Othello

This is a black and white TV version of "Othello" for German television, a production by Bavaria Atelier GmbH for the ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen) in 1968. The text of the Shakepeare play was translated by Wolf Heinrich Graf von Baudissin in 1832, modernised and shortened by Karl-Heinz Stroux plus reworked for TV by the director. To my ears this translation still works well today and is easily understandable without losing all of the beauty of Shakespeare's original. Stroux was a renowned theatre director and had staged Othello with Wolfgang Reichmann, who also plays the lead in this production. As you may suspect, Reichmann is not a black actor. I cannot say much regarding the problematic usage of blackfacing but hopefully it was handled relatively well in this production. This would have to be judged by someone else who knows more about it than I do.

As far as I can say with my limited knowledge of the play, having only the 1995 film version with Branagh as Iago to compare it with, I have a overall positive impression of this 1968 version. It has aged well. Possibly it helps when you are used to watching the classics and you do not mind that theatre plays at that time were still very much filmed like a play. As much as there is to say for more inventive Shakespeare adaptations which make better use of the film medium this sort of adaption offers a chance for the viewer to concentrate on the words and the performances. I was not familiar with director Franz Peter Wirth before. He had a long career first in the theatre, then film and mainly television, starting in the early 1950s and working just until his death in 1999, which included many literary adaptations. All actors give solid or even better performances. Stefan Wigger as Jago/Iago is impressive and his approach just right also by today's standards. I wonder if the world of literature has many characters to offer which are meaner and more terrifying than Iago. The way he uses people as his tools and deceive his trusting friends without any sign of remorse or doubt just because he wants to climb up the career ladder is truly chilling. I cannot even see he has a strong motive for revenge. Like a psychopath he does not seem to care how many people die or have to be killed by himself and how much damage he causes for everyone else. Just as long as he sees his plans fullfilled he is satisfied. Two of his victims are Cassio played by Karl Michael Vogler and love-sick Rodrigo played by Fritz Wepper, both characters completely unaware of the fate awaiting them. Non-German viewers should be familiar with Wepper in "Cabaret" (1972). Like many of the other actors here he has been very busy working for German television and he is still active in 2020!

I got to know the career of actress Heidelinde Weis who plays Desdemona a bit better and I must admit that I have a soft spot for her because she has been able to use her charm and humour for a lot of the characters she played. Please check out her performance in the daring "Something for Everyone" for example! She was 28 when she played Desdemona and had only a few years of TV experience with lighter roles, so I guess this dramatic role must have been a challenge for her (I cannot say if she had played Shakespeare on stage before, she might have). I am glad she had the chance to show what she was able to do.

The role of women in Elizabethan times when the play was written were, of course, very different from today. I admire that there is something interesting about Shakespeare's female characters in so many of his plays, the women are often stronger than you may expect. Desdemona's acceptance of Othello's sudden violent and offensive behaviour towards her is irritating and hard to take from today's point of view. But on the other hand how brave it was of Desdemona to chose her husband on her own against her father's will and she gives her father a wise and diplomatic answer when she speaks of her "divided duty" to him and to her husband. The conversation between Desdemona and her maid Emilia about adultery at the end of act IV is priceless. It's a real joy that they are shown to have opinions entirely of their own and Emilia is very outspoken, even naughty. The dramatic ending gets very dark indeed, it does not fail to disturb the viewer.

Not a lot of people may have had the opportunity to see this version. It was aired again on the ZDFtheaterkanal (replaced by ZDFkultur in 2011 and then closed down in 2016 due to cost-saving measures at ZDF). So it might be a bit of a rarity, worth looking out for.