William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (2004)

72% of critics liked it
(124 reviews)
72% of users liked it
(19,064 ratings)

One of William Shakespeare's most powerful comedies has been given a bold cinematic adaptation in this film version of The Merchant of Venice. Bassanio (Joseph Fiennes) is a young and vital member of the aristocratic classes in 16th century Italy; however, Bassanio's impulsive nature and lavish… More One of William Shakespeare's most powerful comedies has been given a bold cinematic adaptation in this film version of The Merchant of Venice. Bassanio (Joseph Fiennes) is a young and vital member of the aristocratic classes in 16th century Italy; however, Bassanio's impulsive nature and lavish lifestyle have put him deeply in debt, and he will need at least the pretense of a fortune if he is to win the hand of the beautiful Portia (Lynn Collins). Bassanio turns to his close friend Antonio (Jeremy Irons), a successful businessman, for financial help, but with much of his fortune tied up in a sailing expedition, Antonio can do little to help him. To help Bassanio, Antonio turns to Shylock (Al Pacino), a Jewish money lender who lives in Venice's Semetic ghetto. Antonio has often expressed his contempt for Shylock, who charges high rates for his loans, and Shylock clearly seems pleased at the ironic prospect of having Antonio as a customer; however, instead of interest, Shylock demands an unusual security on his loan -- though Shylock demands no interest, if Antonio does not repay the three thousand ducats in three months, Shylock will be entitled to a pound of his flesh. This version of The Merchant of Venice was directed by Michael Radford, best known for the international hit Il Postino, and was shot on locations in Venice and Luxembourg. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 11 min.
Directed By: Michael Radford
Written By: William Shakespeare, Michael Radford
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy, Special Interest

In Theaters: Dec 29, 2004 Wide
On DVD: May 10, 2005
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

Critic Reviews

David Rooney, Variety
Pacino is at least dynamic, something harder to say about the women in the cast.
Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic
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.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
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.
Lawrence B. Johnson, Detroit News
Pacino's stentorian delivery and punctuating hands are almost parodistic, as likely to draw a chuckle as to elicit empathy.
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
Radford remains fairly reverent toward the text and the intent.
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle
Ranks as one of the most powerful recent adaptations of the bard's work.
Don Groves, sbs.com.au
Pacino seeks his pound of flesh as a tragic outsider.
David Stratton, At the Movies (Australia)
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.
Jordan Hiller, Bangitout.com
It is really a pleasure to watch a masterful actor like Al Pacino wring every nuance out of the multifarious character of Shylock.
Julian Wood, FILMINK (Australia)
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.
Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile
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.
Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile
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.
Jamie Russell, Film4
It's the perfect cinematic vehicle -- or at least it would have been, if Radford's adaptation weren't so unremittingly cloddish.
Ron Reed, Christianity Today
Pacino 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
Wally Hammond, Time Out
This is Al Pacino's show, and thankfully his Shylock is absorbing enough to carry the day.
Ian Nathan, Empire Magazine
It 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.
Scott Nash, Three Movie Buffs
Manages to be a gripping and intriguing film.
Keith Phipps, AV Club
It tilts so far in one direction that the comic elements seem to come from another, lesser film.
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
The screenplay is lean and powerful and the direction deft.
Emily Blunt, Blunt Review
Finally, a filmatic spectacle worthy of the Scribe...

Read all 21 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

I've got a bit of a love/hate thing going on when it comes to Shakespeare. The Merchant of Venice is one of his that is in the middle for me though because I don't like the story and It comes under the 'Women pretending to be men' category which is firmly in the… More
I've got a bit of a love/hate thing going on when it comes to Shakespeare. The Merchant of Venice is one of his that is in the middle for me though because I don't like the story and It comes under the 'Women pretending to be men' category which is firmly in the 'hate' section but then I really like the character of Shylock. I have always thought the story should end with the court scene and watching it on film only confirms this for me. So in some respects it's an honest adaptation. It looks good most of the time although I spotted a couple of unforgivable fake moustaches (and I don't mean on the women). The acting is also very hit and miss. Jeremy Irons is classically trained and he knows how to do Shakespeare justice, as does John Sessions and a few others who are well practised in the Bards work. Al Pacino's performance is very good to, although I wasn't so sure at first. His does end up being the only good reason to watch though as others stink up Shakespeare to high heaven. Kris Marshall makes it look like a pantomime but then look what happened to his much hyped future career. Joseph Fiennes was obviously cast as a safety net after the success of Shakespeare in Love but his performance was about as safe as an asbestos gum shield. I can only imagine Lynn Collins was cast because Gwyneth Paltrow was busy. Not my favourite Shakespeare play with an equally unlikable film -stating that persecution of the Jews was rife in the 1600's doesn't make me enjoy watching it or make me feel like I'm watching an important piece of history, so for those reasons I can't recommend.
Al S

This is a work of art. A fantastic piece of Shakespears work. Al Pacino is brilliant. An outstanding and unforgettable performance.
Mike N

