Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageOtello (1986)
Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Zeffirelli's lavish Verdi production will annoy the purists (in comes ballet music written for the Paris premiere, plus the odd surprise flashback, out goes Desdemona's plaintive 'Willow' song), but it does enshrine Domingo's magnificent Moor, one of the great characterisations of the past decade or so, for those of us unlikely ever to see him do it in the opera house. The settings are lavish rather than particularly imaginative, and Zeffirelli sometimes loses the surging power of the tragedy behind ever-bustling foreground detail. Yet the singing's the thing, and the principals have been able to translate their stage performances for the camera in a way that will captivate old hands, but won't put off newcomers to filmed opera.Author: TJ
Cast & crew
Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Producer: Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus
Cast: Placido Domingo, Katia Ricciarelli, Justino Diaz, Petra Malakova, Urbano Barberini, Massimo Foschi, Edwin Francis, Sergio Nicolai, Remo Remotti, Antonio Pierfederici full cast
Genre(s): Musicals
Duration: 123 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now