Synopsis: The right-hand man of an Irish mob boss plays all the angles in a Prohibition gangland story filled with dark emotion - from the creators of "No Country For Old Men", with Marcia Gay Harden. watch
Oscar-award winning Laurence Olivier, perhaps the greatest actor of our time, takes on one of history s most enigmatic and challenging characters, the vengeful moneylender of Venice, Shylock. Through Olivier s incredible mastery, Shylock s hatred of all those who have reviled him for being a Jew comes alive. We feel his humanity. His revulsion to the life-long persecution he has had to endure, and his blind lust for revenge. We shudder at his cruelty. Supporting Olivier is his own National Theatre of England, cast in their most compelling interpretation. They transformed Shakespeare s Elizabethan Venice to the Venice of 1880. The dress is remarkably modern, and so too are the attitudes. Joan Plowright is Portia, whose hand could only be won through a contest of wits, and Jeremy Brett is Bassanio, the only man whose love she would have. Michael Jayston is Gratiano, and Anthony Nicholls is Bassanio s friend Antonio, The Merchant of Venice whose bond for a loan is a pound of his own flesh watch
