The Merchant of Venice
In 16th century Venice, in order to win a woman's heart, Bassanio is forced to make a deadly deal with pitiless moneylender Shylock (Al Pacino). Bassanio will get his money, and without paying interest. If he doesn't pay it back, however, he will owe Shylock a pound of his flesh.
15 December 1982, London, England, UK
29 September 1971, Maidstone, Kent, England, UK
27 May 1970, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, UK
22 December 1953, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
29 June 1977, London, England, UK
1981, Bolton, Lancashire, England, UK
19 September 1948, Cowes, Isle of Wight, England, UK
1 April 1973
2 April 1950, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden
January 03, 2011
Pacino seeks his pound of flesh as a tragic outsider.
July 02, 2009
It is really a pleasure to watch a masterful actor like Al Pacino wring every nuance out of the multifarious character of Shylock.
September 26, 2005
It tilts so far in one direction that the comic elements seem to come from another, lesser film.
June 05, 2009
A richly cinematic and robust rendition of Shakespeare's pre-political correctness play about the place of Jews in anti-Semitic 16th century Venice, Michael Radford's film takes delight in dramatics thus pulling us into the story.
February 25, 2005
A vivid, engrossing and defensible Shakespeare adaptation, a period piece that truly has a feel for a time long past -- and a place and attitude that are not.
June 24, 2006
This is Al Pacino's show, and thankfully his Shylock is absorbing enough to carry the day.
February 18, 2005
Pacino's stentorian delivery and punctuating hands are almost parodistic, as likely to draw a chuckle as to elicit empathy.
March 10, 2005
Radford has rendered off the comedy to find the dramatic skeleton underneath. It is an approach that works stunningly well and is perhaps the only way the play can now be done.
July 10, 2009
The text is wonderful, Radford's film has some fine performances from Jeremy Irons and Joseph Fiennes, and he makes good use of Venice locations.
July 04, 2008
Pacino is at least dynamic, something harder to say about the women in the cast.
June 12, 2009
We see what an actor's actor Pacino can be: he's careful and watchful; respectful of other actors' timing; and says his lines perfectly, resisting all temptation to grandstand.
