Rating: 
Summary: I agree with Mr. Moreno.
Review: This is one of the most disappointing opera (film) I have ever seen. Not because it was particularly bad. I still rate it highly. But because of several senseless blunders. Otherwise, it could have achieved legendary status.Mr. Zeffirelli makes a mysterious decision to insert a ballet music in first act only to cut off the Desdemona's beautiful willow song later in act 4. Even worse, he cut off another famous duet "Si, pel ciel marmoreo giuro" (Otello-Iago, end of act 2) in the middle. I mean in the MIDDLE! I, too, believe Otello-Desdemona duet in the end of act 1 without sound effects, but I can live with it. To me, it is just a joke to claim one can stand cracks and hissings of old recordings and dislikes movie sound effects. Singings and actings were generally good. Domingo's Otello was superb, Ricciarelli's Desdemona was good. Was beautiful, too, physically, in addition to vocally. Diaz has neither Gobbi's evil darkness (with Vickers- Rysanek-Seraffin, RCA) nor Leiferkus' disgusting lightness (with Domingo-Studer-Chung, DG). I didn't like his Iago very much. However, the visual effect for his "Credo in un Dio" was spectacular. When pondering about death and afterlife, Zeffirelli shoots sky looked through a well and then a bottomless pit at the other side, as he sings "E poi? E poi?" before he bursts out "La Morte e il Nulla". I'll give my thumb up only for this one scene. Overall, this film is a mixture of such ingenuity and insensitivity.
Rating: 
Summary: Let it be your first Otello
Review: This is, hands down, the best performance of Otello. Domingo is a pretty good actor on his own, but Zefferelli really unleashes Domingo's true potential as a pure acting force. It is said that Lawrence Oliver saw Domingo plsy Otello and said "He plays him as well as i do, AND he has that voice!" That being said, some of the cuts are understandable, most are annoying. But i believe most of the cuts are only annoying to those people who know the score well enough to hear the change of a phrase. I would reccomend this as a firs Otello, because it is at the heart of what Verdi was getting at, a drama through music. Cuts such as "Questa un ragna" and the giant choral piece at the end of Desdemona's "A terra...si..." are beautiful, but hardly dramatically viable. But cuts, such as in the final seen in the "Che le...otello" really ruin the drama in that section i feel. Part of the genius of that section is the way that the music intensifies as the drama intensifies, and Zefferelli doesn't allow that to happen. However, this is nitpicking on my part. Zefferelli's Otello is a beautiful piece, the performances are more convincing than any other production i've other seen, so he cut a little. He had a reason. I don't know it. You don't know it. Enjoy it for what it is.
Rating: 
Summary: Great or Horrible?
Review: Well, to start, I am huge fan of Otello, Domingo and Zeffirelli. But somehow I was disappointed (sometimes a lot!) with this movie. Before I bought the DVD I had read some reviews, and most reviewers were chocked by the cuts in the score and I always thought: big deal. But when I watched it I understood: THERE IS ABOUT 25 min OF CUTS!!! Most of Otellos (Levine's, Karajan's, Toscanini's) are about 2h15. This one is 1h55 with over 10 min of music and ballet that Verdi never wrote (You do the math, and remember that Maazel's tempi are much slower than Toscanini's). Also, not only are these cuts of arias or ensembles, but even worse: Phrases are just cut off here and there throughout the Opera. The 1000 words allowed for the review won't be enough to enumerate them. Why??? A reviewer argued that it's to enhance the drama!! Come on, are you going to convince me that the finale of Act II (Si, pel Ciel) needs enhancement. Even this part is cut, and worse it's "Cut IN HALF AND I MEAN IN HALF" as another reviewer pointed. So what does go right?
Well the scenary is amazing and I mean amazing. But what about the performance (this is Opera after all). Well again much can be said. Domingo once said that his performance was very much influenced by Zeffirelli. He wanted him to go into some deep barytonal voice (à la Ramon Vinay of you will), and the performance suffers.
Maazel conducting is far from being ideal. Should he be blamed? Well yes, like most of the singers who agreed to represent Zeffirelli's Otello and not Verdi's. Finally, one of the reviewer said that Zeffirelli tried to "adapt" the opera and those who dislike is are not open-minded. Oh Please! When you buy Verdi's Otello, you are expecting to hear some of the most beautiful music ever written adapted to one of the most successfull libretto and won't expect the director to cut off about 25 min of the score. It is normal to be disappointed. With a cast like this one and a director like Zeffirelli (his Traviata, Cav. Rusticana, and Traviata are awesome) we could have had the most successful opera movie Ever.... Finally, I need to point out that one who doesn't know Otello "as is" could be thrilled with this version. It is after all a real beautiful movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Different medium, different needs
Review: Yes, this is not a true stage production (is there ever a "true" production? Operas are edited/transposed/cut for the stage all the time). This is a movie. It is intended for a broader audience, and makes the most of different strengths and weaknesses of a different medium. I'm always amused by those who are outraged by the "changes" made to the story. Please! Some of the best parts of Shakespeare's "Othello" (including its entire first act)were left out of Verdi's libretto. And Shakespeare's Iago never delivers a speech anything like the famous "Credo." So for me, cries of "tampering" fall pretty flat. Verdi knew (as does Zeffirelli) that you have to *adapt* the story to the new medium. The important question is: is this adaptation a good movie? Yes. The acting, the visuals, the pacing makes the story and the characters come alive. And like his work in "Romeo and Juliet," Zeffirelli makes the Renaissance almost painfully beautiful to see. I imagine there are many who will respond more favorably to this treatment than a traditional staging. This really is a work of art, and movie buffs shouldn't hesitate. There are several taped stage productions, and if that's more to your taste, check out the Domingo/Solti DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Different medium, different needs
Review: Yes, this is not a true stage production (is there ever a "true" production? Operas are edited/transposed/cut for the stage all the time). This is a movie. It is intended for a broader audience, and makes the most of different strengths and weaknesses of a different medium. I'm always amused by those who are outraged by the "changes" made to the story. Please! Some of the best parts of Shakespeare's "Othello" (including its entire first act)were left out of Verdi's libretto. And Shakespeare's Iago never delivers a speech anything like the famous "Credo." So for me, cries of "tampering" fall pretty flat. Verdi knew (as does Zeffirelli) that you have to *adapt* the story to the new medium. The important question is: is this adaptation a good movie? Yes. The acting, the visuals, the pacing makes the story and the characters come alive. And like his work in "Romeo and Juliet," Zeffirelli makes the Renaissance almost painfully beautiful to see. I imagine there are many who will respond more favorably to this treatment than a traditional staging. This really is a work of art, and movie buffs shouldn't hesitate. There are several taped stage productions, and if that's more to your taste, check out the Domingo/Solti DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not perfect
Review: Zeffirelli`s version of Otello is first of all a splendid orgy of beautiful pictures. Sadly, it cuts a lot of Verdi`s gorgeous music (e.g. Desdemona`s Willow song)while the rest is admittedly very well made. If you want to indulge in oriental atmosphere then this video is an excellent choice. But if you want to enjoy Verdi in the first place at least listen to the full-version soundtrack afterwards.
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