Othello (1995) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Drama | None | |
Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 1995 | ||
Running Time | 118:33 | ||
RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | Oliver Parker |
Studio
Distributor |
Warner Home Video |
Starring |
Laurence Fishburne Irčne Jacob Kenneth Branagh Nathaniel Parker Michael Maloney Anna Patrick Nicholas Farrell Indra Ové Michael Sheen André Oumansky Philip Locke John Savident Gabriele Ferzetti |
Case | Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip | ||
RPI | $14.95 | Music | Charlie Mole |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles |
English English for the Hearing Impaired |
Smoking | No |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
This 1995 adaptation of the Bard's Othello is a stupendous piece of work. Lavish in its sets, lusty in its performance, portentous in its score - the 118 or so minutes fly by as one is absorbed into the language of Shakespeare, brilliantly interpreted by director Oliver Parker.
Kenneth Branagh can be thanked for reigniting a broader audience's interest in Shakespeare's work, with his previous great presentations of Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing and Henry V amongst others, and here, he very nearly steals the show with his witty and villainous portrayal of the conniving Iago. Fortunately Laurence Fishburne is not intimidated, and plays a subtle and interesting Othello with restraint and dignity.
If it's been a while since you were last acquainted with this piece, allow me to refresh your memory.
Venice is being troubled by the Turks, so the Duke (played by Gabriele Ferzetti) commissions his best general, Othello, to quell the trouble. He is late to the summons, as he is secretly being married to the fair Desdemona (Irčne Jacob), much to the horror of Roderigo (performed somewhat histrionically by Michael Maloney) who has lusted after her from afar.
Enter one Iago who, at a price, assures Roderigo that he can get Desdemona away from the swarthy moor and into his lusty arms. He inveigles his way into the confidence of Othello, and sets doubt in his mind about the fealty of Desdemona and his favoured lieutenant, Michael Cassio (Nathaniel Parker).
As the plot thickens, intrigue lays upon intrigue until all is resolved in a bloody end.
Parker's film is very deftly presented. For reasons of pace and clarity, he has edited Shakespeare's original text, but this should not offend anyone other than the absolute purists. The production flows fluently and stylishly with a self-assured wittiness that includes the audience very effectively. Dramatic and elegant, the acting is by and large excellent and the staging is crisp and fresh.
This disc presents a jolly nice transfer.
It is presented in a ratio of 1.78:1, which is close to its 1.85:1 origins, and is 16x9 enhanced.
There was little evidence of low level noise, the shadow detail was great, and it enjoyed an excellent luminance. The focus was crisp and sharp and there was plenty of depth to the image.
The colour palette utilised was very rich and warm, with a fantastic colour range in evidence, which were all well-contained and rendered. Skin tones were naturalistic and clear, and there was little to distract, with the minor exception of a touch of halation at around 52:18, which caused little challenge to the overall enjoyment.
MPEG artefacts and film to video artefacts were at a minimum - there was the occasional hint of film spots, but nothing that was too irritating.
Subtitles were accurate and easy to read, which is of great help with Shakespeare pieces, as they can be valuable in "tuning-in" your ear to the language.
This disc is an RSDL disc, with the layer change placed between Chapters 25 and 26, at 91:06. It is quite disruptive to the flow of the movie at this point, but is clearly far superior to having to get up and flip the disc over.
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There is a single Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded soundtrack in English. There are no other options available.
The dialogue was very clear and well modulated with no audio sync problems present.
The musical score by Charlie Mole was excellent, and clearly he is a Parker favourite, having also worked with him on The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband. Frequently ominous and portentous, as the story dictates, it was also lyrical and whimsical when required, and served the dramatic purposes of the film very well.
The sound fully utilised the available speakers, with a good sense of direction, and the subwoofer also got some work in an appropriate manner.
There are no extras on this disc.
The menu design is 16x9, static and silent.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;
The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;
Both versions are equally good, and there is no compelling reason to prefer one over the other.
This is a slick, intense and very well performed piece of cinema. The acting is excellent, the production values are high, and the visual experience is enhanced by a very good transfer.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Singer SGD-001, using S-Video output |
Display | Teac 76cm Widescreen. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Teac 5.1 integrated system |
Speakers | Teac 5.1 integrated system |