William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
by Michael Radford
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes, Lynn Collins, Zuleikha RobinsonDirector: Michael Radford
Brand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 138 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-05-10
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Reviews of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
Movie Review: In itself a good movie
Summary: 5 Stars
My son, now an adult, thanks to the New York City Public School System, learned, knows and loves all Shakespeare. I, on the other hand do not know a thing.
We watched this DVD together, and he called each and every error and misuse in this movie. I was lucky to have him banter with me about the gaps and gaffs. Nonetheless, I myself being unfamiliar with Shakespeare felt it was entertaining enough. The actors ran away with the script they were handed and did a fine job.
I understand it's not a true Shakespeare's work but I still think it was merely a very good movie and worth a look.
Therefore, To those who are well versed in Shakespeare beware, you will find this version wrong and empty in parts. It may be unbearable to
watch for it's inaccuracy. I can respect you all for that. However, for the rest of us it's a good film.
Summary of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
From Michael Radford the Academy Award?-nominated director of Il Postino comes the critically-acclaimed screen adaptation of William Shakespeare's controversial classic THE MERCHANT OF VENICE. Antonio (Jeremy Irons) a successful but cash-poor merchant approaches Shylock (Al Pacino) a wealthy moneylender for a loan to help his young friend Bassanio (Joseph Fiennes Shakespeare in Love) woo the fair Portia (Lynn Collins 13 Going on 30). Despite being longtime enemies Shylock grants the request but demands one pound of Antonio's flesh if the debt is not repaid on time. When Antonio defaults on the loan Shylock seeks what is legally owed to him but soon learns that those to whom evil is done do evil in return.System Requirements: Running Time 131 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:?DRAMA Rating:?R UPC:?043396109100 Manufacturer No:?10910Rarely has The Merchant of Venice, one of Shakespeare's most complex plays, looked as ravishingly sumptuous as in this adaptation, directed by Michael Radford (Il Postino). In a decadent version of renaissance Venice, a young nobleman named Bassanio (Joseph Fiennes, Shakespeare in Love) seeks to woo the lovely Portia (newcomer Lynn Collins), but lacks the money to travel to her estate. He seeks support from his friend, the merchant Antonio (Jeremy Irons, Reversal of Fortune); Antonio's fortune is tied up in sea ventures, so the merchant offers to borrow money from a Jewish moneylender, Shylock (Al Pacino, Dog Day Afternoon). But Shylock holds a grudge against Antonio, who has routinely treated the Jew with contempt, and demands that if the debt is not repaid in three months, the price will be a pound of Antonio's flesh.
The Merchant of Venice is famous as a "problem play"--the gritty matters of moneylending and anti-Semitism sit uncomfortably beside the fairy tale elements of Portia and Bassanio's romance, and some twists of the plot can seem arbitrary or even cruel. The strength of Radford's intelligent and passionate interpretation is that he and the excellent cast invest the play's opposing facets with full emotional weight, thus making every question the play raises acute and inescapable. Irons is particularly compelling; kindness and blind prejudice sit side by side in his breast, rendering the clashes in his character as vivid as those in the play itself. --Bret Fetzer
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