The Merchant of Venice

Set in sixteenth-century Venice, the film centres on the merchant Antonio, who agrees to help his friend Bassanio raise the money needed to court Portia, a wealthy heiress. Since Antonio's wealth is tied up abroad, the two turn to the Jewish moneylender Shylock. The loan he offers carries an unusual condition: if it is not repaid, Antonio must surrender a pound of his own flesh. The bond sets up a conflict between the moneylender and the Venetian society that treats him as an outsider, and the dispute moves toward a legal reckoning.

Michael Radford directed and wrote the screenplay, adapting William Shakespeare's play. It was his fifth feature, arriving a decade after The Postman and followed later by Flawless and Elsa & Fred. Al Pacino plays Shylock, with Jeremy Irons as Antonio, Joseph Fiennes as Bassanio, Lynn Collins as Portia, Zuleikha Robinson as Jessica and Kris Marshall as Gratiano. The production was a British, Italian and Luxembourgish co-production made for about 30 million dollars.

On IMDb the film holds a rating of 7 out of 10 from roughly 40,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.8 out of 10 from around 625 votes. A critics' rating of 7 out of 10 across 125 reviews places it close to the audience response. Its worldwide box office of about 20 million dollars fell short of its budget.