thehefner: (Ives w/ Cross)
[personal profile] thehefner
http://www.arclightfilms.com/_trailers/mov.mpg

http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=17302

The computer I'm using has no speakers, so I couldn't judge whether or not Pacino was growing through his performance, but I think it's a pretty safe bet. All in all, a neat trailer for one of my less favorite Shakespeare plays. I'm interested.

Date: 2004-04-05 07:48 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tompurdue.livejournal.com
They've removed the trailer, but I was still able to get to it here.

Sound quality is really poor.

It's got boobies in it. Shakespeare boobies are always good.

The director's vision is kind of, well, visionless. He keeps saying that the story is great without ever saying what it means to him. The film looks kind of cookie-cutter, in the sense that he's set it in Renaissance Venice. Not that this is inherently a problem, but I'm having trouble finding out exactly why this film speaks to the director. He's letting the play speak for itself, with some fine actors and sumptuous setting. Perhaps I shouldn't ask for more.

And yet, he doesn't tell me his approach to the problematic fifth act. The play is not, ultimately, Shylock's story, and he's gone by act five. This is a difficult play, and if he thinks "Merchant of Venice is the absolute example of one that does [translate easily into film]", then he's going to be disappointed in the audience's reaction.

I thought Pacino never really got his handle on Richard III. I found myself mentally rereading half of his lines.

I saw Hal Holbrook do Shylock a few years ago at the Shakespeare Theater and I thought he was brilliant. He really inhabited Shylock, and his pain and bitterness were palpable. The setting was still Renaissance Venice, but as a play I was never worried that the director was letting the beautiful setting try to make up for what he didn't have from the actors.

September 2012

S M T W T F S
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
232425 26272829
30      

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Feb. 9th, 2026 08:22 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios