Product Description

Legendary Italian director Franco Zeffirelli (Romeo and Juliet) and renowned tenor Placido Domingo unite their mighty talents for this lavish production of composer Giuseppe Verdi's classic opera based on Shakespeare's timeless, tragic masterpiece Othello. Victorious general Otello (Domingo) returns in triumph to his adopted city of Venice after vanquishing its foes at sea. But noteveryone is poised to give him a hero's welcome. Even as his beautiful wife Desdemona (Katia Ricciarelli) lavishes him with affection, Iago (Justino Diaz), a disgruntled ensign, plots his downfall. And when Iago uses Otello's own jealous nature against him, he drives a wedge between husband and wife with devastating consequences!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27349 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-03-04
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Classical, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Italian
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 118 minutes

Amazon.com
This is not strictly Verdi's Otello; it is a fast-moving, hard-hitting film adaptation of the opera that omits some of the music (most notably the "Willow Song") to enhance the dramatic pace. With brilliant camera work, the "you-are-there" impact of film vs. a videotaped stage production, and outstanding performances from all the principals, it is also the Otello that you may find yourself replaying most frequently.

Director Franco Zeffirelli has been criticized for altering Verdi--in effect, for adapting the libretto (the best one Verdi ever had) to a medium that Verdi never imagined. But he is only giving to Verdi the same kind of treatment that Verdi gave to Shakespeare and Shakespeare gave to his Italian sources. It's a daring treatment, but it works brilliantly. Placido Domingo stands out in his generation as an interpreter of Otello, vocally powerful and dramatically convincing. He is well supported by Katia Ricciarelli as Desdemona and Justino Diaz as Iago. --Joe McLellan

Customer Reviews

Great or Horrible?
Well, to start, I am huge fan of Otello, Domingo and Zeffirelli. But somehow I was disappointed (sometimes a lot!) with this movie.

Before I bought the DVD I had read some reviews, and most reviewers were chocked by the cuts in the score and I always thought: big deal. But when I watched it I understood: THERE IS ABOUT 25 min OF CUTS!!! Most of Otellos (Levine's, Karajan's, Toscanini's) are about 2h15. This one is 1h55 with over 10 min of music and ballet that Verdi never wrote (You do the math, and remember that Maazel's tempi are much slower than Toscanini's). Also, not only are these cuts of arias or ensembles, but even worse: Phrases are just cut off here and there throughout the Opera. The 1000 words allowed for the review won't be enough to enumerate them. Why??? A reviewer argued that it's to enhance the drama!! Come on, are you going to convince me that the finale of Act II (Si, pel Ciel) needs enhancement. Even this part is cut, and worse it's "Cut IN HALF AND I MEAN IN HALF" as another reviewer pointed.

So what does go right?
Well the scenary is amazing and I mean amazing. But what about the performance (this is Opera after all). Well again much can be said. Domingo once said that his performance was very much influenced by Zeffirelli. He wanted him to go into some deep barytonal voice (à la Ramon Vinay of you will), and the performance suffers.
Maazel conducting is far from being ideal. Should he be blamed? Well yes, like most of the singers who agreed to represent Zeffirelli's Otello and not Verdi's.

Finally, one of the reviewer said that Zeffirelli tried to "adapt" the opera and those who dislike is are not open-minded. Oh Please! When you buy Verdi's Otello, you are expecting to hear some of the most beautiful music ever written adapted to one of the most successfull libretto and won't expect the director to cut off about 25 min of the score.

It is normal to be disappointed. With a cast like this one and a director like Zeffirelli (his Traviata, Cav. Rusticana, and Traviata are awesome) we could have had the most successful opera movie Ever....

Finally, I need to point out that one who doesn't know Otello "as is" could be thrilled with this version. It is after all a real beautiful movie.

A real missed opportunity
If Franco Zeffirelli hadn't tampered with the music and made a couple of awful directorial decisions,this could have been a legendary film of a great opera. The singing and the voices themselves are breathtaking,and the acting is also quite good. The print I saw,however (on cable) has a curious flaw---the voices and orchestra (the famed LaScala Orchestra) are all an octave (or maybe a semi-octave) lower than they should be, and this is NOT true of the film's soundtrack album. But at least the film corrects the album's greatest flaw,of making the orchestra practically blast you out of your seat while the voices sound like they're in some kind of tunnel or drainpipe. The disastrous decisions include cutting important small bits of the opera,inserting the ballet music of the French stage production into the opening celebration, where it does NOT belong,and the most hideous mutilation of all, cutting the awesomely heartrending and beautiful "Salce" (The Willow Song), Desdemona's most important solo aria,from the film. (It can be heard on the soundtrack album--Zeffirelli cheats us by having his singers and orchestra pre-record the ENTIRE opera, so that it can be released complete on a soundtrack album, then cutting chunks of the opera only in the actual film.)

This isn't the only crime Zeffirelli commits against this most beautiful of Verdi operas. He leaves in or inserts sound effects and unnecessary flashbacks right into the middle of his arias,so that while Domingo and Ricciarelli sing their love duet,we see and hear,in a flashback to Otello's childhood,marauding soldiers on galloping horses snatching Otello from his mother while she screams hysterically.(This over the beautiful music and singing!)

On the plus side, Domingo, Ricciarelli and Diaz are memorable, and the photography,sets,and location filming are beautiful.

Different medium, different needs
Yes, this is not a true stage production (is there ever a "true" production? Operas are edited/transposed/cut for the stage all the time). This is a movie. It is intended for a broader audience, and makes the most of different strengths and weaknesses of a different medium. I'm always amused by those who are outraged by the "changes" made to the story. Please! Some of the best parts of Shakespeare's "Othello" (including its entire first act)were left out of Verdi's libretto. And Shakespeare's Iago never delivers a speech anything like the famous "Credo." So for me, cries of "tampering" fall pretty flat. Verdi knew (as does Zeffirelli) that you have to *adapt* the story to the new medium. The important question is: is this adaptation a good movie? Yes. The acting, the visuals, the pacing makes the story and the characters come alive. And like his work in "Romeo and Juliet," Zeffirelli makes the Renaissance almost painfully beautiful to see. I imagine there are many who will respond more favorably to this treatment than a traditional staging. This really is a work of art, and movie buffs shouldn't hesitate. There are several taped stage productions, and if that's more to your taste, check out the Domingo/Solti DVD.