Othello in Motion

Motion picture, that is.

For some reason the version of Othello that I watched didn't catch my fancy. I could not bear to watch it. I was interested in the story but the screen didn't keep me focused. It was very frustrating.
It could have been the cold I was slowly catching and therefore my resulting headache that made it hard to concentrate on the movie.
Or it could have been the lack of color. It was a black and white film, and therefore not as eye-grabbing. But thinking back on it I really liked the fact that this particular play was done in black and white because of the racial themes Othello has in it.
It could have been the actors they chose for the characters. They seemed a little bit flat to me, especially Iago. He didn't stand out like he should have. I think they could have done a much better job choosing someone who looked a little bit more normal, a little bit more strong, someone who acted less like a wimp. I enjoyed the actor who played Othello, though, and Desdemona was pretty, but she could have been a little bit more tough (maybe). (I will definitely be addressing this subject in more detail in a later post)
It could also have been the editing. I think that the way they portrayed the play was too traditional. I would have liked to see it more dramatic, more creativity on the directors part, and more excitement. If they did the shots a little more daringly to make the movie less flat, I would have enjoyed it. And if it involved a little bit of something out of the ordinary, a flair that added to its interestingness, it would have been more...interesting to me.
This movie was also a tragedy from the very beginning. Maybe that's why I didn't like it. They showed the end in the beginning. I can see how that grabs attention and sparks curiosity but this part wasn't in the actual play. They showed a funeral march and Iago being put in a cage to be eaten by crows. I would have liked a little more suspense that would have kept me wondering. I chose this movie because I thought it'd be truer to the play but I guess I still wanted to see something new happen. They were very true to the play, though the epilepsy scene was strangely done. Otherwise it only cut a little bit and worked very close to the story and even the lines.
I remember in my preview post of Othello I mentioned watching a short, silent, home-done, high school quality adaptation of Othello. I did watch it, and I enjoyed the silent adaptation part of it. Not the best quality and I think that anyone who hasn't read Othello wouldn't quite understand it, but I enjoyed their use of text-messaging to portray what was being said. I'm pretty sure they made the end happier and it was pretty cool that they accomplished this, especially that they could do it with a silent film motto.

And again: You should read Othello. It's a pretty cool story.