| nudity |
Around 6 sequences with prostitutes, and their breasts are shown in every sequence. In one party scene, two of the men are pawing them.
Bassanio kisses Antonio. Many scholars of the play argue that the Antonio's willingness to lend money to Bassanio is homosexual subtext. As this kiss is not included in the original Shakespeare text, this directorial inclusion may suggest this kiss to be romantic. |
| violence |
In the opening sequence, a man is thrown off a bridge into the water but appears to be unharmed.
A sheep is gutted in a jewish market. It is quite brief but you can clearly see trails of blood.
A man throws up before he is about to be killed. This is in the climax of the film, and may be difficult to watch for some. See "Frightening/Intense scenes". |
| profanity |
One or two uses of "hell". The word "Jew" is directed as a slur several times throughout the movie. |
| alcohol |
There is some drinking of wine.
In one scene, a major character is smoking a pipe. |
| frightening |
The trial sequence, in which Antonio is presumably about to be killed by having a pound of flesh cut from him, is drawn out, intense and may be painful to watch. He is undressed, gagged and strapped to a chair, and Shylock sharpens his knife intent on cutting out his heart. However, a loophole is found in the bond, and Shylock cannot kill him.
Rampant antisemitism throughout, this is characteristic of the era in which the play was written so it is not treated as negative, but instead it is normalized.
15+ |
