• Shakespeare at eNotes
• Get help in the Shakespeare Group

William Shakespeare | Othello (1965)

Given that for years since the release of his Henry V Olivier was deemed the definitive interpreter of Shakespeare, it was not entirely unexpected that Olivier's Othello would be above standard. However, what was a surprise was that at a time when the civil rights movement was at its most vigorous, Olivier donned blackface to play the lead role. There were many black actors who could have played the tormented general but it was generally believed that none of them could handle Shakespearean verse in RP ('received pronunciation'), the unofficial accent with which to speak Shakespeare. The film stands as a document of both the passing of the old style of acting and Olivier's box office appeal. The young Maggie Smith is a beautiful but sophisticated Desdemona, and the young Derek Jacobi is an eager Cassio. But there is no doubt that this is Olivier's film, although he was not as involved as in his other Shakespeare projects. Olivier coveys the sense of futility that Othello suffers at the hands of Iago and his half-truths, a man who realises too late that he loved 'not wisely, but too well'. The majority of the film was shot on an indoor set, but even so, the performances engage the viewer with a sense of reality of the pain and confusion the leads endure. This may not be Olivier's best effort, but it is nonetheless an interpretation that will continue to be studied and enjoyed. - J.R. Costa

Cast: Othello: Laurence Olivier; Desdemona: Maggie Smith; Emilia: Joyce Redman; Iago: Frank Finlay; Cassio: Derek Jacobi; Roderigo: Robert Lang; Lodovico: Kenneth MacKintosh; Brabantio: Anthony Nicholls; Bianca: Sheila Reid; Senate Officers: Malcolm Terrace, David Hargreaves; Gratiano: Michael Turner; Duke of Venice: Harry Lomax; Senator: Kenneth Marsh; Sailor Tom Kempinski; Messenger: Nicholas Edmett; Montano: Edward Hardwicke; Cypriot Officers: William Hobbs, Trevor Martin, Christopher Timothy; Clown: Roy Holder.

Director: Stuart Barge, John Dexter (uncredited); Writer: William Shakespeare; Producers: John Brabourne, Anthony Havelock-Allan; Production Company: BHE Films.

Black and white. Runtime: 165 mins.

