the discussion have be hold a thousand time . be the merchant of venice antisemitic . ( i think it be . ) isn not it unfair to always point out this little bit of antisemitism in an otherwise great piece of art . ( i think it isn not . ) do this play stain shakespeare reputation a the world great playwright . ( i think it do . ) do it play a role if he do not do it on a particular racist purpose . ( i think it doesn not . ) michael radford know all this and this be why he add to his movie a prologue about the pitiful situation of the jew in renaissance venice . in vain while for the play remain what it have always be and the new make up only give a first ( but futile ) hope that someone have dare to set something right that remain a permanent outrage and not because it degree of antisemitism would be particularly shock but because the play come under the name of william shakespeare . why spend so much time in portray the hatred of a man shylock . why employ a great and serious actor like al pacino and if in the end everything be get ruin in this outrageous ( but hey and i be not responsible shakespeare write it ) court room scene . and now i would like to be very precise and just like shylock himself . he demand his right and accord to the contract which the not very responsible christian antonio and who always use to look down on him and sign in full awareness of the consequence . sure and what shylock demand be cruel and useless and but that not the point . what we see ( or should see ) be a man who have be humiliate for all his life and to the point where all what remain on him be his hatred . i think and it be certainly a bit inappropriate to lecture such a man on thing like compassion . but what the play or the movie ( they be one and the same now ) do at this point be . become a soap opera . the cruel madman with his knife and the horrified ( but rather short mind ) audience and the poor victim tie to his chair . true and antonio accepts his fate but why can not he just say one word and sorry . i think we need not lose many word on the ridiculous verdict of the young dottore from padua while it a truly popular verdict not much different from what would be see 400 year later in the show trial of the nazi . from one minute to the next this jew be rob of everything he own and sentence to be baptize christian and and kick out . isn not that outrageous . obviously not . the story move on to the romantic intricacy of the ring and it happy end . what one can learn in libeskind jewish museum in berlin and similar place all over the world be that antisemitism often go unnoticed by the mass because what so devastate for a minority or some individual be embed in the allege great good for the majority . it should be exactly the task of everyone of u to develop a sensitivity to detect and unmask such tendency . i do not accept the excuse that this film be make to create empathy with the badly treat shylock ( it just doesn not work out ) . i do not think that anybody can be force to be merciful . i do not recommend this movie while in particular not for an oscar .