Emilia (Othello) Award nomination for her performance. "Othello" has its source in the 1565 tale, "Un Capitano Moro" from "Gli Hecatommithi" by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. While no English translation of Cinthio was available in Shakespeare's lifetime, it is probable that Shakespeare knew both the Italian original and Gabriel Chappuy's 1584 French translation. Cinthio's tale may have been based on an actual incident occurring in Venice about 1508. The only named character in Cinthio's story is "Desdemona". Other characters are identified only as the Moor, the squadron leader, the ensign, and the ensign's wife – the original of Shakespeare's Emilia. There's no
Othello (1965 British film) contained more of the play than the film did). Derek Jacobi (Cassio) and Michael Gambon both made their film debuts in "Othello", while Edward Hardwicke would go on to work with the National for seven years. The film of "Othello" used enlarged duplicates of the original stage settings, rather than having elaborate new sets built. Olivier's former backers for his Shakespeare films were all deceased by 1965, and he was unable to raise the money to do a film version on location or on elaborate sets. Nearly a decade earlier, Olivier had been attempting to find financial backing for his