Othello is a 1995 film based on William Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name. It was directed by Oliver Parker and stars Laurence Fishburne as Othello, Irène Jacob as Desdemona, and Kenneth Branagh as Iago. This is the first cinematic reproduction of the play released by a major studio that casts an African American actor to play the role of Othello, although low-budget independent films of the play starring Ted Lange and Yaphet Kotto predated it.
The film, shot in Italy, follows the story of the play closely, but cuts many lines. In addition it adds scenes not in the play, including a sex scene between Othello and Desdemona, dreams in which Othello imagines Desdemona's supposed affair with Cassio, a scene in which Desdemona dances for Othello and a final scene in which the bodies of those killed are buried at sea.
The film was not a financial success, grossing only $2.1 million in the United States on its $11 million budget (however, it had a very limited theater count). It received largely positive reviews, especially for Branagh's Iago. Janet Maslin wrote in the New York Times "Mr. Branagh's superb performance, as the man whose Machiavellian scheming guides the story of Othello's downfall, guarantees this film an immediacy that any audience will understand." Branagh was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance, in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role category.
Ce mouchoir, je te l'ai offert
Le jour de ton anniversaire
Il est fait de dentelle fine
Léger comme la mousseline
Ce mouchoir, je l'ai vu tomber
L'autre soir du nouveau complet
De Cassio, quand il t'a conviée
A boire un verre et à danser
Desdemone, je t'aime comme personne
Je t'aime comme personne, je t'aime comme personne
Mais la jalousie fait sonner
Les trompettes de Jéricho dans le coeur de pierre d'Othello
Ce mouchoir, te l'a-t-il volé?
Ce mouchoir, lui as-tu donné?
Après tout, ce n'est pas un crime
Puisque c'est notre ami intime
Mais il paraît qu'on t'aurait vue
Avec lui, bras dessous dessus
Sortir d'un hôtel de banlieue,
Yago me l'a dit, des larmes plein les yeux
Desdemone, je t'aime comme personne
Je t'aime comme personne, je t'aime comme personne
Mais la jalousie fait sonner
Les trompettes de Jéricho dans le coeur de pierre d'Othello
Qu'as-tu fait, que n'as-tu pas fait?
Ces questions cent fois répétées
Font que j'ai peur, un de ces soirs,
D'aller trop loin sans le vouloir
Pour le voir cracher sa douleur
Dedans ce mouchoir de malheur
Que tu lui as donné un jour
Par amitié, ou qui sait par amour?
Desdemone, je t'aime comme personne
Je t'aime comme personne, je t'aime comme personne
Mais la jalousie fait sonner
How can you say that you love me,
When you never look me in the face.
How can you say that you need me,
When you've been messing around.
All over the place.
I went downtown yesterday,
And was walking in the marketplace
All the women they laughed at me,
They whispered that I was a disgrace.
You've been out all night drinking again,
You never even bother to call.
Been crossing blades with God knows who,
You're headed for your rise and fall.
Sooner or later I'll wake up,
And rub the sleep out of my eyes.
Later that day when you wake up,
You'll be in for a big surprise.
You talk about yourself all night,
When really you are such a bore.
You gave me flowers to my face,
Behind my back you call me a whore.
I've had enough of you God knows what,
I think it's time for you to leave.
I've forgiven you too many times before,
This time you get no reprive.
The bed's too big without you,
But I suppose it'll have to do.
Better to lay in an empty bed,
Than to spend another night beside you.
People talking all over town,
About the way you've been putting me down.
People talking all over town,