I’m discussing a movie from last week’s selection since I was unable to enjoy the “new releases.”
In another example of his signature Auteur style of film-making, Orson Welles’ presence as Othello dominates his 1952 adaptation of the Shakespearian tragedy on racism, love, jealousy, and betrayal. Similar to his work in Citizen Kane (1941), Welles explores and advances the means of cinema through an innovative narration style and unorthodox perspectives, underlining the movie’s dramatic story through obscured visuals.
The movie begins with an epic six-minute introductory scene that depicts general Othello’s funeral along with his wife Desdemona. The extreme camera angles, high-contrast shots, and grand, archaic soundtrack set the mood for the classic tragedy that is about to be unveiled. Once more, Welles reveals the ending of his movie in the opening scene as the audience witnesses Othello and Desdemona being carried to their graves. The preceding tragedy’s narration begins just after the dramatic introduction. In the classic tale of the moor of Venice who marries a nobleman’s daughter and is ill-advised and betrayed by his officer Iado, who lusts for higher status and despises Othello for favoring his rival Cassio over him. Iado and Roderigo, a foolish nobleman who is in love with Desdemona, construe a net of intrigues that eventually lead to Othello believing in an affair between Desdemona and Cassio. At the inevitable climax, Othello orders Iardo to kill Cassio as he strangles his wife to death himself and eventually, after realizing his adviser’s treacherous schemes, commits suicide.
As mentioned-above, Welles’ utilizes his creative freedom to express the tragedy’s dense atmosphere through a variety of experimental shots. In numerous scenes, Welles works with extreme upward to downward angles, as for example in the introductory funeral scene or during Othello and Iago’s frantic discourse by the cliffs. The angled shots facilitate a rather obscure and abstract atmosphere. In a note-worthy number of shots, actors are filmed from below, which creates images of strong contrast. Instead of working with a detailed background, Welles focuses on the individual characters by depicting them in front of clear skies. The multitude of close-up shots, in particular of Welles’ as Othello himself, marks another striking feature of his Auteur style. There is no doubt that Othello represents the central protagonist. Numerous high contrast close-up shots underline his paramount role.
The movie’s epic appearance seems quite surprising, considering that Welles was struggling with the project's financing throughout the entire production span. Consequently, it took more than four years to complete Othello. Apparently, Welles was unable to attain sufficient funds to afford costumes for the scene of Cassio’s murder. As a result, the scene’s location was changed to a Turkish bath with most actors wearing no more than towels which had been borrowed from a hotel. Moreover, Welles had to dub several voices himself, as most of the audio was recorded in post-production.
As his Othello adaptation further advanced the art of movie-making, Welles set another stepping stone in his career that would inspire numerous later works, be it in his impressionist style or the intense dramaturgy that appears to be reflected in movies such as Ben Hur (1959), which took the historic drama to another level thanks to immense resources. Yet, regarding visual innovation, the record-setting academy award winning Charlton Heston epos could not reach Welles’ genius. Unfortunately, artistic success does not necessarily equal financial success.
A few lines that stood out to me:
Iado: “We cannot all be masters….not all masters can be truly followed.”
Othello: “I see before I doubt.”
Iado: “And for Cassio, let me be his undertaker.”
Othello: “Excellent!”
Othello’s final lines:
“I pray you, in your letters,
When you shall these unlucky deeds relate,
Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate,
Nor set down aught in malice: then, must you speak
Of one that loved not wisely but too well;
Of one not easily jealous, but, being wrought,
Perplexed in the extreme; of one whose hand,
Like the base Indian, threw a pearl away
Richer than all his tribe; set you down this”
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
What connection are you drawing here between high-contrast lighting and a "paramount" performance by an actor? If you imagine this film in color, what effect would that have on the viewer?
In my perception, the movie being in black and white adds on to the tragedy's epic character, as if to say color were just an idle add-on...lets get to the root emotion, the archetype. Color can be distracting at times. The high contrast, especially in the close-up shots, seems to sharpen the focus on Othello and his suffering.
Post a Comment