Excellent but underrated film

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

No, I'm not trolling. I like a lot of Shakespeare's plays so I thought I'd try Othello. I hope it's the last time I see any version of probably the most implausible movie I've ever seen. In case you missed it: * Someone suggests to Othello, a newly married man who's infatuated with his wife, that she's cheating on him. Instead of telling him he's out of line, Othello believes him. * He goes on a military campaign and takes with him not just his wife, but also her maid. * He tramples on a handkerchief that he later says is of utmost sentimental value to him. * Despite being in charge of the Venetian army, he has hours every day to talk one-on-one, to one of his advisers, about his personal life. * Iago and Cassio have a conversation about Bianca in which Cassio doesn't once mention Bianca's name. * Desdemona mentions Cassio all the time. If she was having an affair with him, wouldn't she try to make it a bit less obvious? * Roderigo tells Iago that he doesn't trust him, and not thirty seconds later agrees when Iago suggests he kill Cassio. * Cassio, dying, says that he had two killers, but nobody bothers to look for the second one. * Othello overhears a conversation between Emilia and Desdemona which makes it clear that Desdemona has done nothing wrong, but still thinks she's being unfaithful to him. * Despite the fact that there's precisely, exactly, zero chemistry between Cassio and Desdemona when they're together, and the fact that nobody but Iago is suspicious, and that Cassio is already seeing someone else, and that Othello raises his suspicions with not a single other person, and the overheard conversation, he still thinks she's unfaithful. * He locks himself in their bedroom, knowing that Emilia has seen him, before he kills her, making him the only possible murderer. * When Emilia points out that Desdemona is (was) innocent, Othello, having been sure enough of her guilt for days and days, and sure enough to kill her only ten minutes earlier, suddenly decides she was innocent. OK, so I get that people don't always act rationally when love is involved, but seriously, that doesn't even explain even half of the above. I did battle my way to the end of it, but honestly, that's an hour and a half of my life that I'll never get back.

Some years ago I saw a comedy acting troupe called The Reduced Shakespeare Company, who would perform a series of sketches on the bard's work. This culminated with a three-minute version of Hamlet – a few key lines blurted out (plus a few they made up), characters hurrying on and off, but every strand of the plot just about accounted for. It was a good laugh. When I see this screen adaptation of Othello from half a century earlier, it feels like I'm seeing more or less the same thing. Except it isn't funny.This is one of a number of productions which star and director Orson Welles had trouble getting off the ground. As such it was filmed in bits and pieces, very much on the cheap. Perhaps Welles also had trouble getting permission to film in certain places, as every scene seems incredibly rushed, as if cast and crew were eager to wrap up. And the amount of editing going on suggests that perhaps Welles was using cameras that wouldn't hold more than two feet of film. There's a section of voice-over narration about ten minutes in where there is a cut every two words or so. It looks like a joke.Welles knew what he was doing of course, and there is some kind of method to all this. When Othello makes his first appearance (shortly after the aforementioned voice-over sequence) we do at last get a slightly longer take, which gives an air of power and dignity in contrast to the rush of what went before. But Welles gets the balances wrong. Most of the movie is too fast, too choppy. The actual images are some of the most breathtaking Welles ever shot (and that is saying something), beautifully baroque compositions of shadow and architecture, but a motion picture must be more than a series of pretty pictures.The principle victim of this hurried version of Othello is probably Shakespeare himself. Shakespeare's dialogue, for all its brilliance, can be hard going on an audience at the best of times and it takes skilled interpretation to bring it to life. By condensing the play and rushing the performances, Welles has actually made it more impenetrable. In short, this one is probably only of interest to the Welles fanatics. Don't see it if you want to know Othello. It simply doesn't do the bard justice.

The re-release in the early 1990s of Orson Welles' cut-and-paste Shakespeare tragedy was greeted by near unanimous critical acclaim, but all the belated comparisons to 'Citizen Kane' couldn't hide the desperate circumstances under which the film was made. Welles himself gave an impressive, suitably moody performance in the title role, but all his efforts were undone by too many budget restrictions (consecutive scenes were sometimes shot years apart), leaving only a flimsy shadow of what could have been another masterpiece. Visually, the film highlights all the trademark eccentricities of its director, including some ostentatious, imitation Gregg Toland cinematography. But the shoddy editing and poorly recorded sound track diminish the impact and beauty of Shakespeare's language, and the occasional flash of brilliance isn't enough to salvage yet another compelling failure from a wayward genius.

Orson Welles' film version of Othello opens with the arresting and atmospheric images of the caskets of Othello and Desdemona being carried down a hill: it's a stark reminder of the tragic nature of what we are about to see, accompanied by the full affecting score that reappears throughout, and as visually striking as the rest of the film. What the making of this Othello was reportedly difficult as best by financial trouble, it looks lavish and extraordinary. The atmospheric black-and-white film-making on raging seaside locations, in a imposing castles, and at decadent festivals is brilliantly atmospheric, suspenseful, and almost supernatural. The celebrated tracking shot on the "I like not that" scene is very justly so.The flipside of this mesmeric and constantly fascinating composition and direction is that, in this very cinematic Othello, many cuts have been made, creating dynamic scenes but losing much of the subtlety in many of Shakespeare's scenes.The two impeccable things about this production are the ones directly under the control of Orson Welles -- the unforgettable look, and his performance as Othello. I was shocked to read he later doubted his casting if himself, since he's extraordinary in the part. He projects dignity, power, and good-fellowship, but also a kind of innocence and childlike trust. This really adds dimension to the play and is a missing piece in a lot of performances. Othello is a master at the warlike arts who is a little lost at sea he must deal face-to-face with other people, so his trust is all-or-nothing.While Micheál MacLiammóir seems a competent actor as Iago, I'm not sure I like his choices in the role. He plays up the sly, sinister, conniving aspects of Iago's character (at times even seeming to let Roderigo completely in on his malicious nature) without letting us see the charming aspects the explain how he is able to insinuate himself into everybody's affections. We are left wondering why all the other characters are being so nice to this obviously bitter and manipulative man. Robert Coote's Roderigo is also played as a little too dimwitted for my liking (though Orson Welles also subtly displays his acting prowess by filling in as Coote's voice,, doing well and without sounding obviously like Orson Welles playing two parts).This film has its flaws (including the much-publicized ones with dialogue on the soundtrack), but its strengths, especially the haunting way it is filmed and Orson Welles' masterpiece of a performance make this a film that shouldn't be missed.