Shakespeare's Merchant

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In this dark adaptation of "The Merchant of Venice," Shakespeare's most controversial play, Jews are regularly hunted on the streets of a postmodern Venice (California) as if it were 13th ce... Read allIn this dark adaptation of "The Merchant of Venice," Shakespeare's most controversial play, Jews are regularly hunted on the streets of a postmodern Venice (California) as if it were 13th century Europe. In the film's opening sequences a Jewish girl is raped in broad daylight whi... Read allIn this dark adaptation of "The Merchant of Venice," Shakespeare's most controversial play, Jews are regularly hunted on the streets of a postmodern Venice (California) as if it were 13th century Europe. In the film's opening sequences a Jewish girl is raped in broad daylight while a woman watches, gleeful, from her living room window; toughs chases a young man in a y... Read all

Director
- Paul Wagar
Writers
- William Shakespeare
- Paul Wagar
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

4.4/10

YOUR RATING

Director
- Paul Wagar
Writers
- William Shakespeare
- Paul Wagar
Stars

1User review

See production info at IMDbPro

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User reviews1

4.429

Featured reviews

4bastetg4

Horrible sound production ruins Shakespeare

The primary reason people watch Shakespeare plays made into movies is for the dialogue. The muffled and echoey sound in this potentially good movie ruined it completely. You can't always hear what the actors are saying; I know the story line, but I still want to be able to hear the actors say the famous lines. (And yes, I'm sure it wasn't the theater's fault for the poor sound. The producer and several of the actors were present at the screening and said nothing about the sound.)

Additionally, several of the actors were very poorly cast and seem to have attended the William Shatner school of acting. Nerissa and Lancelot are especially bad. It all had a very amateurish feel.

The thing that prevents me from giving this movie a lower rating is that I admire the interpretation of the relationship between Antonio and Bassanio as one of lovers. It seems obvious - why else would Antonio go into so much debt for Bassanio, and on such terms? I have seen this interpretation quite successfully done on stage. Too bad the production values of this movie were so bad that I couldn't appreciate it.