Othello

I am very fond of Shakespeare's work so I was all for seeing Olivier's Othello having loved his Hamlet so much. There is some stiff competition, namely the brilliant Orson Welles film, but this doesn't overshadow or is in the shadow of this stiff competition, if anything it is on par with them. In short I honestly believe it is one of the finest Shakespeare adaptations and films. It is very well made, with exemplary photography and settings without ever feeling too stage bound. The music is haunting and evocative, the writing is outstanding(not only in terms of written quality but also how it is delivered and how well adapted it is), the characterisations have complexity especially Othello and the story still is compelling and moving. You couldn't have had a more perfect cast either, I think Laurence Olivier's Othello has more depth than his Hamlet, and to this day I still consider it one of his best performances on films, he is extraordinary. Maggie Smith is poignant, delicate and determined as Desdemona, and a young Derek Jacobi is excellent as Cassio. Frank Finlay's Iago is clever, conniving and altogether brilliant, for me the best of the supporting turns. In conclusion, fantastic really. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This is easily the best version of Othello I've seen (although I haven't seen the Orson Wells version yet).

Laurence Olivier was nominated for Best Actor for his role as Othello, and deservedly so. I was mesmerized by his performance, he was truly one of the greatest actors of all time.

All of the cast performed very well: Frank Finlay as Iago, Joyce Redman as Emilia, Maggie Smith as Desdemona, and in his very first movie role, Derek Jacobi as Cassio.

The direction was flawless - attentive care was put into the timing of conversations and events. The costumes were very good too - I far more enjoy watching Shakespeare set in it's original and appropriate time in history.

This is a filmed play. Second, his interpretation is a valid one and I didnt know there was a rule that actors could not play characters of different races. That kind of reverse racism is exactly what is to be avoided. Judge the acting for acting's sake. Olivier uses a full octave voice lower for the performance, unatural to his usual tenor voice. If one simply judges the acting, it should be seen as a powerful piece of work. Another performance of this is by Anthony Hopkins, also quite excellent, with different shadings.

Olivier got a lot of flack at the time for the Al Jolson performance, from people who failed to take into account the exaggeration of gesture and make-up that goes with a stage production. That's all it is, a film of a stage production, but visually the stage design is good and the photography presents it excellently.

Olivier is truly awesome: I invite you to read his biography by Donald Spoto to see what went in to this characterization. Surely this is his best Shakespeare role, but must admit I wish he could have filmed Macbeth. Another especial comment on the direction--it couldn't have been easy to bring this from the stage to a video version, but I feel it came off beautifully. This was film Shakespeare at its best--until Branagh's Hamlet.