Othello - a classical drama by William Shakespeare - adapted for screen by Orson Welles, Serge Yutkevich and Oliver Parker

Table of contents

1.  Introduction  3

2.  Orson Welles’ adaptation of Othello  4

2.1.  Special feature: camera work  4

2.2.  Special feature: bars and imprisonment  4

2.3.  Special feature: colour  5

2.4.  Special scenes  6

3.  Serge Yutkevich’s adaptation of Othello  7

3.1.  Special feature: nature  8

3.2.  Special feature: camera work  9

3.3.  Special scenes  10

4.  Oliver Parker’s adaptation of Othello  11

4.1.  Special feature: main characters  12

4.2.  Special feature: erotic and sexual images  13

4.3.  Special feature: Iago’s motive  14

4.4.  Special scenes  14

5.  Comparison of the adaptations  16

6.  Conclusion  17

  Bibliography  19

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1. Introduction

There can hardly be two more different genres than a classical 16 ^th century Shakespearian drama and a 20 ^th century motion picture. But despite the enormous differences, many screen adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays have been produced. The purpose of this paper is to show how a classical Shakespearian tragedy such as Othello can be used as a basis for a 20 ^th century motion picture and what changes the directors made in order to attract a modern audience with a Shakespearian play.

There are many adaptations of Othello, which are quite different. They range from word for word almost theatrical realisations of the play as for example the BBC version with Anthony Hopkins to modern adaptations such as the teenager movie “O” where only the main theme of Shakespeare’s Othello is kept and which is probably not recognised as a Shakespearian adaptation. In order to be able to compare the adaptations, this paper focuses on the adaptations of Othello by the directors Orson Welles, Serge Yutkevich and Oliver Parker. They are all fairly close to Shakespeare’s original but at the same time have some individual traits, which can only be found in these special versions of Othello. It should also be interesting to see how they can be distinguished according to the time when they were made, since the view and interpretation of Shakespeare’s play will differ depending on the time when the movie was directed.

According to the topic of this paper, a summary of Shakespeare’s Othello is not necessary since the general plot and a detailed knowledge of Shakespeare’s play is not crucial for the analysis of the motion pictures. The first main part of this paper gives descriptions of each adaptation. Selected key scenes will be illustrated in order to show the most distinctive features the adaptation has compared to the other adaptations. Then in the second main part the gathered information will be used in order to compare and contrast the different adaptations. A final conclusion restates and combines the facts in order to show how a classical drama can be used as a basis for a motion picture and in which way the directors made changes in order to create an interesting movie for the modern viewers.

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2. Orson Welles’ adaptation of Othello

It took Welles nearly three years to finish Othello and the movie was finally released in 1952. Welles had to struggle with many financial problems. Due to this circumstance many scenes had to be re-shot in different locations - even with different actors. For example, the actress who plays Desdemona was changed three times. But in the end Welles had created an impressive adaptation of Othello, which even won the Palme d'Or in Cannes in the year 1952. The final cast consisted of Othello (Orson Welles), Iago (Michael MacLimmoir), Desdemona (Suzanne Cloutier), Cassio (Michael Lawrence), Roderigo (Robert Coote) and Emilia (Fay Compton). The movie was restored and re-released in the year 1992, with an electronically altered dialogue. Welles’ adaptation is close to the original play, even though much of the text is cut out.

2.1. Special feature: camera work

Welles’ adaptation is characterized by montages of extremely short scenes which involve the juxtaposition of many different short scenes. For his adaptation “Welles assembled bits and pieces from Shakespeare’s most domestic tragedy, brought together fragments from all corners of the play, reworked them into a mosaic and then shattered them as a talisman to Othello’s chaotic search for beauty and love.”

¹ These short scenes create an “hermeneutical circle - the whole cannot be

understood without understanding the part, nor the part without understanding the whole.” ² The movie consists of approximately 500 separate shots and includes shots at the same locations from various angles. There are almost no long shots.

2.2. Special feature: bars and imprisonment

Another fact, which is striking in this adaptation of Othello is the way Welles makes use of bars and images of being fenced in. There are many scenes in which gates, bars, gratings and net patterns appear and put one character in front or behind these barriers. This visual theme of being trapped or locked is visualized from the beginning of the movie on and reappears throughout the whole movie. For example Iago is imprisoned in an iron cage in the first scene. Desdemona

¹ Kenneth S. Rothwell, A history of Shakespeare on Screen (Cambridge, 1999), 78.

