Watching the 1995 film Othello by Oliver Parker made me understand the book a little better. I think watching it is a very good supplement to the reading we had to do. What I really enjoyed about the film was getting to see the facial expressions and body language that helped you understand the characters true personality. For example, watching Iago in action helped you see the full extent of his manipulative nature the way he was friendly to Othellos face as he secretly plotted against him in his mind. I think that the addition of the sex scene that everyone in class seemed to notice as well truly was a smart addition in the sense that it took away Desdemona’s ability to prove her innocence just by having sex with him. In the book that was one issue that frustrated me that was solved with the sex scene the film director decided to include. What I don’t necessarily agree with however is how much the film focuses on Iago as opposed to the book. As someone pointed out previously in our class blog the movie could’ve been called Iago and it would’ve made perfect sense as a title. However, the actor playing Iago really did a great job in portraying his absolute hatred for Othello. Like I mentioned before unlike the book we were able to see the body language of the actors and really get a sense of their emotional turmoil that they seemed to be experiencing in certain scenes. From Othello shaking with jealousy to the various looks of hatred Iago got whenever he was deceiving Othello we really got a vivid image of the emotions running through these characters. The flashbacks used in the film were also a good addition in the sense that it made a sort of timeline for you and helped the reader/watcher understand everything that was going on.