Shakespeare's Othello - Act 2, scene 1 (Laurence Olivier)

[eddiemarriott]

People won't be reading Twilight in hundreds of years.

[arere20]

Prof, McGonagall! I didn't expect to see you here!

[cathyxine]

wow...professor McGonagall's hot. *sigh* she had her share of 'once upon a time's'

[OrpheuCe]

Desdemona is directly from Hogwads teaching Harry Potter isnt she?

[frilloz4]

THGS english anyone???

[IntoTheWoodsWithMe]

@frilloz4 Fuck this shiz is gay

[samskate777]

wow this is the biggest waste of time that i have to spend doing a dumb diary oh othello for lit class.

[BlasianQT101]

I thought Othello was a Moroccan Moor of Berber descent, not black. Or is he from the core of Africa?

[queenmcsleaze]

@BlasianQT101 exactly - he's more what modern day would call an 'arab' - not an African-American. at ALL.

[oiwatchulookinat]

@queenmcsleaze There is much debate. but what's certain is he wasn't african-american because he wasn't from sodding America.

[queenmcsleaze]

@oiwatchulookinat yeah that much is definitely true

[kamari151]

that is not a black man....

[BeatleMonkeegirl15]

IAGO IS SEXY

[whoodkid]

i mean black face is never classy but Lawrence doesn't even look black he just looks green smh lol

[LaCriollaRoja]

@whoodkid Thank you;That's all Im saying, yet people act as if he looks like a normal dark-skinned person of any ethnicity! lol

[MrKDis]

disrespect lol. too painful to cast an actual black man.

[pukinowt]

the make up is not bad, on stage it worked very well

and the reason they did not cast a black man is because Olivier was the best person for the role. to cast a black man in that role simply because he was balck and to ignore Olivier because he was white even though he was the best actor in the world would have really been what was painful.

[XxvaiomasterxX]

LOL whhite man in car greaase hahaha

[PaintedMaypole26]

But this scene is so sweet when Desi and Othello see eachother... I'm playing Desi right now, and it really is such a happy moment the way our blocking is set up. My Othello says the lines as she is running down the center aisle onto the stage (yes SHE, the lack of male actors in our theatre allows girls to play male roles that they want, she's a fantastic Othello). The "This and this" line is said while kissing Desi on each cheek, It's such an adorable scene :)

[PaintedMaypole26]

The "Sir, would she give you so much of her lips as of her tongue she oft bestows on me, you'ld have enough" is not meant to be dirty. It just means that she talks too much. The editing here made it seem a lot more sexual, though.

[docterphreak]

The makeup's not that bad...

[JackSafferyRowe]

Olivier's make-up is hilarious.

[TenderTrap86]

It's important to remember that Othello is a Moor, and Moors weren't Black (Negro, Subsaharan African). Moors are Muslim, Berber people from North Africa, more resembling Arabs than Black people.

[MrKDis]

@TenderTrap86 Wrong! more education is needed on your part. theres vast evidence proving that theory wrong bruh! the majority of moors where Dark skinned africans. cnt deny the evidence if u go look for it

[TenderTrap86]

@MrKDis "Dark skinned" means dark skinned. Not necessarily Black/ Negroe/Subsaharan African. Moors were Berber people from North Africa. North Africa is not the same as Subsaharan Africa.

PS I've come to realize that when somebody's trying to get their unverified research across, they tell their opponent that "more education is needed" and that there is "vast evidence" proving their point. Facts are facts and don't need adjectives preceding or following to help verify their accuracy.

[MrKDis]

@TenderTrap86 Its up to you to search! i aint ya daddy lol African people! AFRICAN! big nose big lip people lol like the ancient egyptians. search blud!

[TenderTrap86]

@MrKDis I didn't say you were my daddy. Read carefully (although the concept obviously evades you).

Asian people! Asian! That means they all have slanted eyes and yellowish skin. But, oh, that's right, until you go to India, where Asians are brown skinned with round eyes.

