MovieChat Forums > Othello (1981) Discussion > Terrible Performances

Terrible Performances

posted 17 years ago by Edward_de_Vere
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The BBC complete Shakespeare seems to be or miss, ranging from the very good (Hamlet with Derek Jacobi, MacBeth with Nicol Williamson) to the dull (their Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet) to the outright terrible. This is one of the outright terrible. Both Anthony Hopkins and Bob Hoskins, both of whom has given some great performances in their careers, give awful performances that would be an insult to the worst B-movies, never mind Shakespeare. Hoskins spends the whole film giggling like an idiot, while Hopkins goes through the first 90% of the film with a blank expression, only to put on a ridiculous, over the top show where he foams at the mouth (literally) in the end.

Perhaps Hoskins had little or no experience with Shakespeare (though I think Hoskins would be perfect in smaller "buffoon" roles, such as the gravedigger in Hamlet or the night porter in MacBeth), but what was Sir Tony's excuse?

[–] TemporaryOne-1 15 years ago

I absolutely agree that The BBC complete Shakespeare seems to be hit or miss, but I place Othello, and Romeo & Juliet, and Julius Caesar, in the hit category, and Macbeth in the miss category.

Hoskins' is one of the few actors I cannot tolerate at all because of his intentional scruffy buffoonishness, but he was excellent. I thought I would not be able to watch this at all because of Hoskins, yet I was completely absorbed, and never realised that more than 3:30 hours elapsed. I watched this twice, two days in a row, utterly fantastic!

Anthony Hopkins was extraordinary, I've seen better stage performances, but his transformation from a meek, subdued, and dignified soldier-hero into a blisteringly jealous firebrand was wonderfully potent. I never thought of him as Anthony Hopkins, I thought of him as Othello.

Hits:
The Taming Of The Shrew
Othello
Titus Andronicus
The Merchant Of Venice
Hamlet, Prince Of Denmark
King Richard The Second
Cymbeline
The Life And Death Of King John
The Winter's Tale
Julius Caesar
Henry VIII
The Comedy Of Errors
Romeo & Juliet
Pericles, Prince Of Tyre
Timon Of Athens

Misses, but some I ranked highly for their faithfulness to play, but the overall productions were chaffdusted dull because of flat lackluster wooden deliveries:

King Lear
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Henry IV, Part I (but Anthony Quayle was brilliant)
Henry IV, Part II (but Anthony Quayle was brilliant)
Henry V
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Richard III (why did they cast that gorgeous man to portray Richard?!)
Antony & Cleopatra
Twelfth Night
Macbeth (but Jane Lapotaire was excellent)
As You Like It
The Tempest
Troilus & Cressida (pure butchery)

I still have a few more left to watch.