Othello
Directed by Stuart Burge
Written by William Shakespeare
1965/UK
BHE Films/National Theatre of Great Britain Production
First viewing/Netflix
Othello: I pray you, in your letters; when you shall these unlucky deeds relate, speak of them as they are. Nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice. Then must you speak of one that lov’d not wisely but too well.
Laurence Olivier’s bizarre black-face turn as Othello swamps the efforts of a stellar cast.
Ok, I think we all know the story of Othello. The Moorish general (Olivier) marries the naive young Desdemona (Maggie Smith). He prefers young Cassio (Derek Jacobi) over evil Iago (Frank Finlay) as his lieutenant.
Iago is consumed with jealousy and decides to get revenge through destroying Othello’s happiness with Desdemona. With Joyce Redman as Emilia, Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s nurse.
Despite his Oscar nomination, this is honestly the worst Olivier performance I have seen. His attempts to portray another race completely miss the mark. The baritone bass used only resembles a bad imitation of a Jamaican accent. His histrionics are almost offensive. Everybody else is excellent.
Othello was nominated for Oscars in the categories of Best Actor (Olivier); Best Supporting Actor (Finlay); Best Supporting Actress (Smith); and Best Supporting Actress (Redman).
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