Criterion releases Othello on blu-ray

[atcolomb]

On May 16th Criterion will release on Blu-ray and dvd Othello with the following 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 on the Blu-ray
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

Great news and here's the link to the Criterion website:
https://www.criterion.com/films/28621-othello

[jbrooks]

Great news. I have Criterion's laserdisc of Othello from the early 1990s and it is one of my most prized possessions. The commentary track -- which they are apparently porting over to the new release -- is fantastic.

[jbrooks]

Also, it is worth noting that Criterion says the AR is 1:1.37 so it won't be cropped like the version now in rotation on TCM and FilmStruck.

[atcolomb]

I have the Criterion laserdisc also and The Magnificent Ambersons Criterion release and both proudly displayed on my shelf. A big fan of laserdiscs and still have them today and I do play them often.

[atcolomb]

Othello was shown on TCM a few weeks ago and it did fill my 16:9 screen so I know it was shown not in it's original aspect ratio. Nice to see Criterion release it correctly.

[tonyw]

High time too. Thanks to some kindly wellesnet. person I have the laserdisk version on two DVD copies. This has been long awaited.

[jbrooks]

I wonder what the backstory is on Criterion now being permitted to release the original soundtrack version of the film. Beatrice Welles owned the rights to the film, and supposedly objected to Criterion's laserdisc version back in the day. As Jonathan Rosenbaum states elsewhere on this site --

The other thing, which is worse, is that according to Beatrice and Thomas White, it's now illegal to show Welles' own version of OTHELLO in the United States. In Europe you can still get the Welles version on video. But when Criterion brought out Welles' original version on laserdisc, Beatrice got very angry and said they couldn't make any more copies. So she's made her own father's version illegal to show, because she doesn't get any money for it. They only found out about the Criterion laserdisc after the fact, otherwise it would have never come out. And I wrote the notes for it, so that's another reason why I'm probably in her black book.

[jtarvainen]

What reason do we have to assume that the 1952 version will use the original soundtrack? As I understand it, the recently-screened Carlotta restoration still used the 1992 soundtrack with re-recorded music and sound effects, although it was apparently in mono this time.

[Roger Ryan]

Frankly, I'm very surprised that the 1992 restoration is not represented...unless the updated version of that restoration (which has been screening on TCM and Filmstruck - albeit in the wrong aspect ratio) is standing in for the 1955 release. That newly-brushed up edition could be considered a "new restored 4K digital transfer" and it is in mono (despite the restoration credits at the end that still denote a stereo soundtrack).

Still, the big news is the European 1952 edit being given prominence. I enjoy Welles "narrating" the credits and the unique close-up of the dead Desdemona he included in this edit is chilling, but what really makes the 1952 version superior is the extended Venice sequence at the beginning which is paced considerably better than in the '55 cut and the soundtrack which features a richer mix of sound/music and better voice synchronization (Welles re-dubbed significant portions of the soundtrack for the 1955 U.S. version - not always for the better - and the 1992 restoration had further issues trying to get those later sound elements to be acceptable)*.

*"jtarvainen" - To clarify, the 1992 restoration reworked the sound elements recorded for the 1955 U.S. version; the 1952 edit had a different soundtrack altogether. Viewing a 35mm print of the 1952 version a decade ago at the Locarno Film Festival, I was struck by how much better the soundtrack was - both in mix and voice synchronization (compared to the 1992 restoration anyway - I can't speak to how the new Criterion 1955 edition will sound). I see no reason why Criterion would try to substitute portions of the 1955 soundtrack for the 1952 one.

[jtarvainen]

Thank you Roger for your insightful post! I wasn't aware that the 1992 restoration was based on the 1955 version.

You mentioned Welles's narration of the opening credits ("There was once in Venice a Moor...") as a distinct feature of the 1952 version, but this narration also seems to be in the recent Carlotta restoration, which is on Youtube (though I won't link to it here). Was the narration also present in the 1992 restoration?

[Roger Ryan]

...You mentioned Welles's narration of the opening credits ("There was once in Venice a Moor...") as a distinct feature of the 1952 version, but this narration also seems to be in the recent Carlotta restoration, which is on Youtube (though I won't link to it here). Was the narration also present in the 1992 restoration?

The 1955 U.S. version (and the 1992 restoration of it followed by the Carlotta digital upgrade) does feature introductory narration by Welles. However, the 1952 "European" edit actually features Welles "narrating" the credits, as he did in Ambersons and The Trial, over a number of "slice-of-life" shots showing various Venetians going about their daily business. The 1955 version relegates the credits to the end of the film and they appear as text on-screen.

The shortening of the film's Venice sequence and the more extensive use of narration to provide exposition is an example of something Welles did repeatedly. Much of the first portion of Journey Into Fear was cut down and Welles added Joseph Cotten's narration to cover missing footage that dramatized the action. The same thing was done to The Lady From Shanghai and Macbeth (although, in both cases, the changes were instigated by the studio) and it appears he was doing something similar with Mr. Arkadin. While one can argue the benefits of streamlining some of the plot points in this fashion, I feel Welles hurt Othello by second-guessing his original edit and cutting down the Venice sequence; the pacing in the 1955 version is so rushed that I don't think the audience has a chance to settle in to the story properly.

[Dark Horse 77]

Does anyone know which version aired on TCM a month or so ago?

[Roger Ryan]

Does anyone know which version aired on TCM a month or so ago?

The version that has aired on TCM (and on the Filmstruck streaming service) is the most recent digital upgrade of the 1992 restoration...which is the version that, apparently, will not be included on the Criterion release. However, the 1992 restoration was based on Welles' 1955 U.S. edit, so it's possible that the '92 restoration will be "standing in" for the original '55 version - we don't know yet. Importantly, the music score was completely re-recorded in '92 for the restoration whereas a true '55 version would feature the soundtrack as heard in 1955.

Also, as had been pointed out earlier, the '92 restoration was cropped to a 1.78:1 aspect ratio for its showings on TCM/Filmstruck which is simply wrong. The Criterion release info states that the film will be in the correct 1.37:1 ratio.

[Dark Horse 77]

Thank you so much for all the information. I sincerely hope Criterion has The Trial on tap in the not so distant future. The past few years have been great for getting Welles' films done properly on DVD.

[jtarvainen]

Thanks Roger for clearing that up.

As it happens, I contacted Criterion's Jon Mulvaney to ask about the soundtrack, and received the following reply:

This release has a new restoration and both versions will use this new restoration along with the original soundtrack. The 1992 restoration is not being used.