The Merchant of Venice (2004 film)

The Merchant of Venice
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael Radford
Produced by	Cary Brokaw Michael Cowan Jason Piette Barry Navidi
Screenplay by	Michael Radford
Based on	The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
Starring	Al Pacino Jeremy Irons Joseph Fiennes Lynn Collins
Music by	Jocelyn Pook
Cinematography	Benoît Delhomme
Editing by	Lucia Zucchetti
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Classics
Release date(s)	3 December 2004 (2004-12-03) (United Kingdom) 29 December 2004 (2004-12-29) (United States) 11 February 2005 (2005-02-11) (Italy)
Running time	138 minutes
Country	United States United Kingdom Italy Luxembourg
Language	English
Budget	$30 million
Box office	$21,417,725

The Merchant of Venice is a 2004 romantic drama film based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. It is the first full-length sound film version in English of Shakespeare's play; most other versions are videotaped productions made for television. There had been a British early sound nine-minute short subject production of the trial scene in 1927, with Lewis Casson as Shylock and Sybil Thorndike (Casson's wife) as Portia.

The 2004 adaptation follows the text very closely, only missing occasional lines. The director, Michael Radford, believed that Shylock was Shakespeare's first tragic hero, who reaches a catastrophe due to his own flaws: thus the film does not show Shylock purely as a villain, but partly also as a victim. It begins with text and a montage of how the Jewish community is abused by the Christian population of Venice. One of the last shots of the film also brings attention to the fact that, as a convert, Shylock would have been cast out of the Jewish community in Venice, no longer allowed to live in the ghetto.

The film is a co-production between the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Luxembourg.

Plot

Main article: The Merchant of Venice#Synopsis

The film opens with images of Venetian life in 1596, especially discrimination against the Jews. Words on the screen inform the audience about anti-Semitism in the period, describing the system of the ghetto and Jewish usury. Shylock and Antonio are seen among a crowd watching Jews being thrown from the Rialto Bridge into the canal.

Otherwise, the film follows the plot of Shakespeare's play closely. There are some significant emendations: In Act III, scene I, Tubal tells Shylock that in Genoa, a person "showed me a ring that he had of your daughter for a monkey." Shylock replies "Thou torturest me, Tubal: It was my turquoise; I had it of Leah when I was a bachelor; I would not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys." Nothing more is said of it. However, in an added scene at the end of the film, there is a close-up shot of the turquoise ring on Jessica's finger, implying that Shylock had jumped to the wrong conclusion.

Another significant emendation is that we don't see that Antonio receives the good news that three of his ships were not stranded and have returned safely after all at the end of the film.

Cast

• Al Pacino as Shylock
• Jeremy Irons as Antonio
• Joseph Fiennes as Bassanio
• Lynn Collins as Portia
• Zuleikha Robinson as Jessica
• Kris Marshall as Gratiano
• Charlie Cox as Lorenzo
• Heather Goldenhersh as Nerissa
• Mackenzie Crook as Launcelot Gobbo
• John Sessions as Salerio
• Gregor Fisher as Solanio
• Ron Cook as Old Gobbo
• Allan Corduner as Tubal
• Anton Rodgers as The Duke
• David Harewood as Prince of Morocco
• Jules Werner as Franciscan Friar

Reactions

The Merchant of Venice received generally positive reviews, with a favorable rating of 73% at Rotten Tomatoes and an average score of 63/100 at Metacritic. Most critics praised the film's interpretation of the Shylock character by Michael Radford and Al Pacino, as well as the dark, realistic look of the streets of Venice, for which production designer Bruno Rubeo was honored by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists.

In 2005, the film had a Royal Premiere in the presence of Prince Charles and received a BAFTA nomination for Best Costume Design.

Its worldwide theatrical gross was about $21.3 million, with a production budget of $30 million.

External links

• The Merchant of Venice at the Internet Movie Database
• The Merchant of Venice at AllRovi
• The Merchant of Venice at Box Office Mojo
• The Merchant of Venice at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Merchant of Venice at Metacritic
• Interview with director Michael Radford, and actors Al Pacino & Jeremy Irons on Charlie Rose