Otello is a 1986 film based on the Giuseppe Verdi opera of the same name based on the Shakespeare play Othello. The film was directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starred Plácido Domingo in the title role, Katia Ricciarelli as Desdemona and Justino Díaz as Iago. The Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala were conducted by Lorin Maazel. The film premiered in West Germany on August 28, 1986, and received a U.S. theatrical release on September 12, 1986. With only a few exceptions, the film follows the same plot as the opera. Iago plots and brings about Otello's downfall by convincing... him that his wife Desdemona is engaged in an affair with the young lieutenant Cassio, provoking Otello to murder her in a blind rage. However, a major change is that Otello kills Iago at the end by throwing a spear at him, while in the stage version of the opera, he only wounds him with his sword. For the most part, the film follows the original score of the opera with several noticeable exceptions.
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