Othello directed by Oliver Parker

[sophieacf]

is kenneth brannagh seriously in every shakespearean film adaptation?!?!? aaaaaaagh!

[mymovienerd]

If you want to know the secret to every great Hollywood drama just watch/read Shakespeare.

[Tonyokay87]

so was shakespear into inter racial porn?

[9645k]

@Tonyokay87 he DID have an affair with a black man.

[Honestabe86]

m ma ma Morpheus?

[MsBurntToast]

1:52 the second guy from the right. NO EXPRESSION. LOL.

[Flargnarn]

@MsBurntToast That's because in this production, he had been the one who secretly gave him the dagger he used to kill himself as a way of ending his pain. Oliver Parker's version created a lot of sympathy towards Othello in this scene

[BunnisRuleTheWorld]

@MsBurntToast LMFAO

[theacademyislow]

@MsBurntToast that's cassio, he's the one that gave othello the knife..so he knew he was going to kill himself

[AHafan2]

"I kiss thee ere I killed thee, no way but this -

Killing myself to die upon a kiss"

I had to analyse as much as I could in Othello in some of my course - I almost didn't want to in this line. It's better felt than put into words.

[themoorish1]

othello the moors of italy مغربي ايطاليا

[alakiu]

Laurence Fishburne, Voted "Mr. Maximum Stage Presence" for Othello 1996

[bawbag2112]

anyone want to write me an essay on this?

[AchmedDona]

@bawbag2112

Pay me, I'll do it :P

[bawbag2112]

@AchmedDona if you done that i literally would get a cheque in the post immediately

[AchmedDona]

@bawbag2112

Hahaha! I have too much of a literary conscience to write this essay on your behalf...and too much pride to let you get my mark :P Message me the title and what you have so far, I'll help a brother out :)

[bawbag2112]

@AchmedDona yo man thanks, but i couldn't let you do that it's really good of you to even consider helpin though

[toppimpkid11]

what were his finals words?

[lmcmusicgirl09]

@toppimpkid11 the last line before he stabs himself is, "I took by the throat the circumcised dog, / And smote him thus."  But his final words before dying are, (to Desdemona) "I kissed thee ere I killed thee, no way but this, / Killing myself, to die upon a kiss."

[Bianca16161616]

OMFG i relized this is only 2:56 GAHHHH! Sooo... well shakespeare explains it all but to feel his loss, to have love with brick walls, a meat hammer bashing on thy heart, make the want to cry.

[Y3MZ1]

Fishburne is a talented man, I've just watched School Daze and someone needs to drum the final message of the film into his daughter "wake up!". If as much energy was put into his daughter as his acting maybe she wouldn't be selling her vagina personally and publicly? Obviously I don't know the ins and outs of what went wrong but when you have money and fame your have access to education and opportunities and various other paths average people dream of so why is Montana the way she is?

[PaintedMaypole26]

Othello and Lear are probably two of the most intense and scary plays to act out. Being Desdemona in my theater (composed of kids under 18, mainly incredibly passionate teen actors), I can tell you first hand we have had our share of breakdowns from people who struggled getting away from the harsh emotions of the character. Truly a great masterpiece, an honour to be in, but incredibly intense.

to pull this off well is very hard, and I'm usually not satisfied with performances I see, because

[PaintedMaypole26]

@PaintedMaypole26 I analyze so much of the performance to what we learn from our director (a well-renowned Shakespeare analyst).

Fishburne has fantastic emotion, no doubt about that, but his final speech didn't let anything stand out. That speech is incredibly gorgeous and full of imagery, but he didn't frame lines to the extent or emphasise some of the needed lines/words.

Still wonderful emotion.

to be honest, Irene Jacobs pissed me off the most in this movie. She was totally clueless >:(

[cannoir]

@PaintedMaypole26 I'd love to DL it , it can't be found anywhere in the stores where i live

[moniemackenzie]

the scene is too dark, it's all shadows

[alienbaroque]

Laurence Fishburne is awesome. There's a lot of fire in his performance. I love it.

[Seniarth]

I can't get Morpheus's image out of my head when i see Laurence Fishburne

guess he was one of the best actors in Matrix...

[friggingbomb88]

what a tragedy

[alexcandy1411]

Zion will never be revealed

[magnishan]

hahahaha THE morpheus is a white dude lmao....

