lux exterior

enchanting and life-affirming, just another freak in the freak

maybe one of the greatest recordings ever made, transcends music as we know it.

first time I properly sat down to watch an orson welles film (ignoring my half-baked citizen kane watch from years gone by), and i have to say i was blown away. the actors didn't pull any punches when it came to their characters which was a surprise in all honesty as, and I say this lightly, shakespeare set the bar rather high. I know, hot take. i thought welles ceremoniously casting himself as othello paid off well but, as in the play, iago steals the show. i could speak for hours on how all the other characters match up but to keep it succinct i was most compelled by those two. the only thing that brings it down, and i mean significantly brings it down as an adaptation of othello, is the dilution of the racial factor of the play (othello's alienation as a black man, etc). it certainly still features, but the obvious elephant in the room (the blackface welles puts on) does play a significant part in the film missing the mark on that regard. I appreciate this review was a bit lacklustre but writing in the wake of finishing the play doesn't leave me the most level-headed.