Othello (character) of "The Three Apples", one of the stories narrated in the "One Thousand and One Nights" ("Arabian Nights"). Desdemona is the only named character in Cinthio's tale, his other characters being identified as the Moor, the squadron leader, the ensign, and the ensign's wife. While Shakespeare closely followed Cinthio's tale in composing "Othello", he departed from it in some details, particularly in the tale's depiction of Desdemona's death. In Cinthio, the Moor commissions his ensign to bludgeon Desdemona to death with a sand-filled stocking. In gruesome detail, Cinthio follows each blow, and, when the lady is dead, the Moor and
Filming Othello for an engagement at the Film Forum, a nonprofit cinema, and that presentation was acknowledged by Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" as "entertaining and revealing" and "full of priceless anecdotes." "Filming Othello" was released on home video for the first time on 10 October 2017 by The Criterion Collection. It was included in DVD and Blu-ray sets featuring newly restored 4K digital transfers of both the 1952 European and 1955 U.S. versions of "Othello". Filming Othello Filming Othello is a 1978 documentary film directed by and starring Orson Welles about the making of his award-winning 1951 production "Othello".