Directed by Orson Welles
United States, Italy, Morocco, France • 1952 • 90 mins.
Among Welles’ finished films, Othello has one of the most troubled production histories. Financed largely out-of-pocket and shot intermittently over a three-year period, Othello nevertheless remains one of Welles’ most beautiful works; a compact, powerful drama fraught with taut atmospheric pleasure. As with Macbeth before it, Welles takes liberties with Shakespeare’s original work, which concerns the Moorish general Othello (Welles) and his new wife Desdemona (Suzanne Cloutier), who are manipulated and betrayed by their jealous subordinates. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Genres: Drama
Appears in: Orson Welles at 100