O

Rating:
Summary: Is there a way to give something less than one star????
Review: This DVD is SO bad! I can't believe that people are overlooking the MAJOR problems with the quality of this disc. The sound is atrocious. This, in my opinion, is due to two factors; bad directing and bad sound editing. First of all ALL of the actors are directed to speak in these hushed mumbled tones that are quite distracting. The cast is constantly speaking in whisper voices. Everything from the opening duet dialogues through to the murder scences are voiced in these hushed tones. This is a horrible directoral choice. Some of this might have been forgivable if the sound editor had worked in looping by raising the volume of the hushed voices. At least make what they are saying audible. I had to watch this movie with the sound cranked all the way up throughout just to make out what they were saying. Even with this, I still missed a lot of dialogue. The only exception would be when the "f" word is used. It seems as though that came through loud and clear in the three dozen or so times it was uttered. Funny how Shakespeare never needed that word to get accross his point. It is a shame that the screenwriter is so talentless that he had to resort to using it so often making it virtually usless for High School teachers who might have been able to incorporate this film into a reading of Othello in their class. I guess that isn't such a bad thing since the movie is completely bad. The sound surprisingly gets a lot better suring the soundtrack moments. Blaring loud music through only to return to mumbled tones. I am not asking for The Matrix in sound quality but at the very least make what the actors are saying something we can make out without the aid of assisted listening devices!

The performances are not all bad. Mekhi Phifer shows rage and jealousy well though because of the mumbling of lines we are never quite convinced. Julia Stiles is a one dementional Desdemona whom we never really feel anything for at all. Josh Hartnett is only average as Hugo (Iago) and he does not turn in a performance that is noteworthy. Martin Sheen is almost laughable as the yelling, whinny coach of the basketball team. His performance is a study in overacting. It is truly a bad performance by a good actor. All the performances are undermined by the mumbling directing and bad sound. I know I have spent a lot of time on this point but it completely ruins the movie.

The only aspect of the movie that works is the original plot. If you are interested in good viewing of the Othello story go back to older versions captured on film. This DVD is frustating and not worth your time.

Rating:
Summary: Poetic and disturbing...
Review: "O" is a brilliantly portrayed update to the classic play "Othello" written by Shakespeare. This movie will make your skin crawl because it can be so chilling. The music at the beginning and ending of the movie both make you feel kind of anxious.

The whole story revolves around three central characters, Hugo (Josh Hartnett), Odin or "O" (Mehki Pfeifer), and Desi (Julia Stiles). Hugo is the self-involved son of the high school's basketball coach. He wants everyone to love him and shower him with the attention that they give to "O". "O" is the high school basketball team's star player and is the coach's favorite on and off the court. Desi is the girlfriend of "O" and the headmaster's daughter.

Hugo is jealous that "O" has the perfect life, and doesn't even act like he really cares. Hugo tries desperately hard to ruin "O"'s life and finally comes up with a scheme to do such a thing--he must ruin the relationship of Desi and "O".

In order to do this, he not only ruins their love lives, but the lives of those around him...and eventually causes the controversial school shooting scenes. Personally, I don't like violence, but the killings in this are done (in some of the cases) rather poetically.

This movie can make you question the consequences of your actions. I'd recommend you check it out.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT MOVIE EVEN IF IT'S AN ADAPTATION!!!!!!
Review: I saw this movie and Jeepers Creepers on my birthday (a week before the 9/11 tragedies) and thoroughly enjoyed this feature. I thought Jeepers Creepers was the worst and the stupidest movie I'd ever seen. Anyway "O" has the makings of a remarkable film: great acting, great plot, original cinematography, and some pretty good music. For the running time of this film, I temporarily forgot that it's a modernized adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello. Mekhi Pfifer can count this as a milestone and breakthrough film of his career. This is Shakespeare at its finest and Mekhi carries the movie brilliantly as 'O' (the modernized Othello). The characters are layered and, unlike many of the films that were released betwenn 2000 and 2001, you're able to understand why things happened the way they did. You understand why Iago (Hugo - played brilliantly by Josh Hartnett) is jealous of 'O'. Think about it. The coach (Hugo's father) seems to favor 'O' more than his very own son. Julia Styles is both wonderful and beautiful as Desi (an updated Desdemona). I understand the controversy that surrounded this film. After all, it was filmed in 1998 and was scheduled for release in 1999. But, who would want to see the death of teenagers knowing that the real-life tragedy of Columbine High School was still fresh upon the release of the film. But, the fact that the film still remained current even after it was filmed, edited, and ready for release two years prior to its final release date is a credit to both the cast and crew of this film. I now own this remarkable masterpiece on DVD and I must say that I enjoy it even more everytime I play it.

