| Abstrakt: |
This essay examines the 1995 filmed version of Shakespeare's Othello, directed by Oliver Parker and starring Laurence Fishburne. For the first time in a big-budget movie, Othello was played by a black man - an astonishing fact when one considers that this development did not occur until almost the very end of the twentieth century. This essay briefly surveys the often highly divergent responses the film received. It concludes by defending various aspects of the film, including its tightly knit structure and also the performance by Irène Jacob as Desdemona. Because Jacob's presence in the film was often severely criticized, it seems worthwhile, in attempting to defend the film in general, to examine several scenes prominently featuring her contributions to the production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
