The Merchant of Venice (2004 film) a catastrophe due to his own flaws. The film begins with text and a montage of how the Jewish community is abused by the Christian population of Venice and brings attention to the fact that, as a convert, Shylock would have been cast out of the Jewish ghetto in Venice. The film is a co-production between the United Kingdom, Italy, and Luxembourg. "The Merchant of Venice" received generally positive reviews; it has a "fresh" rating of 72% at Rotten Tomatoes based on 124 critic reviews, with the consensus, "A respectable if uneven take on the Bard's "The Merchant of Venice"."
James S. Shapiro His most recent book, "The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606," was awarded the James Tait Black Prize for Biography as well as the Sheridan Morley Prize for Theatre Biography. He is currently at work on a book about Shakespeare in a divided America. He is married, has a son, and lives in New York City. Shapiro presented a three-part series on BBC Four called "The King & the Playwright: A Jacobean History" about Shakespeare, King James VI and I and the Jacobean era. James S. Shapiro James S. Shapiro (born September 11, 1955) is Professor of English and Comparative