Othello


1h 31m 1952
Othello

Brief Synopsis

The legendary Moor of Venice battles his growing suspicions that his wife is unfaithful.

Film Details

Also Known As
Orson Welles: The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice, Tragedy of Othello, The, Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice
Genre
Drama
Adaptation
Release Date
1952
Location
Rome, Italy; Venice, Italy; Perugia, Italy; Mogador, Morocco; Paris, France

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 31m
Sound
Dolby (re-release), Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1

Synopsis

Durante il periodo delle Repubbliche Marinare, in Italia, Otello, detto "il moro di Venezia", viene inviato dal doge a difendere la roccaforte di Cipro dai musulmani, dopo il suo matrimonio con la bella e nobile Desdemona. Avendo scelto Cassio come aiutante, Otello provoca invidia e gelosia nel perfido Jago, che comincia ad insinuare dubbi sulla fedeltà della moglie. Con un artificio, il subdolo Jago crea "l'incidente del fazzoletto di Desdemona". A questo punto l'ingenuo Otello gli crede e, folle di gelosia, soffoca la moglie con un cuscino. Ma la verità viene a galla e Jago è smascherato e condannato a morte. Otello non resiste al rimorso e si suicida. Tratto dal dramma di Shakespeare, il film si rifà alla versione operistica di Arrigo Boito.

Crew

Murray Allen

Sound Design

Daniel Aukin

Production Assistant

Robert Baltrus

Sound

Alberto Barberis

Music

Walter Bedone

Associate Producer

Bob Bennett

Music

Bruce Bernstein

Other

Thomas Bieke

Other

Bob Bosack

Other

Lukas Bower

Other

Lukas Bower

Dialogue Editor

Robert Bowker

Music Conductor

Anchise Brizzi

Director Of Photography

Richard Bykowski

Video

Mark Caras

Researcher

Mark Caras

Associate Producer

Don Cox

Video

Douglas Cunningham

Production Auditor

Patrice Dali

Associate Producer

Michael Dawson

Researcher

Michael Dawson

Producer

Lorita De La Cerna

Audio

Maria De Matteis

Costumes

Julien Derode

Associate Producer

George Eastman

Titles

Rocco Facchini

Associate Producer

George Fanto

Director Of Photography

Willy Ferrero

Music Conductor

John Fogelson

Post-Production Supervisor

John Fogelson

Sound Effects Editor

Casey Golbioski

Other

Ed Golya

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Ed Golya

Audio

Bill Gubbins

Consultant

Mike Holloway

Other

Alex Irvine

Production Assistant

David Kalish

Other

Francesco Lavagnino

Music

John Leahy

Researcher

Brett Leibsker

Production Assistant

Scott Levitin

Adr/Dialogue Editor

Dave Lewis

Other

Donald Liebsker

Executive Producer

Larry Logman

Video

Renzo Lucidi

Editor

Rachel V Lyon

Researcher

Rachel V Lyon

Associate Producer

Matthew Mailman

Music

Mikey Mcdonough

Other

William Morton

Editor

Layni K Myers

Production Auditor

Giorgio Patti

Associate Producer

Michael Pendowski

Construction

Michael Pendowski

Music Conductor

Greg Peters

Other

Frederick E Roth

Associate Producer

Jean Sacha

Editor

Arnie Saks

Producer

Terry Schilling

Dialogue Editor

Barbara Schueren

Researcher

William Shakespeare

Play As Source Material

John Shepridge

Editor

Dave Simpson

Liaison

Peter Spataro

Other

Edward Stone

Executive Producer

James Trainor

Executive Producer

Alexander Trauner

Set Decorator

Jeffrey Turner

Music

Joseph Weigel

Other

Orson Welles

Screenplay

Orson Welles

Producer

Orson Welles

Writer (Adaptation)

Steve Wilke

Dialogue Editor

Leon Xintaris

Other

Ray Yeo

Other

Film Details

Also Known As
Orson Welles: The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice, Tragedy of Othello, The, Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice
Genre
Drama
Adaptation
Release Date
1952
Location
Rome, Italy; Venice, Italy; Perugia, Italy; Mogador, Morocco; Paris, France

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 31m
Sound
Dolby (re-release), Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1

Articles

Othello (1952)


Almost four years passed between the premiere of Orson Welles' first adaptation of Shakespeare for the screen, Macbeth (1948) and the premiere of his second, Othello (1952). It was originally intended for release a year after Macbeth but the delay the film suffered made for one of the strangest stories in the history of moviemaking.