I highly recommend this film to anyone who wants to see a film that is well-acted as well as well-written whether its Shakespeare or not.

Rating:
Summary: "O"
Review: WOW- i watched this movie last night... it isn't like, scary, thriller type, it's just scary. scary how one lie can change everything.. trust is such a fragile thing.The acting was wonderful. i've seen Julia Stiles in 10 things i hate about you, where she was awesome, and also save the last dance.. but i've never seen Mekhi Phifer before, and i was, to say the least, blown away.it was.. horrifying.. really, to watch his transformation throughout the film.. and how he looked and treated Desi...Every one else was good too, even Andrew Keegan.. and Rain Pheonix... her brother plays the young Indy in "The last crusade" and lets see did i forget someone? Josh Hartnett, mayhaps? this has got to be probably his best movie.. even if he did play the "bad guy".. in a way, like alot of other poeple said.. he makes you feel sorry for him.. because all he really wants is love and attention.. for his father to achnowledge him...thats his whole reason behind his evil plot.. and believe me, it IS evil. I'm VERY glad i didn't see this movie in theaters.. because of the violence..i was shaking enough at the end as it was.. also there's alot of language.. specifically.. the "F" word.I would reccomend this movie, to people older than me.. and most definately NOT younger.Go see it... very eye-opening.. and tragic.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling, but dark
Review: I liked this movie. I did have a problem with the intensity of the emotions and actions of these young people, however. In Othello, the play written by William Shakespeare, the tragedy is more believable than it is in "O" because of the time period and the ages of the characters. In "O", although the acting is quite good by these young stars, I personally find it hard to swallow that this could happen in modern times. I suppose that is why the drugs and steroids were put into the mix. I still had a hard time with it.
In this movie Othello is Odin, known as "O" by his friends. He's the MVP basketball player on a prep school team. ( Sorry, I can't recall which state, though I know it was down south.) He's also black, though that isn't really a big issue in this movie. Hugo (Iago) , the jealous foe who poses as Odin's friend, does not envy him because he's a star and black, he just envies him because he's the star of the basketball team. Wait though, that's not the only reason. I forgot to mention that Hugo is also on the basketball team. He doesn't have the talent Odin does. And here is why I liked this movie so much, Hugo's father is the coach. Hugo resents his father's feelings toward Odin. He's proud of him like a son. I'm guessing that was the major motive for Hugo's dirty deeds. It's funny though, I didn't hate Hugo as the villain. I almost empathised with him because the look on his face at certain times in the movie made you believe he was hurting. I thought before I watched the movie that it would be more about the girl, Desi (Desdemonia).She was just one of the pawns in Hugo's plan. Very compelling.

Rating:
Summary: Drama at it's aboslute finest.
Review: First of all, I would give this film 4 1/2 stars, but unfortunately that is not an available selection. Judging by the cast, you might expect this to be another teeny bopper film. After all, 10 things I hate about you was a shakspearean tale too. Thankfully, "O" is far from that. Although it's cast is full of young stars, they portray complex story very well with some extraordinary acting, especially that of Josh Hartnett and Mekhi Phifer. As the plot continues to grow more complex, it leaves you glued to the screem, constantly wanting to jump up and scream at Hugo, the "bad guy" in the movie. When you watch it, make sure you are in the mood for a film you can get into and I warn you that you should pay attention at all time. If you miss a couple of minutes, then it destroys the rest of the film. If you have read Othello already then the "O" will not be as gripping, but it is still worth while. The only problem I see with the film is some things not quite adding up, but they are not too noticeable. This is one of the greatest dramas I have seen in a long time, which is obvious because it came from the master of drama himself.

