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WSR Detailed DVD Review
William Shakespeare's Merchant Of Venice, The
Genre: Drama

Reviewed In Issue 97 (Jun 2005) Of Widescreen Review®

Stars:
Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes, Lynn Collins, Zuleikha Robinson, Kris Marshall, Charlie Cox, Heather Goldenhersh, Mackenzie Crook, John Sessions, Gregor Fisher, Ron Cook, Allan Corduner, Anton Rodgers, David Harewood, Antonio Gil-Martinez

WSR Review Scores
WSR Picture Rating: 4
DD Sound Rating: 4
DTS Sound Rating: NR
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Reference Systems
Critics' Composite Score: 3.5
Internet Links


Special Features
Special features include commentary with director Michael Radford and actress Lynn Collins; a 29-minute featurette entitled "The Merchant of Venice: Shakespeare Through The Lens"; a Teacher's Guide weblink, accessible on the DVD ROM drive of your computer; and previews.


 DVD General Information

(Studio/Distributor): Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number): 10910
(MPAA Rating): R
(Rating Reason):

Some nudity.
(Retail Price): $26.96
(DVD Type): Single Side, Dual Layer (DVD9)
(Widescreen Edition): Yes
(Full Screen Edition): No
(Anamorphic Widescreen): Yes
(Running Time In Minutes): 131
(Color Type): Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access): Yes
(Closed Captioned): Yes
(Regional Coding): 1
(Theatrical Year): 2004
(Theatrical Release): Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release): No
(DVD Release Date): 05/10/05
(THX® Digitally Mastered): No

 Credits Information

(Director): Michael Radford
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  DVD Picture Information

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  DVD Sound Information

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  WSR Narrative Review
Story Synopsis:
Al Pacino stars as the Jewish Shylock in one of

DVD Picture:
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 DVD picture is often quite dark, with scenes lit by torches. Shadow delineation exhibits good depth, with adequate visual information in the darkness. Images are sharp and nicely detailed, though some minor smearing is occasionally detected. Colors are richly saturated, highlighting the period costumes, with deep blacks and naturally balanced fleshtones. There is little in the way of distracting pixelization or edge enhancement. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
The solid low end foundation of the Dolby