Before he was even finished editing Macbeth, Welles had left America for Europe, having received a job offer to direct a movie of Cyrano de Bergerac for producer Alexander Korda. When that project collapsed, Welles became a roving actor on the many productions that sprang up on the Continent in the years after World War II. His appearance in The Third Man (1949) would be his most famous, but the one that got Othello started was when he played the hypnotist Cagliostro in Black Magic (1949). The movie was shot in Rome at Scalera Film Studios and, with his usual charm, Welles managed to talk the studio's owner, Mr. Scalera, into backing a quicky production of Othello to be shot in Morocco.

With Black Magic finished, Welles gathered a cast, crew and a detailed screenplay and brought them all to the town of Mogador on the coast of Morocco. And there they waited for the costumes to arrive. As Welles later recounted, "..we got a telegram saying the costumes wouldn't come because they hadn't been completed. A day later, a telegram came saying they hadn't been started. And then a telegram came saying that Scalera had gone bankrupt. So I had a company of fifty people in North Africa and no money."

Usually everyone would have just gone home. Instead Welles emptied out his own bank account and started rolling, improvising costumes and sets. When he finally ran out of funds, he dismissed the cast and crew and took roles in other movies to raise money, then reunited the cast and crew to shoot more footage until the money ran out again. "Three different times I had to close it and go away and earn money and come back, which meant you'd see me looking off-camera left, and when you'd cut over my shoulder, it would be another continent - a year later."

This process went on until the summer of 1951, three years after he'd begun filming. But the trouble was not over yet. The soundtrack was in rough shape and the lack of money for post-production led to a pieced-together soundtrack that was often indistinct. The movie shared the grand prize at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival, but in the United States the movie received mixed reviews, with many critics pointing out the poor audio quality.

Four years after Welles' death in 1985, his daughter Beatrice instigated a restoration project for her father's movie, a project made much easier when the negative and sound elements were discovered in a New Jersey warehouse. Once again four years were spent on Othello, this time just for the restoration. Computers were used to remove film blotches, dialogue was meticulously re-synced to the actors' lips and the musical score was re-recorded with modern sound equipment. The result was released in 1992 to great acclaim, hailed as one of the best adaptations of Shakespeare for the screen. It took forty-four years to do it, but Welles' movie that couldn't be made was finally complete with the power and beauty he had always intended.

Director: Orson Welles
Writers: William Shakespeare adapted by Orson Welles, Jean Sacha
Producer: Orson Welles
Cinematographers: Anchise Brizzi, G. R. Aldo, George Fanto, O. Troiani, R. Fusi
Editors: John Shepridge, Jean Sacha, Renzo Lucidi, William Morton
Music: Angelo Francesco Lavagnino, Alberto Barberis
Cast: Orson Welles (Othello), Michael MacLiammoir (Iago), Suzanne Cloutier (Desdemona), Robert Coote (Roderigo), Michael Laurence (Cassio), Fay Compton (Emilia).
BW-93m.

by Brian Cady
Othello (1952)

Othello (1952)

