The Merchant of Venice
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Michael Radford
Richard Tunnicliffe
Norbert Konne
Caroline Balding
David Juritz
Rachel Byrt
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Set in 16th century Venice, Bassanio is the typical Elizabethan lover and aristocrat--young, impulsive, romantic--whose lavish lifestyle has left him deep in debt and desperately in love with the fair Portia of Belmont. But to win her hand, he must prove his worth. To prove his worth, he must not only raise money he doesn't have, but he must also correctly solve the riddle of matrimony bequeathed by Portia's late father. Determined to call Portia his bride, Bassanio employs the support of his dear friend Antonio, a successful merchant residing in Venice. But Antonio is short of resources and must use his credit for a loan. This loan comes in the form of Shylock, a Jewish loan shark who, like all his people, is forced to live in "getos" and has limited access to the city. Antonio has publicly denounced Shylock and other Jews for their practice of usury, and consistently hurts their business by offering loans with no interest. This set of circumstances, along with the persecution of Jews at the time, has made Shylock spiteful towards Antonio, who jumps at the chance to have the merchant in his debt. However, this time Shylock decides to offer his loan at no interest; instead, he demands a pound of flesh from Antonio if his loan is not repaid on time. Confident that Bassanio will return his good fortune three times over, Antonio agrees to the unusual terms. As Bassanio travels to Belmont with Gratiano to woo his beloved, other events threaten to ruin his quest before it is fulfilled. Portia, in the company of her lady-in-waiting Nerissa, has already been welcoming potential suitors, who at any time could solve the mystery of her father's will which states that she must marry the man who correctly chooses one of three caskets. Then Antonio's trade ships fail to produce any profit for the merchant. Meanwhile, Shylock's daughter Jessica impulsively elopes with Bassanio's friend Lorenzo; in the process, she escapes with a fair amount of her father's personal wealth. This shatters Shylock to the core and causes him to focus all his energy on the repayment of the debt, almost taking out a lifetime of discrimination on the merchant. Upon hearing of his friend's situation, Bassanio leaves Belmont and rushes home to find a solution to Antonio's predicament. But before Bassanio can arrive home, the loan is declared in default and the distraught and semi-deranged Shylock demands his pound of flesh from Antonio in order to fully seek his revenge. The Duke, the reigning power in the city, has called a legal expert to the court to proceed over these extraordinary hearings.
Director
Michael Radford
Cast
Richard Tunnicliffe
Norbert Konne
Caroline Balding
David Juritz
Rachel Byrt
David Harewood
Elizabeth Kenny
Tom Leick
Clara Sanabras
Julian Nest
Al Weaver
Jon Banks
Allan Corduner
Harvey Brough
Charlie Cox
Stephan Koziac
Anton Rodgers
Heather Goldenhersh
Zuleikha Robinson
Jeremy Irons
Pamela Thorby
Peter Riemens
Jules Werner
Tony Schiena
Belinda Sykes
Kris Marshall
Clara Sanabras
Marco Maas
Antonio Gil-martinez
Harvey Brough
Jean-francois Wolff
Ron Cook
Pavlo Beznosiuk
Joseph Fiennes
Mackenzie Crook
Lynn Collins
John Sessions
Tristan Fry
Siobhan Armstrong
Al Pacino
Gregor Fisher
Crew
Giuseppe Abatangelo
Daniele Abate
Jean-marc Acampo
Miles Adgate
Fabrizio Aghilar
Pani Ahmadi-moore
Pani Ahmadi-moore
Adam Aitken
Alex Aitken
Eduardo Aladro
Tim Alban
Tim Alban
