OTHELLO [IMPORT]

Details

• Release Year: 1922
• Genre: Drama
• Plot: 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 [Amazon.com]
• Cast: Emil Jannings, Werner Krauss, Ica von Lenkeffy, Theodor Loos, Ferdinand von Alten, Friedrich Kühne, Magnus Stifter, Lya De Putti, Dimitri Buchowetzki
• Director: Dimitri Buchowetzki
• Runtime: 1:20
• Company: Wörner-Filmgesellschaft
• Media Format: movie