It's the perfect cinematic vehicle -- or at least it would have been, if Radford's adaptation weren't so unremittingly cloddish.
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07/04/08
William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (2004)
71
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Reviews Counted:121
Fresh:86
Rotten:35
Average Rating:6.7/10
Consensus: A respectable if uneven take on the Bard's The Merchant of Venice.
Runtime: 2 hrs 11 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: One of the immortal bard's most frequently performed works gets a first-rate cinematic treatment here, via director Michael Radford (IL POSTINO). Al Pacino is virtually unrecognizable as Shylock,... [More]
Starring: Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes, Zuleikha Robinson
Director: Michael Radford
Reviews for William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
Top CriticThis is Al Pacino's show, and thankfully his Shylock is absorbing enough to carry the day.
06/24/06
Top CriticIt veers from real conviction to panto, but Radford is clearly committed to the play's relevance, while Pacino, the Shakespeare addict, is a joy to watch.
04/01/06
Top CriticRadford's gloomy film is a long and slightly draining haul, but the intensity of Al Pacino's central performance justifies the effort required.
02/15/05
Top CriticPacino's performance is worth the ticket price alone, but don't expect a film that'll encourage a Shakespearian revival; it's far too uninspired for that.
12/05/04
A well made, beautifully acted film that remains gripping throughout its lengthy running time.
12/04/04
Radford that draws out the cultural context of the period and the emotions in the story.
10/19/04
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.
07/10/09
It is really a pleasure to watch a masterful actor like Al Pacino wring every nuance out of the multifarious character of Shylock.
07/02/09
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.
06/12/09
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.
06/05/09
It has taken 5 years for Michael Radford's splendid interpretation of Shakespeare's play to come to Australia and it is worth the wait.
06/05/09
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08/07/08
Pacino is at least dynamic, something harder to say about the women in the cast.
07/04/08
Top CriticPacino shapes the role masterfully. He not only rises to the role's extremes of villainous melodrama, he fills them, rendering them both theatrical and believable
10/11/06
Manages to be a gripping and intriguing film.
09/30/05
It tilts so far in one direction that the comic elements seem to come from another, lesser film.
09/26/05
The screenplay is lean and powerful and the direction deft.
08/07/05
Finally, a filmatic spectacle worthy of the Scribe...
06/16/05
With a running time of over two hours, I was ready to pay with a pound of my flesh for The Merchant of Venice to close shop already.
05/09/05
Latest News for William Shakespeare's The Merchant of...
February 04, 2009:
Al Pacino Is King Lear 
Al Pacino and Michael Radford are having a Shakespeare reunion: the "Merchant of Venice" star and director are re-teaming for a "King Lear" adaptation, with Pacino in the title... More...
July 13, 2006:
Kidman & Pacino in "Prosecution" Remake?
Billy Wilder's 1957 film "Witness for the Prosecution" is rather excellent, which is why most (old) movie fans will take exception to the news that ... a remake is... More...
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