Identifying people by their continent isn't politically correct. An Asian can be a Korean or a Pakistani. An African can be an Algerian or an Angolan. A North American can be a Mexican or a Canadian. Get the picture?

[MrKDis]

@TenderTrap86 We both know we arent talking about continental origins but race, since u felt the importance to highlight they werent black, nubians dark skinned people. its an empty statement without evidence but you felt i needed evidence to back mine. Facts are facts and don't need adjectives preceding or following to help verify their accuracy. but cool lol believe what u like for now!

[TenderTrap86]

@MrKDis I'm right. You're wrong. Period.

You have my permission to get the last word. Good bye.

[MrKDis]

@TenderTrap86 Thank you, but i would of gotten the last word anyways hahaha. Its important you remember africans (black, nubian, egyptians aka kemetic people) educated europeans in almost everything they know. only a racists will deny my statements and only a racist will mislead or a misled person continue to talk without thier own research. ya get me rude bwoy? ya get me dawg? MOORS ARE BLACK PEOPLE lol.

[spencergellsworth]

@MrKDis Othello says "I am black" in act 3, scene 3. Not "I am a Moor." Not "I am swarthy." "I am black."

[MrKDis]

@spencergellsworth Okay... whats your point?

[spencergellsworth]

@MrKDis Point being that Othello makes it clear he is what they called a "black Moor." 17th-century Europeans used the term "Moor" to refer both to North Africans and Sudanese people. Sudanese were more likely to be Christians from birth, Coptic or Ethopian Orthodox, and since Othello uses "circumcised dogs" as an insult, he was probably meant to be Sudanese, Christian, and thus black.

[spencergellsworth]

They call him black dozens of times in the play. "An old black ram is tupping your white ewe." "Your son-in-law is far more fair than black." "Haply, for I am black, and have not the soft parts of conversation that chamberers have." He's meant to be a black man.

[handsomechuck1]

Wow, great young Derek Jacobi. Had no idea he was in this. Such a good actor.

[Erbabe91]

Othello looks terrifyingggg

[AltairBaker]

Maggie Smith is simply stunning.

I swear I've never seen a woman more beautiful, or an actress more talented *-*

I can't explain how much I adore her *-*

[youngarsenio]

its the Gray Hulk as Othello.

[EvilPundit]

Iago FTW

[priapus56]

Eee, bye, Gum! Its Iago!

[priapus56]

Too much of a poof to be Cassio...

[norristerse]

fuck me, why doesn't he just sing "swanee" and have done with it?

[marsred00]

Lawrence Fishburne was the best Othello.

[tenorismo]

@marsred00  ? Fishburne ? lol lol lol lol lol lol

[TabbyTheCat2006]

Maggie Smith was certainly gorgeous! Wow! I'm a huge fan of hers, and I adore her in the Harry Potter movies. It's neat to look back on this and see her in her younger days. Absolutely gorgeous.

[LaCriollaRoja]

It takes wonderful acting to not laugh at that Horrid makeup mid-scene. Would it have been That painful to simply cast a Black man, instead of dipping him in car grease?

[iown813]

@LaCriollaRoja there was no black Olivier

[LaCriollaRoja]

@iown813 Neither was there a Green one.. then came this scene :)

[ManweArcadio]

@LaCriollaRoja What if is he is Middle Eastern?

[LaCriollaRoja]

@ManweArcadio that would be great, too! Just a believeable color :)

[JokinglySerious]

@LaCriollaRoja It wasnt anything to do with not wanting to cast a black man...all it was is that laurence oliver had a massive big head and decided he could play ANY shakespearen male role and was determined to do Othello.

