Othello

1965
Unrated
2h 45m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

General Othello's marriage is destroyed when vengeful Ensign Iago convinces him that his new wife has been unfaithful.General Othello's marriage is destroyed when vengeful Ensign Iago convinces him that his new wife has been unfaithful.General Othello's marriage is destroyed when vengeful Ensign Iago convinces him that his new wife has been unfaithful.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

1.7K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 4 Oscars
- 1 win & 10 nominations total

Trivia
This is the only Shakespearean movie in which all four leading actors and actresses (Sir Laurence Olivier, Dame Maggie Smith, Frank Finlay, and Joyce Redman) were nominated for Oscars.

Goofs
Desdemona's chest is still going up and down (like she's breathing) after she dies.

Quotes
Iago: O beware my lord,of jealousy! It is the green-ey'd monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.

Alternate versions
The film's U.S. DVD release restores the Warner Bros. logo backed by a red curtain and fanfare music to the opening credits, and the "Intermission" title card about ninety minutes into the film. These have not been seen since the film's original U.S. release; they were not featured on the videocassette edition. The long-deleted "intermission break" occurs immediately after Othello says to Iago, "Now art thou my lieutenant" and Iago answers "I am your own forever".

Connections
Featured in The Ed Sullivan Show: Dinah Shore, Jose Feliciano, Jim Nabors, Jackie Vernon, Dick Capri, The Four Tops, Barry Sadler (1966)

Soundtracks
Fanfares
(uncredited)
Music by Jack Trombey
De Wolfe Music Ltd

User reviews26

Review

Featured review

9/10

Best Movie Version of Othello

This is easily the best version of Othello I've seen (although I haven't seen the Orson Wells version yet).

Laurence Olivier was nominated for Best Actor for his role as Othello, and deservedly so. I was mesmerized by his performance, he was truly one of the greatest actors of all time.

All of the cast performed very well: Frank Finlay as Iago, Joyce Redman as Emilia, Maggie Smith as Desdemona, and in his very first movie role, Derek Jacobi as Cassio.

The direction was flawless - attentive care was put into the timing of conversations and events. The costumes were very good too - I far more enjoy watching Shakespeare set in it's original and appropriate time in history.