the audience applauded

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Shakespeare would have given -1 to this movie. In this movie, Antonio and Bassanio have been portrayed as two bisexual men whereas Portia and Nerissa act like two high school girls, probably going through puberty.In Act I Scene 2, there were many comical parts but were not given much importance.Or even, in Act V Scene 1, Lorenzo and Jessica's exchange of 'On such a night',or their game of references to mythical and legendary nights have been omitted Yeah, I know it's a movie so everything can't be included, but, unnecessary parts too have been included, like many a times, women inadequately dressed, pass in front of the camera or like Prince of Arragon spitting on a container.Even Portia and Nerissa kiss! All in all,extremely disappointed.

Set in late sixteenth century Venice, a time when Jews were heavily persecuted in Europe, Shylock is a Jewish money lender who is approached by Antonio, a wealthy merchant who has previously abused him. Antonio needs a large loan to help his good friend Bassanio woo the beautiful Portia; he is given the loan, interest free, but Shylock demands that if the loan in not repaid by the stipulated date he will have a pound of Antonio's flesh… literally. Antonio isn't worried though as he owns several ships that should return to Venice with valuable cargo before the loan is due. Shortly afterwards Shylock's daughter elopes with a Christian and Antonio's ships sink… this leads Shylock to look forward to the day that he can extract his pound of flesh as revenge for all those who persecuted him. Meanwhile Bassanio successfully woos and marries Portia but no sooner has he got the ring on his finger, which he swears to never remove, does he hear about Antonio's plight; he rushes back to Venice but it looks as though his friend is doomed… until a boyish young doctor speaks at his trial.This is one of those stories that is so famous that everybody thinks they know it… it's the one about the avaricious Jew who demands a pound of flesh… of course in reality it is much more than that. For a start Shylock is a surprisingly sympathetic character; he and his people are reviled and it is clear that far from being motivated by avarice he is motivated by revenge. Of course it helps that Al Pacino gives a fantastic performance in the role; making the viewer feel his pain. The rest of the cast are impressive too; Jeremy Irons is great as Antonio; especially when it looks as if he is going to die, Joseph Fiennes puts in a solid performance as Bassanio and Lynn Collins is a delight as Portia. The story itself is an enjoyable mix of comedy and drama; sometimes at the same time. The film looks great with lots of impressive Venetian settings; it certainly doesn't feel stagy. Some viewers may be surprised at the sight of topless women in a PG rated film (UK Rating) but this is shown if a fairly matter of fact way without any titillation. Overall this was a fine film that I'd recommend to anybody wanting to watch this classic story.

This film is billed as,"William Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice". It is not. It is Michael Radford's Merchant of Venice and all its faults are Radford's. The first line written by Shakespeare isn't heard until the film has been running for about six and a half minutes.Its seems that Mr Radford didn't know much about Shakespeare's plays when he did this film. He obviously didn't know that MOV was one of Shakespeare's comedies. There are no tragic figures in the comedies! Shakespeare's comedies were meant to be light and quick in performance. Instead he has given us a heavy handed version,slow moving as a glacier,full of darkness, pointless pauses, and very annoying whispering/mumbling, mostly by Joseph Fiennes though other actors follow his example from time to time. Even the episode with the rings is played with deadly seriousness. It seems Mr Radford can't recognise comedy when it is staring him in the face.Trying to turn a comedy into a tragedy is as foolish as trying to turn a tragedy into a comedy. But Radford was determined to make Shylock look like a tragic figure deserving of our sympathy so he went ahead and did it. He is not the first director to make that mistake.This is a very disappointing version of a great play. It takes second place on my list of worst ever filmed versions of Shakespeare (just behind a version of Julius Caesar starring Jason Robards)

this film was truly amazing to watch, the costumes and scenery were first-class. Michael Radford has done a tremendous job, on a fairly constrained budget (as he said at the London Premiere). Costumes and general time period pieces were exquisite and Oscar nominations for these would seem in the running.The acting was simply superb. Al Pacino was (as ALWAYS) perfect. He captured the torture of emotions that run through Shylock impeccably and easily stole the spotlight whenever he was on screen. Jeremy Irons paved the way for great British acting in his earlier times, and now has done the same. Also Lynn Collins, a fairly recent newcomer was perfect as Portia. She was stunning to look at and managed to pull of the speeches with grace.Although i have all this praise, the film was definitely over-long and many scenes seemed to me like they could have done with a few edits or too. However, the atmosphere of Venice was amazing and it truly felt real in all the mannerisms of the actors.Ultimately a very successful and ambitious film, that leaves nothing to the imagination, as it is a very realistic approach to Shakespeare. Beautiful to look at and incredible actors too (especially for Pacino) make this a great film that i would watch again an recommend at the drop of a Venetian hat.