Othello (1951)

[Scottie]

Gloriously cinematic despite being made on a tiny budget, Orson Welles’s Othello 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 as his innocent wife, Desdemona, and Micheál MacLiammóir as the scheming Iago. Shot over the course of three years in Morocco, Venice, Tuscany, and Rome 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.

New, restored 4K digital transfers of two versions of the film, the 1952 European one and the 1955 U.S. and UK one, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-ray
Audio commentary from 1995 featuring filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich and Orson Welles scholar Myron Meisel
Filming “Othello,” Welles’s last completed film, a 1979 essay-documentary
Return to Glennascaul, a 1953 short film made by actors Micheál MacLiammóir and Hilton Edwards during a hiatus from shooting Othello
New interview with Welles biographer Simon Callow
Souvenirs d’“Othello,” a 1995 documentary about actor Suzanne Cloutier by François Girard
New interview with Welles scholar François Thomas on the two versions
New interview with Ayanna Thompson, author of Passing Strange: Shakespeare, Race, and Contemporary America
Interview from 2014 with scholar Joseph McBride
PLUS: An essay by film critic Geoffrey O’Brien

New cover by Sarah Habibi

https://www.criterion.com/films/28621-othello

[noirjunkie]

I'm so excited for this. A key question, though, is what version of the audio will be included on the European edition.

I'm also very pleased to add it here: Orson Welles on Blu-ray

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

I'm so excited for this. A key question, though, is what version of the audio will be included on the European edition.

I'm also very pleased to add it here: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=11131099

It sounds as if both cuts will have English LPCM Mono audio.

[ThatOneGuy]

I'll probably puck this one up.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by iScottie

It sounds as if both cuts will have English LPCM Mono audio.

I know that. I'm referring to the huge debate that exists over which version of the audio is better: the "restored" version from the early 1990s or the original, unmanipulated audio.

Also, I know IMDb lists 1951 as the release year, but 1952 is the more accurate date, as the finished version didn't truly "premiere" until the 1952 Cannes Film Festival. Criterion correctly recognizes this on its site: https://www.criterion.com/films/28621-othello/

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

I know that. I'm referring to the huge debate that exists over which version of the audio is better: the restored version from the early 1990s or the original audio.

Ohhh. Gotcha.

[Majin Blu]

This announcement made my day. I'm so happy!

[Harakiri41]

Day one for me (of the July B&N sale).

[malakaheso]

So this will be a different transfer from the Carlotta release presumably?

Bogo is on the commentary too! Great!

Now if only Criterion could get their hands on The Trial and release a definitive version of it with a new transfer.

[javi92]

Sounds like a great package. Day 1 for me.

[jtarvainen]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

I'm so excited for this. A key question, though, is what version of the audio will be included on the European edition.

Happily, Jon Mulvaney from Criterion confirmed to me that both versions will use the original soundtrack:

This release has a new restoration and both versions will use this new restoration along with the original soundtrack. The 1992 restoration is not being used.

[Majin Blu]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

So this will be a different transfer from the Carlotta release presumably?

Bogo is on the commentary too! Great!

Now if only Criterion could get their hands on The Trial and release a definitive version of it with a new transfer.

I thought I read somewhere here that Kino has The Trial.

Anyone thinks the 1969 Merchant of Venice may be included in this edition?

[hoytereden]

Watching this on TCM right now and it's being shown in a widescreen format. Very odd.

[jonmayo15]

Return to Glennascaul is an incredibly spooky little short.

[Majin Blu]

I just saw on the front page that this release has been delayed

[Scottie]

New release date: September 26, 2017

[lastminutepanic]

Looks like "Filming Othello" will be included after all. The delay to September is worth it now!

"Filming “Othello,” Welles’s last completed film, a 1979 essay-documentary"

https://www.criterion.com/films/28621-othello

[Majin Blu]

Originally Posted by lastminutepanic

Looks like "Filming Othello" will be included after all. The delay to September is worth it now!

"Filming “Othello,” Welles’s last completed film, a 1979 essay-documentary"

https://www.criterion.com/films/28621-othello

That's great news. I usually wait for the sales, but I'm a huge Welles fan, so this is a day one purchase.

[Scottie]

New release date: October 10, 2017

[dwk]

According to Wellesnet, Filming Othello is from a new 2K scan.