Rating:
Summary: Watchable but not totally believable
Review: As an updated adaptation of a Shakespeare play, this film definitely makes Shakespeare more accessible to teens and young adults. The Othello in this movie is the star basketball player at a local high school and the dean's daughter plays the Dedemona character in this movie. They were compelling.
What I didn't find nearly as compelling was the Iago, named Huge here, who is the basketball coach's son and the mastermind of a web of deceit and lies that leads to a cascade of violence and murder. I had some problems with the logic of this plan, the almost seamless way it all came together,etc. While the movie has some praiseworthy goals (showing how the jock mentality dominates much of high school and can lead to violence in those who feel outside the spotlight, for instance) this one still seemed a bit forced to me.

Rating:
Summary: A great modern portrayal of Othello
Review: This film was one of the best of 2001. Its the story of Odin "O" the African-American star of the prep school basketball team who falls in love with a popular white girl who becomes the unwitting pawn of Hugo's jealous lies. The story unfolds into a sad, explosive drama with a very difficult, depressing ending. Of course, anyone who has seen the other versions of Othello already know this. I would have to say this is one of the best of the modern day Shakespeare adaptations. All the actors are great in their potrayals of the characters. This movie really shows the ugliness of lies, how one person can poison the loves of everyone around them due to jealousy and it also shows how people can be manipulated by an evil person. This story of obsessive love, jealousy and ultimately murder is a story that is always fresh and never boring. Truly a fantastic version of a classic.

The DVD is top-notch and contains two discs. You get two movies in one when you buy this. It includes the remastered 1922 version which is very interesting if you like to see the original film and old Hollywood.

This is a great buy and a good price. A great film!

Rating:
Summary: You'll cry, but not for the reasons you thought...
Review: As a teenager, this movie was aimed at me, but it was all a melodramatic sham. What potential this movie had... and as for controversy, there isn't much. The characters' motives and actions are so completely stupid you'll find yourself saying "O no!" and "O please!" more than you'd want to. Also, it seems that every character on screen is a one-dimensional caricature except (gasp!) Josh Hartnett, who gives the most revealing performance of his short career (it's amazing how he can vacillate between horrendous guilt and malevolence). However, when Hartnett's acting ability is the only reason a film is intriguing, it's time to start worrying. When the bodies start to pile, you might actually find yourself relieved. No one earns your care or interest, so it's hard to feel anything except sorry for the innocent bystanders who have to watch Odin commit suicide, and, oh yeah, the carpet and furniture that gets stained in the process. In contrast, you feel worse when a shock-shelled Hartnett is hauled off to an awaiting police vehicle. All you can think is "Boy, you got yourself into a big mess... and even that wasn't worth watching."

Rating:
Summary: It ALMOST Works
Review: When I saw this I didn't realise it was an adaptation of Othello. Now that I know, it makes a lot more sense. The story has the definite feel of a Shakespearean tragedy. Yes, it is done well. The modern setting is pretty good. The story itself (ignoring the fact that it's based on Shakespeare) is very interesting. It is different from the stories you'd find in most modern films, and the ending is not what you'd expect from something made last year, so it gives the movie a feeling of originality. The only thing that REALLY doesn't work is the killing. Nowadays, killing people is not generally considered a good solution to girlfriend-cheating problems, problems which are also not considered as serious today as they were in this movie. Of course, I suppose some crazy people WOULD kill for this, but it's not very likely and seems like a pretty bad plan. The killing is the only part that works for Shakespeare but doesn't work in a modern setting. Everything else is good, and all in all this was a well-done movie.