Othello
by Lies
When Desdemona, a young, white girl, decides to elope with the rich Moor Othello, her father Brabantio, not too pleased with the marriage, predicts his son-in-law that his daughter has betrayed her father, and one day will betray him too. The Moor, of course, does not think much of this at the moment itself- but somewhere deep down, he does not forget these words.
The green-eyed monster of jealousy is, indeed, omnipresent when the evil Iago, out of spite towards Othello’s lieutenant Cassio, decides to set up a little play for his master- a play in which that master’s young wife cruelly gets dragged into, until it, ultimately, will lead to her and her husband’s downfall. But Iago’s downfall, too, is never far away…
A classic, Shakespearian tragedy, the movie “Othello”- filmed in 1965- tells the ancient story in a most beautiful way. Original costumes and the 16th century text only add to the traditional atmosphere of the movie while the acting is, indeed, great. A young Maggie Smith, in the role of Desdemona, proves her great talent for both comedy and the more serious work once more- and with her well-timed, fascinating acting, manages to steal away quite a few of Sir Lawrence Olivier’s- Othello’s- scenes.