With most cases film and theater are incompatible and that fact does not allow some great plays to be put into film. Shakespeare writes in a way that can be translated well into film. His plays allowed the the audience to use there imaginations to take them to various locations that he could not bring them on the stage, but on film we are now able to take these people to these places. The Merchant of Venice is a perfect example of what the cinema can do for some of these incredible plays. Lavish sets, a large ensemble cast and brilliant use of dramatic lighting techniques allowed Radford to create something that cinema can create that no other medium can.
Al Pacino was incredible as Shylok. As an actor of his prominence you expect a moving and powerful performance but he even went beyond those expectations. For a long time he was known for being an avid Shakespeare fan but the only time you got to see him perform Shakespeare was in his film "Looking for Richard". He knew the character, he understood him inside and out, he took an approach that few actors in that role have and he made it work brilliantly.
As for the story, there were parts of the play that were cut out as is expected with any Shakesperean adaptation but they didn't pull a Franco Zefferelli and completely butcher the play to the point where the brilliance of the story is lost. Much of the dialog in the original play that was removed was probably removed in order to avoid a riot. For example, when the character of Lacelot is introduced in the film he speaks a line or two into a mirror that don't seem particularly important, in the play he goes on a page and a half long rant about how he hates his Jewish boss.
Even though they did remove moments like this they were still able to maintain the main point of the story, which is a question of racial and religious politics, at least in the parts of the story that feature the conflict between Shylok and Antonio, and the part where Jessica plans to convert to Christianity because she fell in love with a Christan.
Many people will be thrown off because the play as marked as one of Shakespears comedy's. In this case the word comedy means that there are some funny parts, and, unlike in his tragedies not EVERYBODY dies in the end. This story is a drama. How many comedy's do you know of that have lines like "The pound of flesh that I demand of him is dearly bought" in them. Again, this is a story about racial and religious conflict. This is a story about greed, about pain, about betrayal, and about a men that are willing to sacrifice, willing to die, or willing to kill for what they believe.
Al Pacino was incredible as Shylok. As an actor of his prominence you expect a moving and powerful performance but he even went beyond those expectations. For a long time he was known for being an avid Shakespeare fan but the only time you got to see him perform Shakespeare was in his film "Looking for Richard". He knew the character, he understood him inside and out, he took an approach that few actors in that role have and he made it work brilliantly.
As for the story, there were parts of the play that were cut out as is expected with any Shakesperean adaptation but they didn't pull a Franco Zefferelli and completely butcher the play to the point where the brilliance of the story is lost. Much of the dialog in the original play that was removed was probably removed in order to avoid a riot. For example, when the character of Lacelot is introduced in the film he speaks a line or two into a mirror that don't seem particularly important, in the play he goes on a page and a half long rant about how he hates his Jewish boss.
Even though they did remove moments like this they were still able to maintain the main point of the story, which is a question of racial and religious politics, at least in the parts of the story that feature the conflict between Shylok and Antonio, and the part where Jessica plans to convert to Christianity because she fell in love with a Christan.
Many people will be thrown off because the play as marked as one of Shakespears comedy's. In this case the word comedy means that there are some funny parts, and, unlike in his tragedies not EVERYBODY dies in the end. This story is a drama. How many comedy's do you know of that have lines like "The pound of flesh that I demand of him is dearly bought" in them. Again, this is a story about racial and religious conflict. This is a story about greed, about pain, about betrayal, and about a men that are willing to sacrifice, willing to die, or willing to kill for what they believe.