Producers Yoram Globus and Menahem Golan, new owners of the Cannon Group, approached Plácido Domingo to star in an opera film. Domingo suggested "Otello", which he had performed years earlier at Teatro alla Scala in Milan under Zeffirelli’s direction. To best convey the story through cinematic language, Zeffirelli employed numerous actors — alongside the main leads — who lent their appearances to the pre-recorded voices of the singers; he visualized events that were previously only told or imagined; and, most notably, he was unafraid to make cuts — sometimes drastic ones — to adapt the opera’s scale and pacing to the rhythms of cinema.
Filming took place in Crete and at the Castle of Barletta. The film was selected for competition at the Cannes Film Festival and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design, credited to Anna Anni and Maurizio Millenotti.