Marco Alzetta
Nadia Amari
Cressida Andermatt
Dylan Asbury
Luca Fortunato Asquini
Alessandra Asta
Laurence Aston
Daria Avenia
Daniel Bacciu
Werner Bacciu
Myriam Baerts
Andreas Bajohra
Tommaso Baratto
Abigail Barbier
Fabrice Barbus
Nicholas Barringer
Mikael Bartsch
Thomas Bartsch
Frida Basso
Antonia Bates
Denver M. Beattie
Xavier Beauquel
Benoît Bechet
Ronald Bede
Christian Belardi
Michele Belardi
Nicky Bell
Marco Benatelli
Andy Bennett
Thomas Bernardy
Massimo Bertazzoni
Matteo Bertelli
Flavio Bettin
Enrico Bettinello
Michelle Bevilacqua
Pierre Bianchi
Alex Bidorini
Alex Biek
Klaus Bienen
Stephanie Blondel
Corinna Bonicelli
Maurice Borghesi
Celine Bourgeois
Nigel Boyd
Fabio Bozzetti
Chris Bradshaw
Anna Brangaitis
Anna Brangaitis
Steve Braun
Marco Broeders
Cary Brokaw
Harvey Brough
Harvey Brough
Alexandre Brown
Ann Buchanan
Ann Buchanan
Jacopo Bullo
Jon Bunker
Stefano Buosi
Furio Buranella
Furio Buranella
Geoff Burden
Sonny Burdis
Robbert Van Buuren
Catherine Buyse
Amilcar Dematos Cadete
Erminio Callegari
Stephen Calloway
Mario Capezzali
Alex Carey
Jean-charles Cavasso
Paolo Centoni
Fabrizio Cerato
Deborah Cesana
Emilie Cherpitel
Jago Cherubini
Andrea Chiozzotto
Jamie Churchouse
Steven Clark
Helene Coker
Dave Coldham
Erasmo Colucci
Andrea Conchetto
Nuala Conway
Nuala Conway
Veronica Coppola
Davide Cordara
Alain Couty
Michael Lionello Cowan
Ben Crawley
Xavier Cremonese
Lou Crisa
Lou Crisa
Neil Culley
Tracey Curtis
Paolo Cusin
Pacheo Rui Manuel Da Costa
Joao Antonio Delgado Da Cruz
Nuno Miguel Rebelo Da Cruz
Tommaso Dabala
Stefano Dalla Lana
Richard Davey
Paul Davis
Roger Dawson
Jimmy De Brabant
Hanoi De La Paz
Maria De Paoli
Johannes Jeroen De Wildt
Gilbert Degrand
Gillie Delap
Lionel Delcroix
Benoît Delhomme
Benoît Delhomme
Warren Demer
Manuel Demoulling
Jan Van Den Bussche
Dave Van Den Hemel
Glyn Dillon
John Dodds
Maryline Dodeigne
Valerie Dodeigne
Fabien Domange
Domingo Walter Donato
Federico Donato
Ron Downing
Kevin Dresse
Antoine Ducep
Bertrand Dufour
John Dunton-downer
Martin Dykstra
Laura Ergis
Guillaume De Esteban
Guillaume De Esteban
Danny Evans
Trevor Eve
Peter Facchetti
Roberta Facchettin
Sean Farrow
Ian Faulds
Edwige Fenech
Bernard Ferrandis
Thomas Ferrandis
Marco Ferri
Regis Filipetti
John Fisher
John Flock
Filippo Florian
Daniela Foa
Maarten De Fockert
Martyn Fowler
Fabio Francini
Bernardo Galli
Ruggero Gamba
Alfonso Gammarota
Andrew Garnet-lawson
Judy Geletko
Marteen Van Gent
Italo Gerardi
Adrian Getley
Sergio Giacomin
Laurent Giancani
Cristiano Giavedoni
David Gibbons
Perry Gibbs
Alec Gibson
Jack Gillies
Massimo Giovannetti
Stephane Girten
Pasquale Gizzi
Nigel Goldsack
Nicola Gomero
Nuno Goncalves
Alain Goniva
Geoff Goodman
Matteo Gottardis
Paul Grange
Giovanni Gregoletto
Linda Gregory
Steve Griffin
Patrick Guerbette
Eleonore Gufflet
Gary Hamilton
Michael Hammer
Martin Hammerton
Mick Harper
Mark Harrison
Toby Hawkes
Michael Hayes
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Winter December 29, 2004
Released in United States on Video May 10, 2005
Released in United States September 2004
Released in United States November 2004
Shown at Venice International Film Festival (out of competition) September 1-11, 2004.
Cate Blanchett was previously attached to star.
Ian McKellen was previously attached to star.
Released in United States Winter December 29, 2004
Released in United States on Video May 10, 2005
Released in United States September 2004 (Shown at Venice International Film Festival (out of competition) September 1-11, 2004.)
Released in United States November 2004 (Shown at AFI/Los Angeles International Film Festival (Gala) November 4-14, 2004.)
