441. GREAT CINEMA ADAPTATIONS: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

Peter Josyph via Zoom

About Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, James Shapiro said that “much of the play’s vitality can be attributed to the ways in which it scrapes against a bedrock of beliefs about the racial, national, sexual, and religious differences of others.” Shakespeare’s most controversial play, it is also one of his most popular and dramatically exciting. Michael Radford's superb, streamlined 2004 adaptation stars Jeremy Irons as Antonio; Joseph Fiennes as Bassanio; Lynn Collins as Portia; and Al Pacino as Shylock, a role he played in several stage productions, including Shakespeare in the Park and on Broadway. Participants will be given a link to two short YouTube films, Bardtalk: The Merchant of Venice (Parts I and II), consisting of Dr. John Lutz discussing the play's main themes and characters with Peter Josyph, who also enacts Shylock in two scenes from the play. Expect a lively discussion!

1:00-2:00 p.m. / 1:00-2:30 p.m.                                                                                  2 Sessions Thursdays, Feb. 20 and Feb. 27                                                                            Fee:  $50

 [A Zoom link will be sent to you prior to each session, typically on the day before your class and the morning of your class.  If you have any questions or need help getting online, feel free to call us at 516-480-5733 and we’ll get right back to you with assistance.]

ABOUT THE LECTURER

Peter Josyph is an author, actor, director, and filmmaker whose films include: Liberty Street: Alive at Ground Zero; Acting Cormac McCarthy: The Making of Billy Bob Thorton’s All the Pretty Horses; Shakespeare In New York: The Sonnets; and A Few Things Basquiat Did in School. His books include: Adventures in Reading Cormac McCarthy; What One Man Said to Another, Talks with Richard Seltzer; and, The Wounded River, which was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book. He also excels in literary and film criticism.