Almost four years passed between the premiere of Orson Welles' first adaptation of Shakespeare for the screen, Macbeth (1948) and the premiere of his second, Othello (1952). It was originally intended for release a year after Macbeth but the delay the film suffered made for one of the strangest stories in the history of moviemaking. Before he was even finished editing Macbeth, Welles had left America for Europe, having received a job offer to direct a movie of Cyrano de Bergerac for producer Alexander Korda. When that project collapsed, Welles became a roving actor on the many productions that sprang up on the Continent in the years after World War II. His appearance in The Third Man (1949) would be his most famous, but the one that got Othello started was when he played the hypnotist Cagliostro in Black Magic (1949). The movie was shot in Rome at Scalera Film Studios and, with his usual charm, Welles managed to talk the studio's owner, Mr. Scalera, into backing a quicky production of Othello to be shot in Morocco. With Black Magic finished, Welles gathered a cast, crew and a detailed screenplay and brought them all to the town of Mogador on the coast of Morocco. And there they waited for the costumes to arrive. As Welles later recounted, "..we got a telegram saying the costumes wouldn't come because they hadn't been completed. A day later, a telegram came saying they hadn't been started. And then a telegram came saying that Scalera had gone bankrupt. So I had a company of fifty people in North Africa and no money." Usually everyone would have just gone home. Instead Welles emptied out his own bank account and started rolling, improvising costumes and sets. When he finally ran out of funds, he dismissed the cast and crew and took roles in other movies to raise money, then reunited the cast and crew to shoot more footage until the money ran out again. "Three different times I had to close it and go away and earn money and come back, which meant you'd see me looking off-camera left, and when you'd cut over my shoulder, it would be another continent - a year later." This process went on until the summer of 1951, three years after he'd begun filming. But the trouble was not over yet. The soundtrack was in rough shape and the lack of money for post-production led to a pieced-together soundtrack that was often indistinct. The movie shared the grand prize at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival, but in the United States the movie received mixed reviews, with many critics pointing out the poor audio quality. Four years after Welles' death in 1985, his daughter Beatrice instigated a restoration project for her father's movie, a project made much easier when the negative and sound elements were discovered in a New Jersey warehouse. Once again four years were spent on Othello, this time just for the restoration. Computers were used to remove film blotches, dialogue was meticulously re-synced to the actors' lips and the musical score was re-recorded with modern sound equipment. The result was released in 1992 to great acclaim, hailed as one of the best adaptations of Shakespeare for the screen. It took forty-four years to do it, but Welles' movie that couldn't be made was finally complete with the power and beauty he had always intended. Director: Orson Welles Writers: William Shakespeare adapted by Orson Welles, Jean Sacha Producer: Orson Welles Cinematographers: Anchise Brizzi, G. R. Aldo, George Fanto, O. Troiani, R. Fusi Editors: John Shepridge, Jean Sacha, Renzo Lucidi, William Morton Music: Angelo Francesco Lavagnino, Alberto Barberis Cast: Orson Welles (Othello), Michael MacLiammoir (Iago), Suzanne Cloutier (Desdemona), Robert Coote (Roderigo), Michael Laurence (Cassio), Fay Compton (Emilia). BW-93m. by Brian Cady

Quotes

Trivia

Orson Welles provides the voice for much of Roderigo's dialogue.

The movie was shot over three years and production was stopped twice, mainly because Wells ran out of money. He then starred in the films Third Man, The (1949) and _Prince of Foxes, The (1949)_ . He took his payment from those films and used them as money for "Othello"

Welles had another actress dub all dialogue of 'Suzanne Cloutier' .

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States Winter January 1, 1955

Re-released in United States March 6, 1992

Released in United States on Video January 13, 1993

Re-released in United States on Video November 2, 1994

Premiere in United States September 12, 1955

Released in United States 1992

Shown at San Francisco International Film Festival April 23 - May 7, 1992.

Micheal MacLiamoir replaced Everett Sloane in the role of Iago during production.

Lea Padovani and Betsy Blair were both considered for the role of Desdemona; Suzanne Cloutier replaced Cecile Aubry in the role during production.

Won best feature prize at 1952 Cannes Film Festival, where it was registered as a Moroccan production.

Began shooting Spring 1949.

Some sources have the shoot beginning in 1948.

Much of the dialogue was recorded wild (not synched to the picture).

Completed early 1952.

Released in United States Winter January 1, 1955

Re-released in United States March 6, 1992 (New York City)

Released in United States on Video January 13, 1993

Re-released in United States on Video November 2, 1994

Premiere in United States September 12, 1955 (premiere; New York City)

Released in United States 1992 (Shown at San Francisco International Film Festival April 23 - May 7, 1992.)