The Merchant of Venice (2004 film) The Merchant of Venice (2004 film) The Merchant of Venice is a 2004 romantic drama film based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. It is the first full-length sound film in English of Shakespeare's playother versions are videotaped productions which were made for television, including John Sichel's 1973 version and Jack Gold's 1980 BBC production. The title character is the merchant Antonio (Jeremy Irons), not the Jewish moneylender Shylock (Al Pacino) who is the more prominent character. This adaptation follows the text, but omits much. Director Michael Radford believed that Shylock was Shakespeare's first great tragic hero who reaches
Gas-s-s-s and he only made one more movie before a twenty-year sabbatical. " A great deal of care went into what I was saying and how I was going to say it," he said of "Gas-s-s-s". "The finished picture does not evidently make all these points. It discourages me and so for a little while I prefer to step away ... Directing is very hard and very painful. Producing is easy. I can do it without really thinking about it." Corman did, however, go on to produce "Boxcar Bertha" for AIP. "Gas-s-s-s" found a fresh audience on late night television in