[shadowedj]

@LaCriollaRoja

It had to do with tradition. The role of Othello was played by a white man for centuries, and the tradition was so strong that they didn't stop until the 60's. It's sort of like how women used to be played by women in drag, except this lasted longer

[84saunders]

@LaCriollaRoja They could have done, but if you know anything about Othello and it's performances and interpretations, you would appreciate that Laurence Olivier was and is considered the actor who perfectly captured the character of Othello to the point that actors have not wanted to follow him in the role.

[KAROTASTAAUTIA]

what year was the Ottomans' navy sunk by the storm?

[mrfreeze9000]

laurence olivier is awful in this. he really shouldn't have played Othello. i mean listen to his accent!!!!

[BunchofMovieVideos]

MULLET . . . !!!!!!!!!

[natralisa]

lol othello doesn't look black, he acutually looks a tad bit dark green. I'm sure they could have done better than this, he's a good actor, but the stage makeup is deplorable.

[JFLD8]

it actually looks sort of purple to me.

[petebj123]

A mullet on Sir Derek?!! Now i've seen it all!

[queenamidaldal]

wow.. it's prof mcgonagall! and she's young, and she's desdemona! she kinda sounds the same.

[pillarosociety]

Welles thought Olivier seemed like Sammy Davis jr. in this -- over the top, etc. But then, they were big rivals. Righteous mullet on Cassio.

[DrinkWater22]

Laurence Olivier can do any role. And he can do it anyway you like it. He's the greatest actor of all time.

[92af]

Laurence Olivier was totaly better than James Mason was

[streetswell]

I could be wrong, but I don't think they had mullets in 16th century Venice

[natralisa]

Lol

[nemozetbit]

nevermind what I said. I watched the play a bit further. Acting is good. It makes up well for the lack of props, scene and real Othello :)

[nemozetbit]

ha-ha-ha, I was laughing so hard... I just finished reading Othello, and watched a movie after that too. Othello in this play is just hilarious! Man, they just durty white man's skin, that's such a funny way to show a black man. Don't they have a real one? This one just looks stupid. Neither voice nor face, not even a skin color has any resemblanse with black man's. nah... it spoiled everything.

[Staceyface246]

they darkened the white guys skin because they wanted him to play the part, that is LAWRENCE OLIVIER who was an incredible actor (especially in shakespeare) and they wanted him to play the part bad enough that they darkened his skin.

[meladorimagpie]

read a book, please, your ignorance of the actor and this film is ridiculous. This is Sir Laurence Olivier--the premier theatrical actor of the 20th century. This performance was for the british national theatre, and they wanted him to play the part, and he wanted to challenge himself for it.

[meladorimagpie]

that was in response to nemozetbit, btw

[nemozetbit]

I already appologised. acting is really good. It's just a white man colored to play a black one looks funny. tht's all.

[JISE2006]

1:20

[54spiritedwill54]

gotta love maggie smith on this one...

[MuNk33MaN]

it would've been nicer had Othello been actually portrayed by a black person.

[adaircairell]

Well, yes and no. I think that the reason that white actors wore whiteface in Shakespearean times is fairly awful (only white male actors were allowed on stage), but on film, it's not done for segregating reasons. It's done purely on the fact that Olivier's a great actor, and he performs it brilliantly. Without the wonderful stage make-up, he wouldn't be able to have played one of his most famed roles.

[grai]

thats like saying Richard III should only be played by a hunchback with a big nose!

It's not a story about a black man but a man who had problems of jealousy and egoism and that's the main core of Olivier's performance

I would have totally believed he was a black man if I dint know who it was

[amiitk]

hy can u tell me from i can downlaod it this movie i love oliver lawrence

[Rubyjuke719]

Maggie Smith was Desdemona?! Go Maggie!

[anberry]

Aw man... I love maggie smith on this one...

[DanRooster]

"She that I speak of ... out great Captain's captain,"

[ahmed2567890]

Hello, I need this movie badly, can someone kindly tell me how I can get it?

[Robretty]

OH Mags...so absolutely perfect!Goddess!!!

Happy New Year to all!

Thanks foe posting this!