"Ah... Venice."

Dinner was Venetian-style Quick-Fried Beef. With steamed (but still squeaky) yellow and green beans on the side, and a nice bottle of red wine to share.

Then we watched Al Pacino's version of A Merchant of Venice.
I'm not one of those who feel that any older work that has stereotypes in it should be banned (a la Mikado, or Amos 'n Andy - OTOH, they can make me uncomfortable. (Well, not the Mikado, but that's a satire of British society. Protesters who generally haven't seen the show don't get that.) Anyway. This was good. Pacino didn't overplay and chew the scenery; the famous "If you prick us, do we not bleed?" speech was nicely done. However, the transformation of Shylock asking for a pound of flesh as a bit of a joke to revenge was too quick, probably due to cut material.

Joseph Fiennes, who can't seem to get roles in non-Elizabethan movies, was good as the romantic lead. If scruffy and long-haired, but women probably still like him that way.

The bit at the end where Shylock is to convert as part of the judgment, though? That bugged my freedom-of-religion sensibilities.

last week's Resolution Recipe, up late

Sourdough Cherry Sticky Buns
( Read more... )