Othello

Othello is a 1965 film based on the National Theatre Company's staging of Shakespeare's Othello staged by John Dexter. Directed by Stuart Burge, the film starred Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Frank Finlay, and Joyce Redman, who all received Academy Award nominations, and provided film debuts for both Derek Jacobi and Michael Gambon. The film retains most of Shakespeare's original play and does not change the order of scenes, as Olivier's Hamlet or Richard III do. The only major omission is the Fool's scene, although other minor lines are cut here and there. Derek Jacobi and Michael... Gambon both made their film debuts in Othello while Edward Hardwicke, would go on to work with the National for seven years. The film of Othello used enlarged duplicates of the original stage settings, rather than having elaborate new sets built. Olivier's former backers for his Shakespeare films were all deceased by 1965, and he was unable to raise the money to do a film version on location or on elaborate sets.
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