Criterion Review: Orson Welles’ OTHELLO

Classic tale from a master storyteller.

Early in his career, but after his youthful masterpiece Citizen Kane, Orson Welles went in on Shakespeare. His chaotic Othello captures the Bard’s essence while delivering cinematically.

Criterion has now released their version of this film, complete with the extras we’ve come to expect, including both the original European release as well as an edited one for American audiences.

This 1952 classic features Welles as Othello, naturally. His imposing size and booming voice does credit to “The Moor,” though even Orson himself admits he was a little young to play this part.

The other immortal character from this play, the sinister Iago, is played by Irish theater legend Micheál MacLiammóir. There’s an unctuousness to his every move that both makes one feel for Othello as well as be on the lookout for characters like this in real life.

Desdemona is portrayed by Suzanne Cloutier, and while her performance is good as it goes, Welles over-dubbed her voice on the 1955 American edition. While slightly cruel, it does make the film better.

Like any interpretation, this Othello has its strengths and weaknesses, but as an important piece of Welles’ legacy and one of the better screen adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, it’s a must-watch for many movie lovers.

Extra Content: FILMING OTHELLO

Imagine tooling around Beverly Hills in the late ‘70s and happening upon a well-appointed mansion. Upon entering, you’re met by Orson Welles, the legend himself, who proceeds to pontificate and orate for the rest of the evening over too many bottles of very good wine.

That’s essentially what watching Filming Othello feels like. Described as “Welles’s last completed film, a 1979 essay-documentary, ” this public television piece reveals all the strengths and weakness of Welles himself. He’s brash, a little arrogant, but really, really knows his stuff, and has a charm that papers over any off-putting chunks of hubris that get caught in his teeth.

With a running time over almost an hour and a half, this piece runs the gamut from Welles talking directly to the camera to an audience Q&A to dinner with other members of the Othello cast. It’s a little slapdash but feels like recently discovered treasure and absolutely enhances the viewing of the original itself.

THE PACKAGE

• New, restored 4K digital transfers of two versions of the film, the 1952 European one and the 1955 U.S. and UK one, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary from 1995 featuring filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich and Orson Welles scholar Myron Meisel
• Filming Othello, Welles’s last completed film, a 1979 essay-documentary
• Return to Glennascaul, a 1953 short film made by actors Micheál MacLiammóir and Hilton Edwards during a hiatus from shooting Othello
• New interview with Welles biographer Simon Callow
• Souvenirs d’“Othello,” a 1995 documentary about actor Suzanne Cloutier by François Girard
• New interview with Welles scholar François Thomas on the two versions
• New interview with Ayanna Thompson, author of Passing Strange: Shakespeare, Race, and Contemporary America
• Interview from 2014 with scholar Joseph McBride
• PLUS: An essay by film critic Geoffrey O’Brien