Not for the Purists
This film of Verdi's Otello has an awful lot going for it. Ably led by the masterful conducting of Lorin Maazel, the performance enshrines marvellous portrayals of Otello and Desdemona by Domingo and Ricciarelli who deliver performances which both vocally and on the screen often touch greatness. With the typically sumptuous sets of Zefferelli, the film is often quite memorable (for example, at the unforgettable close of the first act).

Yet, as previous reviewers have pointed out, it is indeed a pity that the director chose to cut the Willow Song. That said, with a running time of 1hr 58Mins, Zefferelli wields the axe on Verdi's score with disconcerting ease, with the consequence that the poetic beauty of Boito's libretto and the dramatic sweep of Verdi's music are all but destroyed. A snippet here, a few pages there, barely a scene passes without Zefferelli's meddling; and it's not for dramatic continuity either, as ridiculously, the director insists on inserting two ballet sequences into the action midway throught the first act and after the arrival of Venetian ambassador in Act III. The music, I believe, may have been cribbed from one of Verdi's other operas, but sits uncomfortably within the sublime score of Otello and adds nothing to the dramatic credibility of the action.

Consequently, this is not a film for someone who loves Verdi's opera. As an introduction to Otello, Verdi or even the genre of opera itself, I cannot think of anything more seductive or appropriate: maybe this was the audience that Zefferelli was targetting and so if you are remotely familiar with Otello, I suspect that you will be disappointed with this film, more disconcerted by the director's habitual butchering of the score than seduced by the undeniably beautiful film sequences. No, if you insist upon a film of Otello, I would point the reader in the direction of Herbert von Karajan's early 1970's effort, undeniably flawed and with minor cuts of its own, but with even finer performances by Mirella Freni as Desdemona and Jon Vickers as Otello than here and accompanied by the incomparably grand Berlin PO, it is an altogether more faithful rendering of this wonderful opera and the more moving for that. However, if it is Domingo that you want, then the televised transmissions with Levine from The Met, Muti from La Scala and, to a slightly lesser extent, Solti at Covent Garden, are all superior to what's on offer here.

Overall, I'm glad to have seen this film, but I love Verdi's Otello too much to ever want to see Zefferelli's Otello ever again.

Superb film version of late Verdi masterpiece.
The spectacular scale and intense personal drama of Otello make it an ideal opera for a superb film treatment by Zeffirelli.

We are fortunate that Placido Domingo as Otello and Katia Ricciarelli as Desdemona were still at an age when they are convincing in their roles, even in the closest of close ups, and their singing and acting are superb, ably tormented and manipulated by Justino Diaz as Iago.

This film gets right to the heart of the drama amidst beautiful medieval settings in cloisters, towers and crypts.

I understand but regret Zefferilli's decision to cut the willow song from the final act, but this should not stop anyone from buying this gripping production.


For he's a jolly good Othello
From the rousing opening to the desperate and tender finale, this is perhaps Verdi's most highly charged, sweeping score: a complete masterpiece. It's a natural project for Zeffirelli, who has filmed both Shakespeare (Romeo & Juliet; Taming of the Shrew) and Opera (La traviata) successfully. And he pulls out all the stops here.

His storytelling is lucid, if sometimes overstressed, with dreams and flashbacks, but led by the music.

The only reason this isn't awarded five stars is the regettable decision to miss out the "Willow Song" in the final act. It's there in Shakespeare, also in Verdi's opera. It was recorded and issed on the soundtrack cd, exquisitely sung by the divine Ricciarelli. And yet Zeffirelli felt he knew better than all these people and removed it because it "held up the drama". Personally I see it as an essential "calm before the storm". With it, the film would have been perfection. Without it, it's still very good, but fatally decifient in that one respect.

Domingo is magnificent, the greatest Otello of his generation, no question, with Ricciarelli the most lovely and radiant Desdemona imaginable. Diaz at Iago is fine and the whole production is eye-poppingly sumptuous, as you would expect from Zeffirelli.

For the complete opera, try the live performances with Domingo - the Covent Garden production with te Kanewa is pretty good.

Otello
Apart from the excellent performances by Domingo,Ricciarelli & Diaz the sound effects must make this one of the most dramatic operas ever put on film.

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