The Merchant of Venice

About The Merchant of Venice

Venice, 1596. Bassanio begs his friend Antonio, a prosperous merchant, to lend him a large sum of money so that he can woo Portia, a very wealthy heiress; but Antonio has invested his fortune abroad, so they turn to Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, and ask him for a loan.

The Merchant of Venice is a 2004 romance film directed by Michael Radford. Its themes are 16th century, suitor, jewish ghetto, and merchant.

Al Pacino stars as Shylock, Jeremy Irons as Antonio, Joseph Fiennes as Bassanio, and Lynn Collins as Portia. It runs 132 minutes and was released in December 2004.

The screenplay is by Michael Radford. Produced by Film Fund Luxembourg.

Dangerous Beauty, The Golem: How He Came into the World, and The Taming of the Shrew make useful companions to The Merchant of Venice. TMDB voters put it at 6.8 out of 10 across 628 votes and it carries a R rating.