SHAKESPEARE

Alternative title

Shylock for All Seasons

Synopsis

Documentary. A film which contends that hatred of Jews goes back 2,000 years, culminating with the near destruction of European Jewry. Argues that for the last 400 years, Western attitudes towards Jews have been influenced by Shakespeare’s Shylock who reflects the deepest fears of the cultures in which he appears. Lasry believes that there were no Jews in Elizabethan England, but many English money-lenders; usury, an English problem, becoming Shylock’s crime. The film includes extracts from filmed performances by Laurence Olivier, Dustin Hoffman, Warren Mitchell, Werner Krauss, Orson Welles and others, with commentary from directors, historians and writers. Narrated by Lasry.

Language

English

Country

Canada

Medium

Film

Technical information

Colour / Sound

Year of release

1998

Duration

57 mins

Credits

Director

Pierre Lasry

Producer

Kenneth Hirsch

Cinematographer

Jack Hazan; Martin Duckworth

Screenplay

Pierre Lasry

Contributor

John Gross; Jonathan Miller; Peter Hall

Additional Details

Production type

Documentary/Educational/News

Plays

Merchant of Venice, The

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

anti-Semitism; Jews; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Archive

Name

Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting & Recorded Sound Division

Web

http://catalog.loc.gov/ External site opens in new window

Phone

(20) 707-8572

Fax

(20) 707-237’1

Address

Motion Picture & Television Reading Room
James Madison Building, LM 336
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C.
20540-4690
United States

Distributor (Sale)

Name

National Film Board of Canada

Email

customerservice@nfb.ca

Web

http://www.nfb.ca External site opens in new window

Phone

(514) 283 9000

Fax

(514) 283-7564

Address

Sales and Customer Service (D-10)
PO Box 6100
Station Centre-Ville
Montreal
QC H3C 3HS
Canada