E X T E n S i o n THE MERCHANT OF VENICE ON SCREEN The Merchant of Venice was frequently chosen by film-makers in the early days when films were silent, and Shylock could look terrifying with his menacing face expressions and gestures. Worthy of mention among the early films (15 altogether) are James Stuart Blackton s The Merchant of Venice (1908), the 1914 film directed by lois Weber, who also starred as portia, and Der Kaufmann von Venedig directed by peter paul Felner in 1923 with Der Kaufmann von Venedig Werner Krauss as Shylock. in italy, gerolamo lo Savio directed the famous actors ermete novelli (Shylock) and Francesca Bertini (portia) in the silent film of 1923, Il Mercante di Venezia. the italian-French Le Marchand de Venise was shot in 1952 by pierre Billon. it starred michel Simon as Shylock, massimo Serato as Antonio and giorgio Albertazzi as lorenzo, Jessica s lover. Il Mercante di Venezia unlike previous versions, it offered a sympathetic vision of Shylock. the canadian documentary Shylock, directed by pierre lasry (1999), examines the history of hatred1 against the Jews and the great Shakespearean actors who played the role of Shylock through the ages, including performances Le Marchand de Venise by laurence olivier, orson Welles and Dustin Hoffman. it includes modern attempts to adapt The Merchant of Venice and to analyze its historical association with anti-Semitism, and shows how Shakespeare s play was used by the nazis to promote anti-Semitism, especially in Austria before the war. 1. hatred: detestation. 86