Main Cast: Warren Mitchell, Gemma Jones, John Franklyn-Robbins
Release Year: 1980
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 157 minutes
Plot
Bassanio (John Nettles), a young man of Venice, falls hopelessly in love with fair Portia (Gemma Jones), a wealthy heiress. But his pocket lacks the jingle to woo her. So Bassanio obtains a loan from the Jewish moneylender Shylock (Warren Mitchell), and his friend Antonio(John Franklyn-Robbins) agrees to repay it in three months. However, if Antonio fails to meet the deadline, Shylock says, Antonio must forfeit a pound of his flesh -- certain death -- as payment. In his heart, Shylock hopes Antonio will default so that he can carve up one of the Christians who mock and humiliate him simply because he is Jewish. Meanwhile, Portia entertains distinguished suitors from around the world. Although she loves Bassanio, her late father made her promise to marry only the suitor who passes a strange test: He must choose from among three caskets -- one gold, one silver, and one lead. If the chosen casket contains a picture of Portia, the suitor wins her hand in marriage. After princes from Morocco and Arragon select the wrong caskets, Bassanio chooses the right one. In the meantime, Shylock's daughter Jessica (Leslee Udwin) elopes with a Christian, Bassanio's friend Lorenzo (Richard Morant), and helps herself to her father's jewels and gold before leaving. When Antonio suffers a financial reversal and fails to repay the loan, Shylock demands the pound of flesh. A trial before the Duke of Venice ensues, in which Portia, disguised as a male advocate, addresses the court, telling Shylock he is entitled to his pound of flesh according to the loan agreement. Shylock, praising her for her ruling, prepares to cut into Antonio's chest. But Portia warns him that he must take only flesh, but no blood, for the contract says nothing of blood. Shylock drops his knife, realizing he has been defeated. As punishment for conspiring to kill Antonio, Shylock must forfeit property and become a Christian. As he leaves the court, a broken man, the other principals celebrate and live happily ever after. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
Review
In this adaptation of The Merchant of Venice, Warren Mitchell portrays the moneylender Shylock in a virtuosic performance that mixes deep hostility and bitterness with pinches of humor and caricature. Wearing gabardine and a yamalka and seasoning his lines with a Yiddish accent, the short round actor energizes the production the moment he appears onstage. While his busy hair shoots in all directions, his lively tongue and expressive hands and eyes communicate the complex emotions of a wronged Jew living in a Christian society. Director Jack Gold and producer Jonathan Miller surround Mitchell with other excellent BBC actors who help make this adaptation memorable. Among them are John Franklyn-Robbins as Antonio, John Rhys Davies as Salerio, John Nettles as Bassanio, Enn Reitel as Launcelot Gobbo, and Joe Godwin as his father, Old Gobbo. Reitel and Godwin perform brilliantly in act two, scene two, in an uproarious comic scene in which Shakespeare loads the script with metaphors and dramatic irony to capitalize on the failure of Old Gobbo, who is blind, to realize that he is conversing with his son. Alas, though, because the production was filmed on a stage without benefit of lavish scenery and special effects, critics spoiled by the pomp and luster of Hollywood Shakespeare productions tend to dismiss it as mediocre. May these critics forfeit a pound of flesh. Composers Carl Davis and Stephen Olivier enhance the production with their music, and director Gold leaves open the question that has confounded scholars for four hundred years: Was Shakespeare anti-Semitic? ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
John Rhys-Davies - Salerio; Arnold Diamond - Tubal; Peter Gale - The Prince of Arragon; Joe Gladwin - Old Gobbo; Susan Jameson - Nerissa; Roger Martin - Leonardo; Richard Morant - Lorenzo; Douglas Wilmer - The Duke of Venice; Marc Zuber - Prince of Morocco; Enn Reitel - Launcelot Gobbo; Shaun Scott - Stephano; Kenny Graham - Gratiano; Alan David - Solanio
Credit
Raymond Hughes - Costume Designer, Jack Gold - Director, Carl Davis - Composer (Music Score), Stephen Oliver - Composer (Music Score), Jonathan Miller - Producer, Chick Anthony - Sound/Sound Designer
