Othello (Anthony Hopkins): Iago tells of a handkerchief

[southparkobsessive]

Having Othello played by a white man is the ultimate tool in accentuating the fact that race is, in fact, one of the least significant themes in the play.

Hopkins is a winner.

[Deadmanfan4life]

anthony hopkins is the only actor that can literally play any role

[lindzeyroodt]

black in 1604 in England is different to Black 2011, Moor of Venice could be played by a black or an other

[acechadwick]

Laurence Fishburne is about the nearest to Othello as it gets but even I feel there is something lacking there.

Othello wherefore art thou!

[beast72486]

If you study Shakespeare you'll find that Othello is a Moor from northern africa so he could have more causcasian features (interracial consorts) weren't that rare. And in those days most gentlemen avoided the sun so their skins were pasty. I must admit Hopkins is one of the greatest modern actors and Bob Hoskins is excellent

[feeltheillinois]

ANTHONY IS GOING CRAZYYYYYYYYYYYY

[claudiodz]

it's not so much the fact that he's a white man playing a role originally written for a black man, i mean if you don't want to use any black people in your films that's your prerogative, but the fact that he's in black face is just racist as fuck. It's obvious they wanted an all white cast and everybody knows hopkins is white anyway so white the black face? just plain racist imo

[retread01]

I don't understand the objection to white men playing Othello. To say only black men can play it suggests that it isn't about the best actor, but the best black actor. It isn't racist to simply *pretend* to be from somewhere else. Othello is NOT a black and white minstrel show. Nothing to say other characters can't be played by black actors. Change the odd adjective, signify difference in a different way. We can have a black Lear but not a white Othello? All productions should be colour blind.

[retread01]

@retread01 You know what, I've just watched Olivier's Othello and the black make-up is dreadful and his performance is in my opinion borderline racist. His Othello IS practically a bloody minstrel show. He plays Othello like a retard at times, googly eyes, comedy frown, weird smiles and 'Camptown Races' hand slaps. I stand by my comment a white person should be able to play Othello, but no way like that ever again. I don't know what the hell he thought he was doing.

[scifiwritir1]

@retread01 Whenever Shakespeare wrote about Venice, he always wrote about racism and anti-semitism. It's important that Othello be black or Arab because Venice was THE cosmopolitan city of the time and Shakespeare wanted to explore that.

[ShadowSonic2]

I like Hopkins as an actor, but Patrick Stewart had the right idea when he played Othello with everyone being black but him to preserve the idea of the "outsider".

[2muski]

He looks like David Essex with a tan.

[2muski]

Lol, look at Hopkins.

[HighKingTurgon]

Anthony Hopkins plays Othello as my instincts would have me do. But I prefer a more visceral, louder Othello.

[TheBoogge]

Wait who's iago? I tought he was evil?

[EliCross]

Anybody know why Hopkins starts doing Hitler at 7:12 ?

[almadora]

i think hoskins far outshines hopkins.

[vivascargill]

elizabethan and jacobean plays are filled with moors--I wonder why--this is probably a historical question but Zanche in the White Devil for example also in Titus--what dramatic function did it serve probably "outsider"

[1231992Qwerty1992123]

Most people who do not read or so not truly understand Shakespear will misguidedly confuse "black" or "moor" to mean that Othello is an African. This is not the case. The Moorish ambassador who visited Queen Elizabeth before Othello was written, as actually from the Middle East. He is thought to be the inspiration for Othello; an outsider in a society very different from his own. Anthony Hopkins does indeed appear to look middle eastern. The director has accuratly cast Othello.

[ojideagu]

@1231992Qwerty1992123 "Moor" had many different meanings back then. There is no correct way of knowing race by using the word. There were black and brown moors. Some looked Arab some looked Black African. There is no proof that the Moorish ambassador was the inspiration, it has just been put forward as a possibility.

[vball545]

Moor is a term for anyone who is not a English Christian... It is a general term for "other", someone who is not like those of the English Empire.

