RETHINKING SHYLOCK'S TRAGEDY: RADFORD'S CRITIQUE OF ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

[...]for the director's interpretation and in keeping with a long tradition of Shakespeare production, certain cuts allow for a particular slant in the development of character and plot. The most obvious advantage, and one enjoyed by film-makers almost from the outset, was the capability of fil...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mythlore 2010-04, Vol.28 (109/110), p.107
Main Author: Riga, Frank D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
American literature
Antisemitism
Bloom, Harold (1930-2019)
British & Irish literature
English literature
Jewish literature
Pacino, Al
Radford, Michael (1946- )
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
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Summary:[...]for the director's interpretation and in keeping with a long tradition of Shakespeare production, certain cuts allow for a particular slant in the development of character and plot. The most obvious advantage, and one enjoyed by film-makers almost from the outset, was the capability of filming on location. Since Radford filmed his Merchant largely in Venice, a city that has kept its Renaissance buildings and ambiance, the verisimilitude attempted in setting moved from scene-painting and stage construction, which often required the reduction of the number of scenes, to the actual place itself, which allowed for a rapid and fluid movement to more locations and thus to more scenes. [...]Jews in Radford's film wear red hats and Christians wear crucifixes. Since Christians were forbidden by Canon Law to lend money at interest, Jews were tolerated because they were not restricted by this ban on money lending. While Lawrence Olivier cut the entire speech to present a sympathetic Shylock, here, most of this speech is cut to obscure Shylock's longstanding resentment of Antonio and, by extension, Christian Venice. Since the speech also emphasizes the obtaining of money by usury, its cutting mutes the money-grubbing stereotype associated with Jews, a part of the anti-Semitic myth.4 As Shylock says in the standard text:
ISSN:0146-9339