Shakespeare in Performance: Film
The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice: A Motion Picture Adaptation of the Play by William Shakespeare (1952, Orson Welles)
| Title | The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice: A Motion Picture Adaptation of the Play by William Shakespeare |
|---|---|
| Year | 1952 |
| Release Locations | Italy Morocco |
| Director | Orson Welles |
| Medium | Black & white video |
| Length | 1 hrs, 31 mins |
| Languages | English |
| Audience | college and university general public |
| Play Connections | Othello (interpretation) |
Description
As with all of the late Orson Welles's films, this one proved no exception in subjecting everyone involved to what sounds like a fictional Hollywood backstage drama. Orson Welles, America's greatest film director, did not impress bankers as much as cineastes, perhaps because he never hesitated to make films based on Shakespearean plays, even though the box office rewards were less than promising. Micheál MacLiammóir, who played Iago, wrote a book about the making of Othello that is a mine of amusing anecdotes. Welles, for example, saw Iago's impotence as the key to his character. That made MacLiammoir worry over whether or not Welles thought MacLiammoir looked impotent! (See MacLiammóir, Micheál, Put Money in Thy Purse: A Diary of the Film of Othello. London: Methuen, 1952)
Description from Shakespeare on Screen : an International Filmography and Videography by Kenneth S. Rothwell and Annabelle Henkin Melzer. ©1990 Kenneth S. Rothwell. Cited by permission. — Added 2008-11-14
Cast Overview
Production Team and Crew Overview
Production information courtesy of: Kenneth Rothwell