Othello
Director: Orson Welles
Year Released: 1952
Rating: 2.0
Belongs in that fabled group of movies that 'could have been great' but remain hollowed out and fragmented - despite the million dollars that went into restoring Welles' version of the Shakespeare play, it's still something of a mess. He freely alters some of the original material, putting a heavy influence on visuals and composition, and while the shots are inventive, it feels over-directed and pretentious. Might be worth enduring just to marvel in Welles' artistic acuity, but don't expect the re-assembled work to be of the same caliber as The Magnificent Ambersons (also a flawed work, but at least one in which you can fully grasp the masterpiece that's been sliced apart).
