Othello
In tonight's tribute to the wunderkind, we present Welles' second foray into Shakespeare, and his first feature made in Europe. Othello reveals a looser, less structured, more poetic side of Welles' filmmaking to those only familiar with his Hollywood productions. Structured as an investigation, or perhaps as an explanation, of Othello's downfall, Welles' adaptation is unusual in its focus on interactions between Othello (played by Welles) and Iago (Michéal MacLiammoir). Using bold, energetic images juxtaposed in an Eisensteinian fashion, Welles eloquently gives visual form to the twisted emotions that characterize Iago and Othello's relationship. Under Welles' direction, the destructive power of ambition cannot be contained indoors, and much of the story erupts outdoors, with the wind pounding the bluffs, shrieking gulls diving over the sea, the hot Moroccan sun alternating with thunder and lightning. “...Welles never made a more coherent and beautiful film; the lucid, dashing, vibrant style has seldom been so perfectly webbed to its subject” (Charles Higham, The Films of Orson Welles).