Joblo.com is reporting that Michael Radford, director of 2004′s The Merchant of Venice, has just tapped Al Pacino to play King Lear! Response to this news will probably be mixed, but we’re personally very excited at the prospect of Pacino testing his acting chops after the execrable double-whammy of 88 Minutes and Righteous Kill (I refuse on principle to provide links!). By contrast, Pacino’s performance as Shylock in Merchant was measured and intelligent…he saved his characteristic explosiveness for key moments (read our original review here). Though Radford may not be a visionary on the order of Peter Brook or even Branagh, he does good work and elicits fine perfmances.

We’re also huge fans of Pacino’s relatively little-seen documentary, Looking for Richard, a true gem of a movie that takes the viewer behind-the-scenes as Pacino prepares a filmed version of Richard III. It’s smart, charming, and informative, and proves that Pacino is absolutely passionate about Shakespeare… a quality we naturally find irresistible. [Read more...]