Navigate

1. William Shakespeare: Introduction
2. Shakespeare Biography
   1. Shakespeare Biography
   2. Shakespeare in London
   3. The First Folio
   4. For Futher Study
   5. Chronology of Shakespeare's Works
3. Shakespeare Chronology
4. Shakespeare's Plays with eNotes
5. Shakespeare Translated
6. Reading Shakespeare
7. Shakespeare's Globe Theater
   1. Shakespeare's Globe Theater
   2. Globe Theater: Early 17th Century Drawing
   3. Globe Theater: 1647 Drawing by W. Hollar
   4. Model of the Reconstructed Globe (1996)
   5. Exterior of the Reconstructed Globe
   6. Stage of the Reconstructed Globe
   7. For Further Study
8. Shakespeare Texts
9. Shakespeare on Film
   1. Preface to the Film Reviews
   2. Henry V (1944)
   3. Henry V (1989)
   4. Macbeth (1971)
   5. Richard III (1995)
   6. Romeo and Juliet (1996)
   7. Romeo and Juliet (1968)
   8. Hamlet (1948)
   9. Hamlet (1996)
   10. Macbeth (1948)
   11. Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
   12. The Taming of the Shrew (1967)
   13. Titus (1999)
   14. Twelfth Night; or What You Will (1996)
   15. Hamlet (1990)
   16. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)
   17. Othello (1965)
   18. Richard III (1954)
   19. The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice (1952)
   20. Othello (1995)
   21. Love's Labour's Lost (2000)
10. Shakespeare Portraits
    1. Color Illustration of the Stratford Bust
    2. Black and White Sketch of the Stratford Bust
    3. Black and White Side View of the Bust
    4. Chandos Portrait
    5. Another of the Chandos Portrait
    6. The Droeshout Portrait (Title Page First Folio)
    7. Color of the Droeshout Shakespeare
    8. Droeshout Portrait
    9. Marshall Shakespeare
    10. Shakespeare's Grave
    11. What Did Shakespeare Look Like?
11. Shakespeare Essays
12. Shakespeare Criticism
13. Shakespeare Pictures (Color Plates)
    1. Detail showing a student at Oxford college in 1574 (painting)
    2. Painting of 1604 meeting at Somerset House
    3. 16th-century illustration of whiskey distillation
    4. Anne Hathaway's Cottage (color photograph)
    5. The New Globe (color photograph with the Thames in the background)
    6. Painting (ca. 1600) of an Elizabethan wedding
    7. 1608 woodcut of a night watchman in London
    8. Illustration of Queen Elizabeth's funeral procession
    9. Illustration of an Elizabethan feast
    10. Woodcut of a Grammar school classroom
    11. Embroidery showing hunting scenes
    12. 1616 view of London
    13. Scene of early Elizabethan theater
    14. The defeat of the Spanish Armada
    15. Elizabethan music
    16. 1911 poster for a production of Macbeth
    17. Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1996 Romeo and Juliet
    18. Scene from the 1998 movie Shakespeare in Love
    19. Scene from a 1984 production of Twelfth Night
    20. Scene from a 2000 production of Coriolanus
    21. Scene from 2000 production of Merchant of Venice
    22. Poster for 1892 production of Julius Caesar
    23. Playbill of 1863 production of Hamlet
    24. Scene from 1991 production of Henry IV
    25. Scene from 1992 production of The Comedy of Errors
    26. Scene from 1999 production of The Life and Death of King John
    27. Scene from 1984 production of Richard III
    28. 1852 painting of Ophelia
    29. Scene from 1999 production of Othello
    30. Scene from 1990 production of Hamlet
    31. Portrait of Queen Elizabeth
    32. John Singer Sargent oil painting of Lady Macbeth (1889)
    33. Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree as Hamlet
    34. Oil painting of Shakespeare (unknown artist)
    35. Painting of William Charles Macready, a Shakespearean actor
    36. Sir Laurence Olivier as King Lear
    37. Nathan Field, a Shakespearean actor and member of the King's Men
    38. British director Jonathan Miller
    39. 1585 Portrait of Christopher Marlowe
    40. Poster promoting Sara Bernhardt in Hamlet (1899)
    41. Alec Guinness as Shylock (1984)
    42. Richard Burbage, leading actor in Shakespeare's company
    43. Henry Irving, actor
    44. Anne Boleyn, Queen Elizabeth's mother
    45. Sarah Siddons as Lady Macbeth
14. FAQs
    1. Why is Shakespeare considered to be the greatest writer in English literature?
    2. What was Shakespeare's childhood like?
    3. What was Shakespeare's marriage like?
    4. Did someone else write Shakespeare's plays?
    5. What was Shakespeare's political orientation?
    6. What was Shakespeare's view of human nature?
    7. Did Shakespeare believe that our lives are governed by fate?
    8. Was Shakespeare a homosexual?
    9. Was Shakespeare anti-semitic?
    10. Was Shakespeare a racist?
    11. Did Shakespeare believe in supernatural beings or forces?
    12. Who attended Shakespeare's plays?
    13. What do we know about Shakespeare's son Hamnet?
    14. Was Shakespeare a misogynist?
    15. How did Shakespeare die?
    16. Where is Shakespeare buried?
    17. Who is Shakespeare's greatest hero?
    18. Who is Shakespeare's greatest villain?
    19. Who is Shakespeare's greatest comic character?
    20. What is valued most in Shakespeare's plays?
    21. Did Shakespeare write any "bad" plays?
    22. Did Shakespeare act in any of his plays and if so, what roles did he perform?

See Also:

• Shakespeare A to Z
• Shakespeare's World
• Shakespeare's Work
• Shakespeare's Influence
• Shakespeare Quotes

Tell a friend about William Shakespeare at eNotes.