The Restoration of Orson Welles' Othello

Julian Schlossberg & World Entertainment, Inc.'s presentation of The Orson Welles' classic, Othello, in 1992 marked the 40th anniversary of its showing at Cannes.. The restoration of this rarely seen classic allows film lovers, Welles' Aficionados, and Shakespeare enthusiasts a first look at the Othello which Welles spent four years of his life making.

He began developing Othello in 1948, but because of financial crises the film took three years to complete. Unable to obtain his elaborate costumes from the costume company, Welles used the improvisation he learned in the theater and recast one scene (the killing of Roderigo) in a bathhouse, with actors donning sheets. Later the scene became the best known from the film with the change heralded as a brilliant and innovative device.

Filmed throughout Europe and Northern Africa with principal photography in Rome, Venice and Mogador, Morocco it was financed by Welles' outside acting jobs, Othello became an act of love on behalf of all those who participated. The actors and technicians were often required to remain on location while Welles dashed off to film The Third Man or The Black Rose so that he would have enough funds to continue. As the closing night film of the 1952 Cannes Film Festival, it was the co-winner for the Prize for Best Feature Film. It received only a brief U.S. release by United Artists in 1955 and since then the film, one of Welles' masterpieces, has been seen only occasionally.

Castle Hill Productions purchased the worldwide distribution rights for the restored Othello from Welles' daughter by Paola Mori Welles, Countess of Gerfalco. Although the Welles estate thought that the original nitrate negative of Othello had been destroyed in the mid-1950s or as Welles-Smith noted, "stuck in the closet of a Parisian hotel," it was still in existence and traced down to the 20th Century Fox warehouse in Ogdensburg, New Jersey. In storage were the 37-year-old nitrate negative, fine-grain duplicate negative on ten reels (still in the original 1955 steel containers), composition optical soundtrack, and the music and effects soundtrack.

The extensive restoration process included a complete re-recording of the soundtrack. Welles directed, produced, starred in, and adapted the Shakespeare play. His international cast included some of England and Ireland's top talent including Micheal Mac Liammoir, Robert Coote, Suzanne Cloutier, Fay Compton, Doris Dowling and Michael Laurence. The restored film premiered at a gala inaugural screening at Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater on December 4, 1991. Attending the event were Suzanne Cloutier, Beatrice Welles-Smith, Chris Welles-Feder and cinematographer George Fanto who shot the original film. It also opened to rave reviews in New York in early March of 1992 at City Cinema's Cinema II.

Cast
Othello - Orson Welles
Iago - Micheal Mac Liammoir
Roderigo - Robert Coote
Desdemona - Suzanne Cloutier
Emilia - Fay Compton
Bianca - Doris Dowling
Cassio - Michael Laurence

Technical Credits
Photography - Anchisi Brizzi, G.R. Aldo and George Fanto
Décor - Alexander Trauner
Costumes - Maria de Matteis
Film Editors - John Shepridge, Jean Sacha,
Renzo Lucidi, William Morton
Music - Francesco Lavagnino and Alberto Barberis
Conducted by - Willy Ferrero

Restoration Credits
Producers - Michael Dawson and Arnie Saks
Executive Producers - Donald M. Leibsker, Edward H. Stone and James J. Trainor
In association with- Beatrice Welles-Smith, Christopher F. Smith and Intermission Productions, Ltd.
Restoration Design & Coordination - Phillip Schopper
Re-Recording Mixer - Lee Dichter
Post Production Services - Sound One/New York
Music and Effects Supervising Editor - John Fogelson
Music and Effects Mixer - Ed Golya, C.A.S.
Orchestral Reconstruction - Michael Pendowski
Audio Effects Design Engineer - Lorita de la Cerna
Associate Producers - Mark Caras, Frederick E. Roth
Rachel V. Lyon
Music Recording Mixer - Bob Bennett
Dialogue Editors - Lukas Bower, Terry Schilling and Steve Wilke