Othello (1995)

Director:

Oliver Parker

Writers:

William Shakespeare (play)
Oliver Parker (adaptation)

Release Date:

15 December 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Envy, greed, jealousy and love.

Plot:

The evil Iago pretends to be friend of Othello in order to manipulate him to serve his own end in the film version of this Shakespeare classic.

Plot Keywords:

Jealousy | Scheme | General | Medieval | Passion

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Laurence Fishburne	...	Othello
Irène Jacob	...	Desdemona
Kenneth Branagh	...	Iago
Nathaniel Parker	...	Cassio
Michael Maloney	...	Roderigo
Anna Patrick	...	Emilia
Nicholas Farrell	...	Montano
Indra Ové	...	Bianca
Michael Sheen	...	Lodovico
André Oumansky	...	Gratiano
Philip Locke	...	1st Senator
John Savident	...	2nd Senator
Gabriele Ferzetti	...	Duke of Venice
Pierre Vaneck	...	Brabantio

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality.

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Denmark:16 | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 (bw) | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | USA:R | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Orsini Castle, Bracciano, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

Director Oliver Parker had previously played Iago himself in repertory theater.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the beach scene, equipment boxes are visible on the upper slope of the beach as Iago and Othello walk along.

Quotes:

Othello: I kissed thee ere I killed thee: no way but this; Killing myself, to die upon a kiss.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Getaway: (#17.14)" (2008)

Shakespeare for beginners

I like the full versions of Shakespeare on film and will happily put in the effort for the reward. 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.