The Merchant Of Venice on DVD (2004)

WOW

A customer from Leeds, England , 13/04/2005

for those of you who like shakespeare you won't be disappointed, for those of you who don't, think back to Romeo and Juliet. this film has the same impact. the acting is tremendous. the cast is a mixture of famous and infamous people from the theatrical world. the scenes are played tremendously well and it is easy to understand, even for those who would sooner watch the bourne supremecy.

Read all reviews

watch this

A customer from blackpool , 15/04/2005

if you like shakespeare this is really for you colourful, decadent lush costumes for the visuals, then there is the quality of acting from all the players spoken with understanding and feeling portia truly was outstaning pacino as expected was superb antonia played by jeremy irons was really self piting and played for the sympathy vote with the younger more hip guys like bassiano who surely would dump him as a friend if he really was broke.

even if you have never seen this play before this production is very easy to follow and understand.

Read all reviews

Its pretty to look at, but its not The Merchant of Venice

skeadugenga from Reading [Highly rated reviewer] , 03/10/2005

This is a stunning film to look at. It also has some brilliant acting, notably the judgement scene which is really tense. But the text has been so hacked about that anyone who has a fondness for Shakespeare, or this specific play would do well to avoid the film. While we get 'The quality of mercy is not strained' intact, one of the most beautiful passages in Shakespeare 'On such a night' has been chopped out completely. And Shylock particularly is not always audible. A real shame.

Read all reviews

Good quality adaptation

Graham from UK [Highly rated reviewer] , 09/11/2005

This clever adaptation of the classic Shakespeare tale was really well thought-out and a enjoyable watch, it had been some years since I had last seen a Shakespeare movie or play let alone read a text however despite taking a short while to get into the language and under stand the characters my wife and I both really enjoyed. The plot flowed well and was simple enough to follow once the film gets going regardless of whether you fully followed some of the talk, the tale itself is humorous in a classic Shakespeare way and the actors did themselves no harm in their performances. If you enjoy a simple but fun tale and are happy to follow the more traditional language then try this out. Good movie.

Read all reviews

The most watchable Shakespeare ever!

Billy from Edinburgh, Scotland [Highly rated reviewer] , 01/04/2007

I would have to say that this is probably the best straight adaptation of a Shakespeare play to film that I have seen. The Merchant of Venice has always been one of those middle-of-the-road plays from old Will, not quite having the impact of some of the greater titles, but still having so much adventure happening alongside the very heavy themes it deals with. It has been described as one of Shakespeare’s problem plays, and it’s easy to see why, but the majority of thinking says that this was written as a comedy and that as tragedy befalls the antagonist, we should be laughing.

Some of Shakespeare’s greatest moments come around in this play: Speeches of ‘If you prick us, do we not bleed’ and ‘The quality of mercy is not strained’, the dilemma of the caskets and ‘all that glistens is not gold’, a dramatic court-room scene and one of the most controversial figures in literature, The Jew. And here we get to see them all in a fully fleshed out film production, with some of the best placed acting talent available.

The subtle nuances of the performers, who have obviously studied their characters very well, are superb and they represent the undertones of the text with great precision. Jeremy Irons and Joseph Fiennes are very comfortable in their roles as Antonio and Bassanio; Lynn Collins excels as a beautiful Portia; It is great to see home-grown Kris Marshall do very well as Gratiano; and of course Al Pacino astounds and proves his breadth of talent as probably the most true telling of Shylock ever to be given.

Even Laurence Olivier couldn’t do Shakespeare like this.

To understand Shylock is to understand The Merchant of Venice, and here Pacino helps us to understand him as the whole man. The play centres around the ability of man to use words for his own means and also the strength of those words if a man believes them. Shylock uses the words of Antonio’s bond to fulfil his angst and his revenge. He leans so heavily on the words of the bond that he will see no other justice than what he has said, and has been so written. His entire character as a man is played out through the words of the bond he dreamt up. And of course therein must also lie his downfall.

We also see the uses of man’s words elsewhere in the play as Shakespeare shows us all the trappings that come with them. We see Antonio be taken on a whim by the irresistible Bassanio to offer his wealth and his flesh for the promises he is given. We are faced with the riddles of Portia’s dead father, who assigns his own truth and meaning to each casket with his words, leaving others to wonder and guess at his thoughts. We find that promises are easily broken by the most romantic of lovers and that oaths which mean so much one day appear only as words the next. The exchanging of the rings is very symbolic of the infidelity of Bassanio (and Gratiano) and his promises.

The play brings up a lot of questions about the way man treats man in society and how a man’s words affect his actions depending on the strength behind them. I think, for the time it was natural for Shakespeare to have a man who misuses words to gain vengeance and purification as a Jew, for they were noted for being deceitful and duplicitous. But he also sees how they are treated by others and so gives them a figurehead which can speak to the Christian community, who tells them what it feels like to be a Jew, to be despised and reviled, to be used and exploited, whilst still being human. There is no question of this being anti-semitic, rather just a remarkably candid view of the society around at the time and a commentary of the matters at hand.

Shakespeare shows us ultimately the power of words and how they can redeem or destroy a man. He advocates their best use at all times and encourages us to live up to their meanings, otherwise what is the use of them? The Merchant of Venice is artful craftsmanship by the best wordsmith of them all and this version does it resolute justice by the quality of its production and performance. Bravo!!

Read all highest rated reviews

Tour de force

A customer from Sheffield, England , 21/04/2005

Film of the year! I would even go as far as to say that this is Al Pacino's finest performance to date and he's certainly deserving of an Oscar nomination at the very least. The other outstanding actor in the film is the relative newcomer, Lynn Collins, who - as Portia - easily holds her own in such esteemed company as Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Joseph Fiennes.

I can't recommend this film highly enough. Rent it right away!

Read all highest rated reviews