Orson Welles's 1951 film adaptation of Shakespeare's *Othello*, also known as *The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice*, stands as a testament to his ambitious filmmaking and the numerous obstacles he faced. Welles not only directed and produced the film but also starred in it, bringing his distinctive vision to the classic tragedy. Filmed over a challenging three-year period across various international locations, the movie's journey from its
acclaimed European premiere to its complex restoration history reveals a fascinating chapter in cinematic history, marked by both critical success and persistent technical difficulties.
A Global Production and Initial Acclaim
Welles's *Othello* was an international endeavor, shot on location in Morocco, Venice, Tuscany, and Rome, with additional work at Scalera Studios in Rome. The cast included Micheál Mac Liammóir as Iago, Robert Coote as Roderigo, Suzanne Cloutier as Desdemona, Michael Laurence as Cassio, Fay Compton as Emilia, and Doris Dowling as Bianca. The film first premiered in an Italian-language version in Rome on November 29, 1951. The English-language version debuted at the Cannes Film Festival on May 10, 1952, where it received significant recognition, winning the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film (a precursor to the Palme d'Or) under the Moroccan flag. This European release was generally well-received, with its soundtrack largely free of flaws, apart from some slightly out-of-sync dubbing. This version, featuring alternative camera angles and distinct edits, remains preserved in the Paris Cinematheque.
The American Release and Subsequent Criticisms
Despite its European success, Welles struggled to find a distributor for *Othello* in the United States for over three years. When a 93-minute cut was finally released in New York City on September 12, 1955, it featured several significant changes. Welles replaced his spoken-word titles with written credits, a request from the distributor, United Artists, and added a narration by himself. Notably, Suzanne Cloutier's entire performance was dubbed by Gudrun Ure, who had previously played Desdemona opposite Welles in a 1951 stage production. Paul Squitieri, in a 1993 study, argued that the U.S. version represented a "compromise," with some changes forced upon Welles, suggesting the original European cut was the truest version. This American release, however, was largely ignored upon its debut. Welles later incorporated clips from *Othello* into his 1978 documentary *Filming Othello*, though these were completely re-edited and featured a voiceover, omitting the original soundtrack.
The Controversial 1992 Restoration
In 1992, Welles's daughter, Beatrice Welles-Smith, supervised a restoration of the film, investing over $1,000,000 to improve picture quality, resynchronize audio, add sound effects, and completely rerecord the music in stereo. While initially met with positive reviews, this restoration soon faced severe criticism for numerous technical flaws and alterations that many argued went against Welles's original intentions. Film historians like Jonathan Rosenbaum contended that the restoration was incompetent, using a flawed distribution print as its audio source and making changes without consulting the composer's original scores. Rosenbaum highlighted that the new score, recorded with fewer resources, was so different that the composer's son argued it was no longer his father's work. Critics also pointed out that the restoration team seemed unaware of the European cut's existence, basing their work on the American version, which was further from Welles's vision. Beatrice Welles's legal actions subsequently blocked the sale of her father's original versions, making her restored version the only one available on VHS and DVD since the mid-1990s. Despite these controversies, a 2K digital restoration of the 1992 version was released in 2014, with *The New Yorker* noting an improved monaural soundtrack more appropriate for the film's original context.