² Roland Barthes, 1972 in: Rothwell, 1999: 79.

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especially can almost always be seen behind bars or through a mesh of shadows. Her room has leaded glass windows and even the hairnet she wears in the night she is killed has also a net pattern. There are further scenes including images of being imprisoned, for example when Othello listens to Iago and Cassio, he is in a concealed niche. In the bathhouse Iago stabs Roderigo to death trough duckboards. And in the final scenes, after Othello has killed Desdemona he locks himself in her bedroom and talks to Lodovico, Montano and the soldiers through a huge iron door. He has separated himself from Venice’s society. These images represent how Othello and Desdemona are trapped from the beginning of the movie on and practically have no chance to escape their confinement. One more thing, which is peculiar in Welles’ adaptation, is that in almost every scene with Roderigo and Iago, a small dog can be seen. This dog does not appear in Shakespeare’s Othello and was created by Welles. One possible interpretation for this dog is, that it symbolizes the way Iago treats Roderigo. Normally a master tells his dog what to do, since the dog is in a lower position. This dog might imply that Iago sees himself as the master of Roderigo and has the power to tell him what to do.

2.3. Special feature: colour

Special about this adaptation is the way in which Welles uses light and dark combined with shadows and reflection in order to create and intensify contrasts between the characters and their mood. With the light and dark images he illustrates the enormous differences between the characters and their intentions. Welles uses light and dark images to symbolize Othello's downfall under Iago's power. Desdemona is shown as a light and fair character. She always wears white dresses and her blonde hair underlines her light face, which let her seem angel like. She personifies purity and innocence. Othello in contrast is big and much older as Desdemona. Iago seems harsh and cold. There are several scenes where Othello’s blackness stands in direct contrast to Desdemona’s fairness. For example shortly before Othello kills her, she can be seen sleeping in their bed and a close-up only shows her face. Then all of a sudden Othello’s dark face appears behind her and creates a strong contrast. Welles moderates the fact that Othello is black. Race and skin colour do not seem to play an important role for him, since

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he deleted all lines, which imply that Othello is black. But nevertheless Othello’s face is painted black and Welles uses black and white images to create contrasts. 3

2.4.Special scenes

There are some scenes which Welles made-up in order to create his own adaptation of Othello. Especially the beginning and the end of his adaptation are noteworthy.

Opening scene

Welles’ adaptation of Othello starts where Shakespeare’s play ends. It begins with the funeral procession of Othello and Desdemona. The first shot of the movie shows Othello upside down “[…] as if to stress the unnatural reversal of the moral order in the life of Venice.” ⁴ Then the dead bodies of Othello and Desdemona are carried on biers in a funeral procession. Dark shadows and silhouettes of their casts, of people and soldiers can be seen on the walls and create a contrast to the light sky. Only music and the roaring sea can be heard. Then suddenly the music changes and becomes louder. In a view from above, Iago can be seen with a rope around his neck. He is dragged through the crowd and is pushed into an iron cage. Soldiers pull the cage upwards until it hangs in front of the fortress wall. “[Iago] stares down at the human wreckage caused by his malice.” ⁵ The crowd speaks a prayer and a black screen marks the end of the opening scene. Then the title of the movie is shown and a narrator starts telling the beginning of the story. Flashbacks support the story until the camera switches to the opening dialog of Iago and Roderigo.

Final scene

The final scene shows Othello as he watches Desdemona in her bedroom through bars. Desdemona lies in her bed and pretends to sleep. Othello opens the curtain to her bed and the viewer sees a close-up of her face, which looks calm and peacefully. Othello puts out one candle after the other. There is another close-up of his face right behind Desdemona’s face when he watches her sleeping, creating a strong black and white contrast. She wakes up and is scared but stays in bed and tries to convince him of her innocence. Othello suddenly beats her and

³ Compare: Virginia Mason Vaughan, Othello: A contextual history. (Cambridge, 1994), 199.

⁴ Rothwell, 1999: 81.

⁵ Rothwell, 1999: 81.

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