95-Oliver Parker

Othello's self-dramatizing tendencies emerge early in Parker's film. His account of

his life to the Senate is punctuated by flashback scenes which he conjures as
pleonastic illustration to his words. He is quick to visualise how well received he was
at Brabantio's house, and how irresistibly drawn to him Desdemona was. Othello is
inspired and consoled by the graphic recollection of his own favourable impact on
his world.
The 1995 film adaptation Othello directed by Oliver Parker incorporates memory
flashbacks when Othello is giving his speech to the assembled senate and Duke.
These memory flashbacks provide the viewer with a more detailed point of view
that one cannot get out of the written text. It specifically illustrates how Othello and
Desdemona caught each others eye from the first time they had spotted each other,
and how Desdemona was intrigued and showed pity for the obstacles and
experiences he had gone through in his past. She is seen in a flashback memorized
of his tattoos and markings that were all reminders of his past experiences in battle
and war, sharing a kiss with him at the end. These flashbacks help tie together
Othellos meaning behind his speech. The movie itself seems to cut down upon the
original text lines but the main ideas are still intact and fall very close to how the
original text goes according to plot. The movie also initially shows how Brabanzio is
already being haunted by something in his sleep before the news of Othello and
Desdemonia reaches him. These small additions help the viewer get the mood of
the scene better than if they were simply reading the text.
52 Orson Welles
, particularly the Senate scene where our first good look at Othello follows Brabantio
says "the sooty bosom of such a thing as thou" and the camera cuts immediately to
Othello's face as well as Shakespeares original play which obviously dealt with the
language in a crude way signifying the blackness of Othello
He plays the starring role himself, not in anything like blackface but with a mild
bronzing that leaves Othellos Moorishness less a vision than a notion.) Welless
movie condenses the play to ninety minutes, and he thrusts Othellos long
monologue, about his wooing of Desdemona, into the first few minutes, and gives
himself some extended closeups in which to deliver it. The tale that Othello tellsa
tale about the very telling of storiesis one of the strangest romances in all
literature.
He admits, Rude am I in my speech, because he has spent his life in war (little of
this great world can I speak / More than pertains to feats of broil and battle), and
Welles gives his Othello speech that is surprisingly plain, uninflecteda stiff and derhetoricized approach to verse. Its with this tone that Othello explains how
Desdemona overheard him telling stories of war and adventures to Brabantio, her
fatherand Welles notably suppresses Shakespeares lines about cannibals and

Anthropophagi, emphasizing Othellos struggles, not his travels. He spoke to her in

private of the wounds he endured. She wished she had not heard it; yet she wished
/ That heaven had made her such a man She loved me for the dangers I had
passed, and I loved her that she did pity them. Imagine the courtship, spun out as
a series of scenes.
In this 1965 version of Othello with Laurence Olivier as Othello, the performance
given by Othello, Iago, and Brabantio do as much for the movie, as the words they
speak. Specifically, I am analyzing the video from 00:09:25 to 00:24:00. To start off
with, we see Brabantio, a older man obviously that seems to have much power with
the senate once we get to the court room with the duke. Him, along with most
every other venetian seem to be dressed in large robes, while Iago is really the only
one in military uniform. I think this establishes the relationship between Iago and
Othello, that it is mostly a work relationship and not a friendship. This makes it a
little more difficult to believe that Iago could so easily sway Othellos thoughts when
compared to the Laurence Fishburne version of Othello, where they seem to be very
close.
Othellos costume is also an important aspect in this performance. One of the most
distinct differences between Othellos costume and all of the other Venetians is the
large necklace type of apparel he wears. We see through this entire scene that a lot
of the Venetian characters in the background have necklaces of circles connected to
one another around their necks, while Othellos is of a different style. His has
different shapes, seems to be made of a different metal, and therefore makes it
seem as if it is from a different place, perhaps his past, and thus, differentiates him
from everyone else. Of course, there is also the black face that Laurence Olivier
wears while playing Othello, which is quite obviously used to differentiate Othello as
a Moor, and not the same as all of the other Venetians.
Another aspect of the performance that I found interesting was that Brabantios
warning to Othello that he should watch his wife closely was after most of the
senators left. In the book, all of the senators left after this and along with Brabantio.
Though this is a very slight difference, I believe it makes it more personal and more
of an obvious foreshadow to Othello. Its also notable that Iago is still around to
hear this warning, off to this side of the shot though, giving him something to base
his evil plot on.
In the movie version of 1965, Laurence Olivier captures perfectly Othellos
confidence before the Duke and senators. He chuckles as he describes how
Desdemona listened to his discourses with a greedy ear.