[cjlouis1029]

@magnishan Moron. The Moor aka Othello is supposed to be Black. Moor means Black person.

[magnishan]

@cjlouis1029 u f***ing cunt, i was being sarcastic to some of those previous comments by ur fraternity of faggots....

[cjlouis1029]

@magnishan Idiot, sarcasm does not traverse the internet and you have merely perpetuated the views of the commenters you tried to own by being a smartass. #megafail.

[magnishan]

@cjlouis1029 u fucking dick head

[magnishan]

@cjlouis1029 u fucking dickhead , ure the one whos being smartass. u fucking spread ur knowledge among other big mouth like urself... faggot

[cjlouis1029]

@magnishan You're just mad because you're an idiot and got caught being one.

[jangzakura88]

Beautifully done...

[blunklaura]

wait. is this on DVD ?!?

[XzTOBYzX]

@blunklaura it been out since 1995...and yeah it is its pretty hard to find though :S

[kristicuk]

speaking of which....does moor mean more?.....oh NOW I'm being racist.....I'm such a stupid byatch

[Cutiepiekyo]

I have heard four versions of this piece and this is the only one that can really make me cry and FEEL Othello's pain and I'm pretty sure that the rest of my English class did too (I saw many people vainly try to hide their tears).

[remymartain]

What an asute reader of human nature Shakespeare was! Sadly there is an Iago in every office.

[TheTubeMouse]

Loved Laurence's rendition of this speech, utterly beautiful; moving stuff.

[stylelix]

Morpheous does a great othello impersonation

[XavierDrake]

MORPHEOUSS!!!!!!!!!!

[marissamff]

At least his teeth are white.

[Poolala92]

loook at the gaap in my teeeeth!!!!

[iqravon2]

beautiful, Shakespeare, i can never forget the last monologue, cuz i performed it in my english class. Brilliant book, teaches alot, one of my favorite shakespearen books. by the way, the movie isnt that grade as the theatre versions...

[JessieAmie]

anyone know where i can watch all of it? i can only find snippets, doing it for AS need to watch it all :(

x

[tjshawsey]

Iago does not die, he is wounded and says 'I bleed sir, but not killed', then goes onto say 'From this time forth I never will speak word'.

[BRANDONJODOUIN]

Wtf...it implements that hes tortured and killed by Cassio..Lodovico Told Cassio to do so

[tjshawsey]

apologies, i was talking about the play not the film

[BRANDONJODOUIN]

Im alos talking about the play lol..i just finished reading it in school

[kiwalobster]

Iago dies in this film version, but not in the play.

[hitman415707]

does iago die ?

[lqmags]

ya Iago does die, he gets killed by Othello@hitman415707

[tigerztigerztigerz]

fit a £1 coin inbetween those gaps!

[sneudel]

there's also a version with Laurence Fishburne wich plays in modern london now a days, is that one also on youtube? and can somebody send me that one, because that was the most nice one i ever saw.

[Lunyx]

beautiful performance!

[lanlangul]

what could Iago be thinking at 2: 03? anyone knows?

[RogueRaven17]

I thought about that too....maybe he's curious as to why Othello would rather kill himself, rather than charge and finish Iago off? I'm not sure- I just feel this questioning by Iago...he's not sure about something.....

[lanlangul]

yeah that could be confusion. Till the end I dont think he really regrets it, as expected of Iago

[RogueRaven17]

Yeah-and they ask Iago why he did it, and he won't say why. Iago is my favorite literary villain of all time! I name my Zune after him!

[lanlangul]

lol

[AcidicJO]

thats the beauty of Iago, Shakespeare never tells us.. he just refuses to speak right before this monologue... so who knows!! but man is Iago a briliant character

[gtirkey9]

man shakespeare realy hated racism.

[debbieslover]

anyone know why, of all the films available, this classic is so hard to find on region 2?

[christopherLdockens]

Brilliant, Fishburne, Brilliant; you should have got an Oscar for this role; great effing actor!!!!!!!!!

[poetryofimage]

It's Irene Jacob - not Jacobs.

[Zimmermanism]

Most affecting; most poignant--makes me want to read the Bard again!

[ronaldo761]

to the people who haven't read the book...

take my word... IT'S A MUST :D

[outta910]

NOT.

