Streaming William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice Online
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Streaming William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice Online.
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I approached this movie with some trepidation, mainly owing to the presence of Al Pacino as Shylock. The only Shakespeare I had seen him attempt was his lead in Richard III. I was less than impressed by his acting in that one. I’m also always a microscopic queasy about seeing camouflage attempts at encapsulating a three hour Shakespeare play in a two hour movie.
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While I wasn’t exactly contented at the outcome of this attempt, there is a lot to recommend, thanks to some definite handed British directing and acting. And Pacino underplays a role for a change (for the most share) and he handled his line readings with aplomb.
The jam with the script (and it is, along with MEASURE FOR MEASURE and THE WINTERS Narrative, one of Shakespeare’s “dilemma” plays to start with, in that it is morally ambiguous) is the certain anti-semitism surrounding the moneylender Shylock. The film actually opens with a kind of disclaimer reminding the audience that Renaissance attitudes towards Jews were not exactly politically honest. Shakespeare’s script certainly bears this out, which is one reason it level-headed attracts negative criticism on many college campuses.
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The director (Michael Radford, who also wrote the adaptation) and cast handle this glowing declare rather adroitly. Pacino manages to elicit more sympathy than derision for Shylock. The only quibble I have with interpretation occurs in the trial scene, in which Shylock’s insistence on Antonio’s (Jeremy Irons) repayment of his debt (the distinguished pound of flesh) is rendered great more menacingly and realistically than I’ve ever seen it portrayed. It really does appear to be imminently possible that Shylock is going to happily flay Antonio alive before Portia or any other contravening authority, such as the the the Duke (acting as mediate) can terminate him. This is generally downplayed in stage productions, but on shroud it comes across as all too staunch. It works as far as dramatic tension is concerned, but approaches “over the top” as far as glowing distancing goes(which is another of the underlying problems of transferring a text from stage to veil) .
As far as characterizations are concerned, I was disappointed in only one director’s choice. He gash the servant, Launcelot Gobbo’s celebrated “Devil or Angel” monologue, which is one of the few truly comic bits in the play. The scene with the younger and elder Gobbo almost made up for it, however, as Ron Cook serves up a marvellous droll turn as Frail Gobbo.
The acting is generally good, in fact. Irons is solid, if not entirely convincing as Antonio. Joseph Fiennes does yeoman work as Anonio’s bosom buddy, Bassanio. Lynn Collins as Portia is a sure revelation. Her transformation to young male lawyer is dreary on. She plays a fat range of emotions with divulge ease. Hers is the one truly award profitable performance in the movie. Pacino does an outstanding job of remaining in character. The usual Pacino vocal and physical tics are nowhere in evidence. He obviously studied hard for the role and most of his choices are ample ones. The cinematography, consisting mainly of shots of Venice in all its resplendance, is fantastic.
Radford & Company certainly produce no disservice to the bard in this production, which is saying a lot, actually. I’d include it among some of the better current attempts at bringing Shakespeare to the hide, along with Fishburn’s OTHELLO and Branaugh’s Mighty ADO ABOUT NOTHING. It’s worth at the very least a rental when it comes out on DVD, but if you accept a chance to behold it in a theater first, I recommend you avail yourself of the chance, if only to fully be pleased the cinematography.
BEK
After the high school English Lit experience, I’ve never been a Shakespeare fan, so I’ve rarely seen any of those of his works that’ve been achieve on film. Mired in the bliss of almost total ignorance, I’ll yet foolishly suggest that this Astronomical Camouflage THE MERCHANT OF VENICE is perhaps the most sumptuous cinematic adaptation of any of the Bard’s plays to date.
If you’re completely without Cultcha and you don’t know the set, it’s tedious 16th century Venice and the import-export merchant Antonio (Jeremy Irons) borrows 3,000 gold ducats from the Jewish moneylender Shylock (Al Pacino) . The money goes to Antonio’s chum Bassanio (Joseph Fiennes), who’ll spend it to stamp and rep the hand of the Babe of his dreams, the orphaned heiress Portia (Lynn Collins) . But, Antonio suffers ruinous business setbacks and can’t repay. So Shylock, remembering the public contempt shown to him by Antonio in the past and recently humiliated by the desertion of his only daughter to a Christian lover, insists that Antonio pay the penalty stipulated in the terms of the loan agreement, i.e. a pound of his acquire flesh, literally. And Shylock is prepared to go to the Duke’s court to argue the legality of his case under existing Venetian statutes. Things examine bleak and potentially painful for Antonio.
Filmed in Luxembourg and the decaying glory of Venice, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE is an extraordinarily lavish feast for the eyes. At times, as I found myself losing the thread of Shakespeare’s flowery dialog, I found sizable satisfaction in the production’s shapely costuming and sets.
Pacino, who, in the past decade, has played cops, the Devil, a pro football coach, and a blind lecher, steals the expose with an Oscar-worthy performance. He’s perfect as the world-weary, embittered, vengeful loan shark literally and figuratively spat upon by the city’s Christian majority. Indeed, the film’s creators have done a wonderful job depicting a Jewish usurer’s anachronistic social status in that time and plot, i.e. both needed and despised at the same time. And Collins is a revelation as the clever and blooming Portia, the one character in the part with any brains compared to the hormone-driven and doltish males around her.
Besides the positive lessons of the myth, which are don’t co-sign a loan with your best friend, don’t play loose with your wedding ring, and always go for the cheaply wrapped gift box, I was left pondering the perceived anti-Semitism of the residence. Indeed, had the play not been written by Shakespeare, and thus considered a “classic”, but rather something churned out by a Tinseltown hack and build on celluloid, the Political Correctness Police, regardless of the historical facts, would be howling about stereotyping to a degree that would perhaps dwarf the outcry over Mel Gibson’s PASSION. The happy prospect of that alone makes this a film worth seeing.
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