The Merchant of Venice which Shakespeare was likely familiar. (Auden sees the theme of usury in the play as a comment on human relations in a mercantile society.) Other interpreters of the play regard Auden's conception of Antonio's sexual desire for Bassanio as questionable. Michael Radford, director of the 2004 film version starring Al Pacino, explained that, although the film contains a scene where Antonio and Bassanio actually kiss, the friendship between the two is platonic, in line with the prevailing view of male friendship at the time. Jeremy Irons, in an interview, concurs with the director's view and states that he did not
The Merchant of Venice 1989, and follows the events in "The Merchant of Venice". In this play Shylock gets his wealth back and becomes a Jew again. The "Star Trek" franchise sometimes quote and paraphrase Shakespeare, including "The Merchant of Venice". One example is the Shakespeare-aficionado Chang in "" (1991), a Klingon, who quotes Shylock. Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" (1993) depicts SS Lieutenant Amon Göth quoting Shylock's "Hath Not a Jew eyes?" speech when deciding whether or not to rape his Jewish maid. In David Fincher's 1995 crime thriller "Seven", a lawyer, Eli Gould, is coerced to remove a pound of his own flesh