed in Cinthio but referred to as "the squadron leader." In the play, Cassio is a young and handsome lieutenant... |
Nathaniel Parker Nathaniel Parker Nathaniel Parker is an English actor best known for playing Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley in the BBC crime drama series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.-Personal life:... |
|
| Roderigo | Michael Maloney Michael Maloney Michael Maloney is an English actor.Born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Maloney's first television appearance was as Peter Barkworth's teenage son in the 1979 drama series, Telford's Change.... |
|
| Emilia Emilia (Othello) Emilia is a character in the tragedy Othello by William Shakespeare. The character's origin is traced to the 1565 tale, "Un capitano Moro" from Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi. There, the character is described as young and virtuous, is referred to simply as the ensign's wife,... |
Anna Patrick | |
| Montano | Nicholas Farrell Nicholas Farrell Nicholas Farrell is an English stage, film and television actor. His early screen career included the role of Aubrey Montague in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire. In 1983, he starred as Edmund Bertram in a television adaptation of the Jane Austen novel, Mansfield Park... |
|
| Bianca Bianca (Othello) Bianca is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's Othello . She is Cassio's jealous lover. Despite her brief appearance on stage, Bianca plays a significant role in the progress of Iago's scheme to incite Othello's jealousy of Cassio. Bianca is traditionally regarded as a courtesan,... |
Indra Ové Indra Ové -Career:Her most notable appearance was in Interview with the Vampire, where she worked with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt portraying a New Orleans whore. She has also had a small role in The Fifth Element as a VIP Stewardess, Othello and had a small role in Resident Evil... |
|
| Lodovico | Michael Sheen Michael Sheen Michael Christopher Sheen, OBE , is a Welsh stage and screen actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England and made his professional debut opposite Vanessa Redgrave in When She Danced at the Globe Theatre in 1991... |
|
Reception
The film was not a financial success, grossing only $2.1 million in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on its $11 million budget (however, it had a very limited theater count). It received largely positive reviews, especially for Branagh's Iago
Iago
Iago is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's source is traced to Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi . There, the character is simply "the ensign". Iago is a soldier and Othello's ancient . He is the husband of Emilia,...
. Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...
wrote in the New York Times "Mr. Branagh's superb performance, as the man whose Machiavellian
Machiavellianism
Machiavellianism is, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, "the employment of cunning and duplicity in statecraft or in general conduct", deriving from the Italian Renaissance diplomat and writer Niccolò Machiavelli, who wrote Il Principe and other works...
scheming guides the story of Othello's downfall, guarantees this film an immediacy that any audience will understand." Branagh was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance, in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role category.