AllMovie

"If you prick us, do we not bleed?... And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?" William Shakespeare's classic play The Merchant of Venice comes to life like never before in this 1973 adaptation starring two titans of stage and screen: Sir Laurence Olivier and Dame Joan Plowright. Young Bassanio (Jeremy Brett) desires the lovely Portia (Plowright), but in order to win the fair lady's hand properly, he needs money. Taking a loan from the moneylender Shylock (Olivier), Bassanio names his friend Antonio (Anthony Nicholls) as guarantor… but when the loan comes due and is unpaid, Shylock demands a particular penalty from his debtor: a pound of his flesh. Now Portia must find a way to thwart Shylock from his plans and save Antonio. Shakespeare lovers will thrill to this excellent adaptation of one of his most talked-about plays, performed by a tremendous cast featuring some of the finest actors of our time.