[grigoroglu]

Outstanding performance, bravo!

[jhvscs]

Of all the Shakespeare plays I've read (which isn't many), this is my favourite. Iago is such a great character, and Brannagh does him justice.

[HustlinFlo]

Iago's revenge complete.

[licatoa5947]

best othello ever

[buddy51]

I love this version of "Othello," which I saw in the theater when it was released and many times since.

[tolstoythegreat]

morpheus is such an under-rated actor.

[xColinMc1888x]

His name aint Morpheus lolololol

[sirtinycreep]

He looks like Lenny Henry.

[tregordon1]

no he doesnt

[sirtinycreep]

@tregordon1 Lenny Henry has played Othello, didn't you know?

[juleswinnfield94]

fishburne and branagh are both phenomenal but the direction is shithouse

[happydudenator]

oliver parker, not alan parker. give him the credit he so deserves!

[dropsoffaith]

He is so sexy.

[khourychu]

i love the name Iago. it just has such a nice ring to it.

[LadyHitcher]

I love Iago's face at 2:04

it's like "huh, didn't see that one coming"

KB is a legend!

[Wakeupdarling23]

That acting was sub-par.

[Delmo67]

What were YOU watching? I cant think of a better performance of Othello than Lawrence Fishburn.

[jrcarter9175]

@Delmo67 I've heard good things about William Marshall's performance as Othello but Fishburne really brought it here.

[heyspunkie]

@Delmo67 no offence but i think an actual black guy can play othello 10x better than an old white guy with black paint on

[Delmo67]

@heyspunkie oh yes, because Lawrence Fishburn isn't black...wtf

[Spicoli8]

@heyspunkie Your a fucking idiot that is a black guy.

[baddestchick2fly]

@heyspunkie

Othello was never white, the play is about interacia relationships and jealousy and adultry. Othello I have never seen this played out by a white man. The newer version "O" is even acted out by a black man, that was kind of Shakespears point

[ojideagu]

@heyspunkie Are you fucking retarded? Have you ever seen the Matrix? That's Morpheus numb nuts. He's one of the main characters in Boys in the Hood.

[thegunclub123]

@Delmo67-Olivier 

[stevevandien]

LF is superbly equipped vocally, physically and intellectually for Othello. He is very good in this film. But I wish he'd play it again, ideally on stage. Given his talent and intelligence, he would then delve even more deeply into the role. This is NOT to denigrate LF by any means. But Shakespeare's great roles are such that NO actor can plum their full depths in a first attempt --

[mumisaho]

the film is so much better then the bbc tv version.

[THEFIRSTAVENGERUSA]

Ha ha. Kenneth Bragauh is directing Thor & Fishburne played Silver Surfer in Marvel films. Strange how things work out. The Tragedy of Othello reminds me of what Braugh's Thor may be like.

[NKHades007]

Nathaniel Parker (Cassio) is just amazing in any role that he plays!

[shmeexkenny]

MORPHEUS!!! i can never watch Laurence Fishburne without thinking that. :P but all the same--great clip!

[antphoenix]

He'll always be Cowboy Curtis to me.

[broadwaymelody33]

Morpheus looks quite....yummy as Othello

hahaha ;-)

[Y07dunm]

I think 'Othello' is the most romantic and greatest tragedy ever written by Shakespeare! And Iago truly is the greatest villain as he is turning Othello into the barbarian we first expected him to be but he's not! Iago is the embodiment of motiveless malignity! And fantastic acting from Kenneth Branagh and Laurence Fishburne!

[witness124]

@Y07dunm My top three of the tradgedies;

1) Othello

2) Hamlet

3) Julius Ceasar

What do you think?

[Tartuffified]

@witness124 i think julius "caesar". but yeah othello is so the best. to be honest, i hate hamlet. so overrated. this from someone who's just spent the year studying it and playing polonious. so sick of shakespeare, but i'm lovin' othello.

[witness124]

@Tartuffified I guess it's not to everone's taste. Sorry about the spelling error, I was quite tired.

[Tartuffified]

@Tartuffified yeah perhaps "overrated" is a tad unfair. think i'm just rebelling against against a year of shakespeare study, which i'm supposed to love, seeing as i do drama/english. grr. tell you what though, studying shakespeare and his contemporaries really makes you appreciate how good shakespeare was compared to the likes of Webster!

