The Merchant of Venice (2004)

I picked the 2004 version of The Merchant of Venice for tonight. It stars Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Joseph Fiennes. Based on the Shakespeare play, this version is rated R for some occasional views of bare-breasted prostitutes.

trailer:

The New York Times says,

Judiciously trimmed to manageable movie length, this "Merchant" is, for the most part, faithful in letter and spirit to its source material.

BBC says,

Michael Radford's gloomy film is a long and slightly draining haul, but the intensity of Al Pacino's central performance justifies the effort required.

Roger Ebert has a positive review. The Guardian and Rolling Stone like it. Slant Magazine doesn't.