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| 1952 |
| 91 minutes |
| Mercury Productions/Marceau Films/United Artists |
| Principal Cast: |
| Orson Welles: Othello |
| Micheal MacLiammoir: Iago |
| Suzanne Cloutier: Desdemona |
| Robert Coote: Roderigo |
| Michael Laurence: Cassio |
| Principal Crew: |
| Producer/Director/Script: Orson Welles |
| Cinematographer: George Fanto, Anchise Brizzi, G.R. Aldo, Obadan Troiani, Alberto Fusi |
| Editor: Jean Sacha, Renzo Lucidi, William Morton, John Shepridge |
| Music: Francesco Lavanigno, Alberto Barberis |
| Art Direction: Alexander Trauner |
| Full Cast and Crew |
Othello is a film that in retrospect boggles the mind. Beginning production in 1949, Othello was shot over three years and in a multitude of locations, sometimes in the same scene. Welles' ingenuity and sheer discipline in putting together what seems like a jigsaw styled production are testimony to his skill. The film received great praise in Europe upon release, winning the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, but as always, respect in America was less forthcoming. The film languished through the 1970s and 80s, largely due to a lack of distribution. Some considered it a "lost" film, but it was lost only in the sense of it not being seen. Consequently, when the film was given technological refurbishment by Welles' daughter Beatrice, the resulting "restoration" was hailed as a cinematic landmark, despite questions of staying true to directorial intent and a lack of research on the part of the team working on the film. The 1995 Criterion Collection laserdisc edition, using the negative of the original 1955 US release version, looks and sounds fine, without the tampering done to the film by the restoration team. In the end, most people won't notice or care about the changes made, and the release did get the film and Welles back into the public eye in some small degree, so the whole affair did have some benefit.
ADVERTISING MATERIALS
Original UK Release Lobby Cards (click to see card)
Excerpts from 1955 US Pressbook
VIDEO
