From Amazon.com
Shakespeare's tragedy proves remarkably versatile in this 1922 adaptation, combining the Bard's passionate melodrama with the rich psychological underpinnings of Germany's silent expressionist cinema. Directed with intelligent economy by Russian expatriate Dimitri Buchowetzki, the film is brimming over with title cards, but only a few of them borrow from Shakespeare verbatim. In both plotting and written dialogue, this is a largely original interpretation, bearing closer resemblance to the 2001 teen drama
O than to Shakespeare, emphasizing the ill-fated Moor's descent into jealousy and madness, brought upon him by the scheming Iago, played with delicious villainy by Werner Krauss of
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari fame. As Othello, the legendary Emil Jannings plays to the cheap seats with crazed abandon, his bulging eyes about to burst from their sockets. It's the showmanship of a stage icon, but wholly appropriate to the escalating intensity of Shakespeare's play, the essence of which is admirably retained.
--Jeff Shannon
Additional Features
In addition to the 80-minute
Othello, this collectible DVD offers a generous sampling of silent Shakespeare from international sources. "Duel Scene from Macbeth" (1905) and "The Taming of the Shrew" are Biograph shorts, both filmed by D.W. Griffith's great cameraman "Billy" Bitzer, and the latter directed by Griffith. "Romeo Turns Bandit" (1910) presents a contemporary take on Shakespeare's greatest romance, offering a rare opportunity to see French comedian Max Linder in a more subtle (but no less amiable) context. And the Danish "Desdemona" (1911) is a tinted, condensed version of
Othello, which packs more into 23 minutes than most silent films twice its length. All in all, a fascinating survey of Shakespeare's influence on the young and burgeoning medium of film.
--Jeff Shannon
