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12 Rounds Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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$9.99 Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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Merchant of Venice, The
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MPAA RATING: R for some nudity
Starring Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes, Lynn Collins, Zuleikha Robinson, Kris Marshall, Charlie Cox, and Mackenzie Crook
Set in the lavish era of 16th century Italy, The Merchant of Venice follows the interlocking lives of a captivating assortment of Shakespearean characters in this story wrought with morality, revenge, redemption and love. (Sony Pictures Classics)
| GENRE(S): | Comedy | Drama |
| WRITTEN BY: |
Michael Radford
William Shakespeare (play) |
| DIRECTED BY: | Michael Radford |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: May 10, 2005 Theatrical: December 29, 2004 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 138 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | USA / Italy / Luxembourg / UK |
Also known as "William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice"
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 21 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Brandon S. gave it an8:
Excellent adaptation. It has a few slow moments and the comedic aspects generally pale in comparison to the drama, but that is more than made up for by the brilliant performances and excellent directing.
Richard B. gave it a9:
This is an extraordinarily difficult play to produce. This production will literally set the bar for the 21st Century. Pacino is unforgettable, the casting is accurate generally, the photography inspired. Stunning.
Ilze S. gave it a5:
Movie was almost good. Book is far better.About costumes:"The Phantom Of The Opera" is far better,like costume drama. Music is good, sometimes movie is slow. I hoped for better adaption.
Julie L. gave it a7:
Pacino's performance is so stunning, and his Shylock so sympathetic, that you wonder what all the other simple-minded dopes are prancing around about. Jeremy Irons, who is so much better than Hollywood lets him be, continues to agonize about his pinched and naked flesh, and the thwarted lovers are just boring. By the end scene, with all the revelations about hidden identities, and the giggling "Aha's!", all I wanted to do was see where Pacino had gone and how Shylock was doing. Problem is, the play only works if Shylock really deserves his fate and is disliked - and the movie doesn't quite work because Pacino is SO good. But if you can enjoy Pacino's powerful portrayal of a much more sympathetic Shylock, and the absolutely gorgeous costuming and scenes of Venice, then it will certainly be worth any modest DVD rental price.
[Anonymous] gave it a10:
Beautifuly executed, and bravely dealing with issues of predjudice in a compelling and in my opinion true to the intentions of Shakespeare's work. Fantastic performances from Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and a fun Joseph Fiennes.
Mark B. gave it a7:
It shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody that, while three major film adaptations of William Shakespeare's Hamlet have seen U.S. release in the past 15 years, nobody to my knowledge has tried a film version of his most controversial and problematic play--until now. It's also no shock that Michael Radford, a filmmaker known both for seizing opportunities and taking chances, is the one who finally brought it to the screen. (He was prescient enough to remake George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four in 1984, and his 1991 multiple Oscar nominee Il Postino was enough of a mainstream foreign-language hit to pave the way for such non-English-speaking smashes as Life Is Beautiful and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon a few years later.) You simply can't get around the truth that this piece--as entertaining and suspenseful as it unquestionably is, and as much gorgeous romantic poetry as it features--is as unapologetically anti-Semitic as D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation is racist. (Let's hope that neither Radford nor anyone else tries to remake THAT one!) It didn't help matters very much that I saw this in a theater the same weekend that I rewatched both The Life of Emile Zola and Schindler's List on DVD, but the reality is that Shakespeare's audience wasn't ours, and this material was as unquestioningly accepted in its day as were Stepin Fetchit's and Willie Best's hideously written distortions of African-American men were in otherwise often very good Hollywood films of the 1930s and early 1940s. Other than including a brief prologue that explains some of the historic context, and shows Jewish moneylender Shylock being ostracized (and worse) by the larger community, Radford doesn't try to modify or apologize for the material, so the ball is mostly in Al Pacino's court. He responds with a portrayal of Shylock that's deeply empathetic and richly full-bodied--but, compared to his work in, say, Scarface and Devil's Advocate, quite effectively subtle and restrained. Perhaps the key to enduring, if not completely enjoying Merchant in these times lies not in political correctness but in pop psychology: as Richard Carlson and Dr. Phil would undoubtedly (and accurately) point out, Pacino's Shylock's bitterness, however justified, runs so deep that in the final analysis he's totally incapable of ever being happy, peaceful or satisfied whether he gets his pound of flesh (or anything else) or not, so maybe it's best for the law to resolve the situation with as little total damage as possible. If you can watch Radford's Merchant of Venice from that standpoint, perhaps it's possible to appreciate it for what it is: a remarkably handsome presentation of a clever, engrossing courtroom drama.
Patrick S. gave it an8:
A brilliant adaptation of one of Shakespeares most contreversial, yet uneventful plays. Pacino is the fire that creates depth to a rather dull script.
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