I have to say, when my class started studying this film version of 'Othello', I looked forward to seeing Hopkins and Hoskins face off. Instead, I viewed one of the most horrible performances of Shakespeare I have ever seen. It was amazing; Hoskins plays Iago as a giggling, demonaical child with no more motivation than a teen movie prankster--in fact, even less. Desdemona was a pure ice queen; she simply did not seem like the kind of woman that would leave her father and everything she knows for a mysterious foreigner. But the kicker was our Othello. Anthony Hopkins must have been under the guidance of the most inept idiot of a director, because this was the worst performance of his career! I never thought I'd live to see the day when Othello would bark, growl, and shake his tongue like a hideously mad dog--after showing no hint whatsoever of anything like passion or love towards Desdemona, unless passing, pettish attraction is to be called the kind of desire and chemistry that existed between the lovers. I don't think it's Hopkins' fault, though--it must be the director. I have seen a few videos of this BBC series as part of my class, and most are pretty bad, even though they have really excellent actors in them. Even the production values and camera work are horrible. This is certainly not worth watching.
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