Trivia for
The Merchant of Venice (2004) More at IMDbPro »

• Ian McKellen was set to play Antonio, but had to drop at the last minute due to scheduling conflicts.
  
  
• Cate Blanchett was set to play Portia, but had to drop out at the last minute after discovering she was pregnant.
  
  
• Dustin Hoffman was interested in playing Shylock; however, when he contacted director Michael Radford about it, Al Pacino had already been cast.
  
  
• The bare-breasted prostitutes were not put in the film to make it more risqué, but rather to add a note of historical authenticity. Venetian law at the time required all prostitutes to bare their breasts because the Christian authorities were concerned about rampant homosexuality in their city.
  
  
• Director Michael Radford was required to cut the kiss between Antonio and Bassanio for the "Edited for Television" version of this film.
  
  

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