News

William Shakespeare's "The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice," inspired by the Italian story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio (1504 - 1573), was likely first performed around 1603 at the Globe Theater just outside of London. The story follows the titular Venetian military commander and his relationship with Desdemona, the daughter of a senator. Othello and Desdemona are both mature adults, and speak their emotions clearly, unlike Shakespeare's other well-known Veronan youths. One of Othello's ensigns, Iago, announces to the audience that he secretly hates Othello, and aches for his undoing. The term "Moor" is an old English word used, insensitively, to refer to anyone with dark skin, and didn't necessarily refer to any country of origin. The word is fraught and deserves more context than I can provide here.

Because Othello's race is constantly mentioned in the text of the play, many critics see Iago's hate and jealousy of Othello...

Stars: Orson Welles, Micheál MacLiammóir, Suzanne Cloutier, Robert Coote, Fay Compton, Michael Laurence | Written by William Shakespeare, Orson Welles, Jean Sacha | Directed by Orson Welles

We open with a funeral. For whom we’re not sure, but by the end of Orson Welles’ 1952 adaptation of Shakespeare’s Moorish tragedy Othello we can be certain that more than one of the main characters will be dead.

The location is Cyprus, and Venetian General Othello (Welles) is married to Desdemona, much to the chagrin of Othello’s supposedly loyal ensign, Iago (Micheál MacLiammóir). The latter sets about bringing ruin to his master through a convoluted campaign of rumour and hearsay. Specifically, he makes Othello believe that one of his captains, Cassio (Michael Laurence), is romantically involved with Desdemona. In all of literature a simple handkerchief has never held such power.

MacLiammóir is having an absolute riot in the upsetter role (the painted-on...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSNicolas Winding Refn, the provocateur known for sleekly mixing art-house and genre cinema in such films as Drive and The Neon Demon, has announced a new initiative: A new online cinema showcasing "restored films and other content with the aim of inspiring a new generation of cinephiles." Mubi is partnering with the Danish director to premiere these newly restored movies on our platform before they are available on byNWR.com, which officially launches in February, 2018.Recommended VIEWINGThe first trailer for a project we're very excited for, Spike Lee's expansive remake of his sophomore feature She's Gotta Have It (1986).Critics Cristina Álvarez López and Adrian Martin also have a new video essay on the nuances in gesture and expression in the cinema of Rainer Werner Fassbinder for Queensland Gallery of Modern Art. For Filmkrant,...

Othello

Blu-ray

Criterion

1952 / Black and White / 1:33 / Street Date October 10, 2017

Starring Orson Welles, Suzanne Cloutier, Micheál MacLiammóir

Cinematography by G.R. Aldo, Anchise Brizzi, George Fanto, Alberto Fusi, Oberdan Troiani

Written by William Shakespeare (Adapted by Orson Welles)

Edited by Jenö Csepreghy, Renzo Lucidi, William Morton, Jean Sacha

Produced by Orson Welles, Julien Derode

Directed by Orson Welles

Shakespeare didn’t invent Orson Welles but he did define him; it can be said that if any one director took arms against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, it was the man behind Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil and Chimes at Midnight. The 1952 production of Othello is exhibit A.

Filmed over a turbulent three year period in and around Morocco, Venice and Rome, Welles was bedeviled by an ever-changing cast and crew resulting in reshoots by five different cinematographers and assembled by four different editors. The sound recording was a joke.

The Criterion Collection has announced its May offerings, including “Dheepan,” “Ghost World” and a Blu-ray update of “Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.” Also joining the Collection are Orson Welles’ “Othello,” a new World Cinema Project collector’s set and Yasujirō Ozu’s “Good Morning.” More information below.

Read More: The Criterion Collection Announces April Titles: ‘Tampopo,’ ‘Rumble Fish,’ ‘Woman of the Year’ and More

“Ghost World”

“Terry Zwigoff’s first fiction film, adapted from a cult-classic comic by Daniel Clowes, is an idiosyncratic portrait of adolescent alienation that’s at once bleakly comic and wholly endearing. Set during the malaise-filled months following high-school graduation, ‘Ghost World’ follows the proud misfit Enid (Thora Birch), who confronts an uncertain future amid the cultural wasteland of consumerist suburbia. As her cynicism becomes too much to bear even for her best friend, Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson), Enid finds herself drawn to an unlikely kindred...

Orson Welles' "Othello," based on Shakespeare's tragedy, was a famously troubled production with a long and checkered history. The film itself was shot sporadically over a period of three years after the film's initial Italian producer went bankrupt. Welles poured his own money into the production and found some creative solutions to keep the budget down. Shooting went on for so long that some key roles (including Desdemona) had to be recast, with scenes reshot. Though the film won the 1952 Best Picture Award at Cannes, it wasn't released (in an altered version) in the U.S. until 1955 to little fanfare. In the film, written and directed by Welles, the director himself plays the doomed Moor in the classic tale of sexual jealousy and betrayal shot on location in Morocco and Rome. Welles starred alongside Micheál MacLiammóir, Robert Coot and Suzanne Cloutier. There have been several different versions of the film,...