Othello (1995-Laurence Fishburne)

This is a very traditional looking production, as lush and swanky looking as any other, yet still better looking than some.  It should appease all the critics complaining about all the recent Shakespeare movies in updated settings.  It is also well directed.  My favorite scene is Iago's original implication of Cassio, which switches locations several times, as if Iago is getting under Othello's skin so much that Othello keeps bringing the subject up again.  Speaking of Othello, Laurence Fisburne is wonderful.  He has all the dignity and the buried rage needed for the role.  Another nice touch from that scene is when Othello gets impatient and holds the rifle he has just loaded up to Iago's chest.  My other favorite scene is Desdemona's song near the end, which is juxtaposed with shots of Othello.  Oliver Parker is clearly not just a Shakespeare director but a film director, and the movie is the better for it.  All the other performances are pretty good.  Roderigo is properly indignant, Iago is properly ingratiating-yet-evilly-sceming, Desdemona is properly...hmm...Desdemona.  I'm not sure if I would go for Irene Jacob, who plays Desdemona, if I were a guy, but then I'm not.  And I love the way Iago's monologues are all spoken to the camera.  I've heard a lot of claims that this version is so adapted that it can't be considered a definitive version of Othello, but I don't agree.  I didn't even notice a lot of cuts, and normally any differences from the text stick out like a sore thumb to me.  The music was great, appropriately ominous, but it got a little loud at times-I had to blast the sound just to be able to hear the dialogue.  By the way, the video has a long preview of Hamlet, including an interview with Kenneth Branagh.  Even if you don't really want to watch the preview, it's entertaining to watch in fast-forward.

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