[ojideagu]

@vball545 Moor could also mean African. It had many meanings.

[34rmyers]

Actually, Capt Poco, in Shakespeare's time "Moor" was an ambiguous term that meant anyone from Africa. Although early 20th century adaptations interpreted it to mean northern African as you do, the play emphasizes the blackness of Othello.

[98slbrookes98]

Othello really turned into a wild animal just now.

[spookboy0]

Holy crap. Did Bob Hoskins play Smee in "Hook"? I'd almost swear that's him. You can hear the vocal similarities at 3:48. By George, I believe it's him!

[orannisthedestroyer]

yeah yeah yeah!!!! how cool is that??!?!

[guitarmanic]

...it is

[ShekshiToenail]

Yeahh he did :) Good film ! x

[comawhite13]

Yes, it is him.

[Setimir92]

@spookboy0 yeah, he did

[carmenstuff]

I saw this many years ago and have been looking for it for years. It is even better than I remembered it. Hopkins is amazing. Olivier is way to effin gay to be watchable in his blah, blah,blah version. Hopkins OWNS this!

[SatiricalTruth]

I believe Laurence Olivier is the best "Othello"

[KAROTASTAAUTIA]

I sympathise with Iago

[shmoogle14]

Why?

[KAROTASTAAUTIA]

I usually say this to tease people (mostly my teacher), but i like the thought of it.

[CrimsonDeluxe]

Oh god. I love Sir Tony to death, but I can't see him in blackface without giggling uncontrollably.

[orchote]

um..this isn't actually blackface. He is not that dark, and furthermore, even when a white person is made up to appear black, that in and of itself is not technically blackface in it's own right. Blackface is a make up designed specifically to stereotype..exaggerating, to the point of grotesque, common features of black people. Realistic attempts to apply black features to a white face is not blackface as the word is truly intended.

[silverkryptonite705]

Never in my life... lol.

Painted Anthony Hopkins. *sigh*

[CaptPoco]

He looks ridiculous... and sounds like he knows he looks ridiculous. Nowhere in his play does Shakespeare say "blackface." Othello is a Moor, a North African. People from North Africa are Arab, not black. Yeah, they mention blackness in the play, but that's because Venice is pretty racist, and Othello is a self-hating Moor.

[amsam]

Oh my god, this is the most fey and pathetic Othello I have ever seen! Poor painted Hopkins, he would make a much better Iago.

[Darthlongi]

agreed!

[ikklecookiemonsta]

Anthony, anyway, is good. My only concern is, he's white. And hilarious and inappropriate as it is to paint a white actor black, it is even worse to have a completely white actor playing a part that is so intrinsically black - without racial prejudice there'd be no play.

[LOUISxJOPPOxJOPLING]

Othello is not respected as a person, it is a reluctant respect which many feel they 'have' to feel because of his military background and his high place in society.. Hense the reason he is called 'The blacker devil' by Emilia, 'Thick Lips' by Roderigo ect.. For a man so brilliance in miltary he is blind to the fact that Iago is pushing him to the brinks of insanity over a handkerchief.. And no I wouldn't like to attempt to play the part as im not an actor, although you sound dramatic enough..?

[ikklecookiemonsta]

first of all, I agree that (apart from Desdemona, who hero-worships him, and maybe Cassio, who's truly loyal) he is not respected as a person; as I said, "the community in which he lives only tolerates his blackness because of his brilliance in military". But I see no contradiction with his brilliance in military and his emotional gullibility: no man is an all-round genius, and besides the racist society which believes he's not good enough for his wife has put the doubt in his mind: is he?

[LOUISxJOPPOxJOPLING]

Shakespeare created a character whom demanded respect from his peers and people alike, you can fully understand that when looking at his military background BUT how are we as an audience supposed to respect a character who fails to see an evil plot to turn him against the two main people in his life..? Remeber this is a man who lead his trrops to victory in a war..?