The world was raising. Thunderous canyons shot from below to meet my footsteps. Forests rose and died behind my back. Birds evolved and turned to dust before me. The sky was fire and shadow, and it covered the sun like a closing fist. My hair was a wild brown spirit dancing in the… More
The world was raising. Thunderous canyons shot from below to meet my footsteps. Forests rose and died behind my back. Birds evolved and turned to dust before me. The sky was fire and shadow, and it covered the sun like a closing fist. My hair was a wild brown spirit dancing in the tempest. My consciousness tore apart into a thousand different pieces, each shot itself like a rocketship to a thousand stars. The moon crashed into the earth. Humanity begged to be. Civilization threw its hands up. Existence screamed. My body is an auditorium. Memory is music fading, acoustics wearing. Starlight is taxed. Clouds rule the universe. The bridges I walk end before they begin. All the islands and planets are sinking. An air just above me is a melancholy fragrance, and yellowness stains reality. The madness of my flesh is annihilated. I am just a tangle of wires choking a soul, stranded in a breath and under the dead mountains. The edge is deep. I let go, and fall back into a flock of glimmering crystal angels. I dream that they are building me beautiful white wings.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic][color=red]First off, I want to mention that it usually takes me a couple of versions to get fully versed to a Shakespeare play. And I had not seen a version of "The Merchant of Venice" before. Now, I knew about the accusations of anti-semitism and… More
[font=Century Gothic][color=red]First off, I want to mention that it usually takes me a couple of versions to get fully versed to a Shakespeare play. And I had not seen a version of "The Merchant of Venice" before. Now, I knew about the accusations of anti-semitism and having seen "Theatre of Blood"(1973), I had also heard about the pound of flesh.[/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000][/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000]"The Merchant of Venice" starts out in Venice, 1596 and there are grave restrictions against the Jewish community. Bassanio(Joseph Fiennes) is looking to his friend, Antonio(Jeremy Irons) to settle his debts, so he can woo the lovely, Portia.(Lynn Collins) So, Bassanio goes off to the First National Bank of Shylock(Al Pacino) for a loan of 3000 Ducats and uses Antonio to guarantee the debt. Antonio is confident he can pay Shylock back, since he is expecting heavy returns on investments he has just made. If not, then the debt is to be repaid with a pound of flesh...[/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000][/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000]This is certainly great looking and it is well acted. I did not care for the story's ending, though.[/color][/font]
Mike T

A glossy, effective adaptation filled with impressive performances. Pacino stands out in one of his best to date. An unfairly overlooked gem.
Simeon D

The problem with this movie is that it focuses far too much on the antisemitism of late 16th century Venice and not nearly enough on Shakespeare's material, which is why this movie shouldn't've been made in the first place: because starting the film with explaining how… More
The problem with this movie is that it focuses far too much on the antisemitism of late 16th century Venice and not nearly enough on Shakespeare's material, which is why this movie shouldn't've been made in the first place: because starting the film with explaining how there was a strong prejudice against Jews certainly sets the comedic mood at a abysmal low for what Shakespeare considered to be a whimsical comedy, and if they hadn't justified the antisemitism then it would've been extremely offending. At any rate, Shakespeare intended the humor to be in the antisemitism against Shylock (Al Pacino), and since there's no reason why we should find that funny nowadays; there's no reason they should've made this film. I mean there are things that work by focusing more on the period than the substance-- like Gladiator or the HBO series "Rome"-- but the fact of the matter is that this is goddamn Shakespeare and having grimy period piece set design and grizzly voiced British actors doesn't make the mark! Jeremy Irons is pretty good though, and Al Pacino essentially rehashes his character from Glengarry Glen Ross just so he can burst during the "If you prick us, do we not bleed" monologue. Recommended if you're teaching a high school English class and you want your students to see a respectable staging. Otherwise, I'd skip it. 62/100
MJS M

This film is a very faithful adaptation of the Shakespeare play. It?s set in the original period, the text hasn?t been cut very much, and very little has been re-envisioned. It is perhaps most notable for the performance of Al Pacino as Shylock. While I wouldn?t quite call his work… More
This film is a very faithful adaptation of the Shakespeare play. It?s set in the original period, the text hasn?t been cut very much, and very little has been re-envisioned. It is perhaps most notable for the performance of Al Pacino as Shylock. While I wouldn?t quite call his work brilliant, he clearly does at least give a damn here and he never falls back on that autopilot persona he seems to rely on recently. Theoretically, this has the makings of a great Shakespeare adaptation here, and yet this never quite achieves greatness. Frankly, I think this is one of the rare cases where Shakespeare lets the adaptation down rather than the reverse. The Merchant of Venice is a play that oddly shifts between high drama and farcical comedy, the first third is light, the second act is dark, and then it all devolves into uninteresting relationship antics in the end.
Leo L

Great!
Kevin M

Everytime you cast Jeremy Irons or Kenneth Branaugh in a Shakespearean play, the film is critically successful. But if you include an on-screen wuss like Joseph Fiennes and expect his masculinity to soar, you're sadly mistaken. Pacino as Shylock is well-suited, although Fiennes… More
Everytime you cast Jeremy Irons or Kenneth Branaugh in a Shakespearean play, the film is critically successful. But if you include an on-screen wuss like Joseph Fiennes and expect his masculinity to soar, you're sadly mistaken. Pacino as Shylock is well-suited, although Fiennes seriously might want to consider having his penis transformed into a fake vagina (after seeing his wussed-out performance).
Kevin "

If you're not a fan of Shakespeare, watch if you're a fan of Pacino. Some of his best acting since the DDA, Serpico, And Justice For All and Godfather days, excluding the recent Angels in America, awesome acting there too.