Othello (1951) (s/w, Criterion Collection, 2 Blu-rays)

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A visionary adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy, one of Orson Welles’s greatest films, presented in two versions. Gloriously cinematic despite its tiny budget, Othello, directed by Orson Welles (Citizen Kane), is a testament to the filmmaker’s stubborn willingness to pursue his vision to the ends of the earth. Unmatched in his passionate identification with Shakespeare’s imagination, Welles brings his inventive visual approach to this enduring tragedy of jealousy, bigotry, and rage, and also gives a towering performance as the Moor of Venice, alongside Suzanne Cloutier (Juliette, or Key of Dreams) as the innocent Desdemona, and Micháel Macliammóir (Tom Jones) as the scheming Iago. Shot over the course of three years in Italy and Morocco and plagued by many logistical problems, this fiercely independent film joins Macbeth and Chimes at Midnight in making the case for Welles as the cinema’s most audacious interpreter of the Bard.