Thats how I feel his military background contradicts his 'laughable' sense of security.

[ikklecookiemonsta]

i am not that sure we as an audience are meant to "respect him" as such - a rumor is enough to turn him into a wife murderer. all i'm saying is that he is a good dramatic character, precisely because he is contradictory: a mighty warrior who's insecure deep down is much more interesting to act, and watch, than a man who is straightfowardly one or the other... don't you think?

[LOUISxJOPPOxJOPLING]

Im sorry I have to disagree..

Othello is a sheep which is easily led by the manipulative suggestions of Iago, as far as playing the part of Othello in the play goes I beleive that there are much more interesting characters.

There is a black lad at our college who starred in Othello, but refused to play the part of Othello in favour of Iago because he isn't a good character, this was met with agreement by the whole Drama department.

The play as a whole is a farce, it depends on a hanky.

[ikklecookiemonsta]

The hanky is just a concretisation of Othello's insecurity/gullibility/faith in "honest" Iago - you cannot simplify the play that much!

Note, I never said Othello was a more interesting character than Iago - obviously he isn't, especially as we love to puzzle over Iago's motives, which we never get really told. I was just saying that he is not as straightforward and bidimensional as one might think.

[tirayi]

An active leap in the opposite direction that his hero and mentor Olivier took. Thats all.

[LOUISxJOPPOxJOPLING]

Othello isnt a good character to play, he is a weak and bland character, he loses respect from almost everyone in the play which makes Iago a much more fuller character, he is manipulating and just as jealous as Othello.

[ikklecookiemonsta]

How is Othello a bland character? He is a successful general, adored by his wife and yet he knows very well that the community in which he lives only tolerates his blackness because of his brilliance in military; this sense of himself as not enough for Desdemona rubs off on his self-esteem or he would not so readily believe her able to cheat. He is proud and intelligent and noble and yet petty, stupid, blind. Sounds complex to me. Perhaps you'd like to try and play him convincingly?

[emanresusirk]

he just looks jewish::..

[nrlthatsmyteam]

man how the heck do they remember their lines>

[ikklecookiemonsta]

... easily compared to an actor in Shakespeare's day, when a company put on fifteen to twenty new plays a month - great hits were lucky to have twenty repeats in a year. So considering that it is possible to commit to mind four or five plays at a time (in which unless you were the leading role you would be expected to play at the very least two characters as well), I'd say with not too much trouble :)!

[ErikLeroux]

Despite his somewhat subdued performance, I care for Hopkins as Othello. Perhaps his calculating sort of character would make a better Iago, but I have never quite seen Othello as the extremely outwardly-acting character as many productions make him. The inward level of Hopkins' performance is nice.

[missbabyice]

His hair looks like Marco Pierre White's

[mistersjmcg]

lol i take my comment back this doesn't suck, had to get my laurence oliver out of my head.

[mistersjmcg]

sorry but this suxs.

[marbeque]

This is the second time Hopkins has played a black dude.

[screengoddess]

People say they are offended or its not politically correct when white characers are 'blacked up' to play Othello, but that's how it was originally played in Shakespeare's day. If the performance is engaging then does it really matter? BTW Bob Hoskins makes a good Iago.

[PrinceOfCatsInAHat]

Well, in Shakespeare's time, there were no black actors.

[WildWillyWallace23]

Iago is supposed to be a sly manipulating mastermind, this guy looks like a bouncer!!!

[StLennyBruce]

it would be very cool to see the scene when Iago says, "I like not that." and then begins the whole downfall. This cool, I just dig the complete descent.

[Nacortic]

I played Othello (pretty hard!) but I had to play it much more intensive... that is a bit... lazy ;)

[Falloutmoon]

Acting this part on a stage or acting it with the audience eye 6 inches from your face are two very different things indeed :)

[Nacortic]

You´re absolutly right =)

[Ca5tl4Wolf4nst4in]

Nice one! I played that role in a college exam when I was 18 and I'm white - though admittedly it WAS because no black or dark students had signed onto the new theatre studies course and I was "darkened" a little to make me look arabic - XD, but it worked fine!