[lordcron]

Laurence Fishburne III is one of the finest actors of his generation. The cost is he will not get that credit or acculade until after his time has past. Such is the way of real actors and singers for that matter. Instead will give credit to people like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. People who are famous for little to no reason.

[4485lolo]

@lordcron

agree- there are so many wonderful and talented people out there who deserves MORE attention than train wrecks and trash

fishburne like edward norton always robbed of awards

[berner]

@lordcron It is for this reason that the talented could not receive any greater a mention to the fruits of their artistic labour, through the ignorance of those led a stray by those who bestow the toils of their own ignorance upon them.

[TrickyWoo315]

@lordcron Here, here LordCron!

[SHIBBYiPANDA]

@lordcron on the plus side he gets alot less shit and press than brit and paris lol

[PerfectRoast]

Othello kills Desdemona and Iago kills Emilia. The story is out of it. I thought Othello was a good guy at the start but towards the end i decided he was a twat. Iago is more of a twat as he is the reason for all of the mudering. if any one shud have died it shud be Cassio and Iago only. But thats what i think any way

[MrTickster]

Iag is probably the greatest character Shakespeare ever created in my opinion- as well as Edmund in King Lear

[PinkShard888]

how do u pronounce othello?

[oldhollywood210]

oh - thell - oh : )

[AWickedMind]

Lol- I know you asked this awhile ago, but it's pronounced "uh-thell-oh".

[FreddyTheLivingDead]

You've got the title wrong. That film was directed by Oliver Parker!

[jadee810]

Doesn't Othello look like Samuel L. Jackson in this film? I know it isn't him but still...

We're studying this play in English... It has some good lines in there. Also, I just wanna walk into the play and smack Iago around the face! Gah!

[johanovich777]

Yeah iago is the evilest villian i've ever read. I think it's shakespears best play that I've read so far.

[viviannevivianne]

haa i love Iago the most interesting person in shakespeare :D

[EGarrett01]

Great acting, obviously an extremely talented writer, great effort, powerful moment. But who actually speaks this long, let alone for so long without stuttering or backpedaling on himself. I guess it's the style of playwrights or the trend of the day, but speechifying makes it a bit harder to suspend disbelief. It works best for me, as a viewer, when I can believe what I see instead of being impressed by the smarts of the actor or writer.

Yes, it's a small criticism of Shakespeare. Neg me.

[AquaRing]

I'm with you - I was talking about this to my English teacher the other day. Especially during Othello's ranting fits; they bugged me the most.

[thedgewannabe]

I won't neg you. But I do want to make one comment about the "speechifying" that occurs. Shakespeare's education of the day, and the education of the middle/upper class was more intense and focused much more on rhetoric (Cicero) and writing (Ovid) than we do today, and so their thinking and speaking reflected it. Also allegories/metaphors were used as learning devices, and also used in speeches more frequently. Our 21st century understanding sometimes jades our view of older works.

[imbuemyblue]

This was directly by OLIVER Parker

[ampao08]

somebody please upload the very last scene where he and desdemona's bodies were thrown in the middle of the sea.. that scene was so epic too.. plus the willow song playing on the background.. that almost made me cry too..

[pubsterguy]

Lawrence Fishburn as Othello or Kenneth Branagh as Henry the 5th , FUCKING GREAT STUFF

[landyboo1990]

Othello is one of my favorite Shakespearean tragedies and I am a huge fan of lawrence fishburn...this movie is forever in my heart, from Desdemona's song of willow to Othello's final speech ='(

[onepersontwoperson]

*sniff* I think I'm gonna cry.

[suffering44]

Iagos wife was sexy

[sistamary2k6]

this is by far the best version.. im studyin this for my leavin cert lol

[Waitakeredame]

No doubt, of all the Othello's I've seen in my long life, this is *the best*. Iago too is fantastic, you can see what he's thinking!! Is that acting or what!

[bootyseeking31]

thx i needed this last scene for my english project

[wolffang88]

Whew!!! Fish isntruly the man. More..More...Moor!!

[Nikalovesfakir1]

this book is so sad.great actor.

[Ke3p1tCo0l]

AMAZING!

This (along with Olivier's) is the best Othello!

Laurence Fishburne is fabulous! Thank you for posting this.