[kittyfat44]

Okay...Hopkins and Olivier take the cake! Whatever audiences might think, they are NOT black! lol

[nmoo07]

Moor can either refer to someone who's black or who's Muslim and of Arabian descent, which is the kind portrayed here.

[sonofeltopo]

is hopkins supposed to be black in this?

[iszzak]

hopkins not good as othello

[nader112389]

i agree, he's not even black. maybe an iago? he has that crazed look in his eye.

[beuteloe]

I think you all have not read the play! In the first act I think Othello is called "the noble moor". It´s the scene when they go to Duke at night. At that time black persons were often called so.

[andimlovegalore]

Not fond of Hopkins as being Othello- everything he says follows the same rythm. 'Badum, badum- badumbadumbadum- dum, badum' and repeat. ¬_¬

[cheekycharles]

its called iambic pentameter you fool.

[Optronyx]

Naw- its constant. Even when he switches out from Iambic Pentameter for effect.

No-one else does it.

[Optronyx]

And come to think of it, he's certainly speaking in prose here!

[022171]

i agree that hopkins may not be the ultimate moor, but that opinion has nothing to do w/ his delivery. hopkins is cut from the old cloth; the bard's plays are mother's milk to him. however, he doesn't possess the proper imposing physical carriage for othello. as an actor, his strength comes from an (often sinister) intelligence, which, in my opinion, would make him a marvelous iago.

[022171]

i agree that hopkins might not be the ultimate moor. however, that opinion has nothing to do with his delivery. he is cut from the classical cloth; the bard's plays are mother's milk for him. however, he doesn't possess the properly imposing physical carriage of othello. hopkins' strength as an actor lies in his searing (and often sinister) intelligence, which would make him a marvelous iago.

[robbkatherine]

wow, you sure know anthony hopkins. You're good. And now that you mention it, I agree that he would play a fine iago, but he still delivers in all his roles.

[cuchulain55]

well what do you expect he hates the theater anyway.

[Mlfan722]

On Sunday, October 28th at 9 am, be sure to catch Anthony Hopkins on A&E's new Television show Private Sessions! Most recently, 2007 has been a big year for Hopkins with the release of "Slipstream", which he directed, wrote, composed the music for as well as starred in. He also took part in Robert Zemeckis's "Beowulf ", which was created using the new motion capture animation process.

Don't miss it!

[martialking13]

Othello was described as a moor. This does not mean he was black or white skinned. Most people on northern(Berbers) Africa look mediterenean...contrary to what most Americans think not everyone in Africa is dark skinned...

[CyrenaAz]

Actually, if you read the play Othello is referred to as "black" and having black skin several times.

[clevermanka]

True, but "black" could also describe simply "dark" or even simply "brunette" in Shakespeare's language.

[edthehead83]

yea race is a very important theme/conflict in the play. he is often referred to as "the moor," and theres really no question as to whether hes black or not.

[Chenzo2323]

During Shakespeares times black meant ugly and black skinned, and is used some times in both ways.

[beuteloe]

But in this case is a black person meant! In one scene they call him "the noble moor"! And when you read the whole play you will see that Othello is a noble man from the Orient

[riace]

great acting but damm..hopkins looks ridiculous.couldn't they find a black man to play this role.

[ShakespeareAndMore]

James Earl Jones was originally cast in this production. But the British actor's union protested that it should be an all-British affair. But there are some fine black British actors too...

[cuchulain55]

no wonder hopkins hate  the shakespearean theater and his own native britain and wales.

[Travizza]

@riace it's not that bad :) all stages of Othello I've senn featured a white man playing a leading role

[shipwreckedmonkey]

bob hoskins = legend!!!

[toitrunk]

i love this version of othello thanks for posting it

[parklanenancy]

Othello needs a good emotional intelligence coach!