Michael Radford ("Il Postino") directs the classic Bard tale from a script he adapted. The film was shot on location in Luxembourg and the play's titular town in Italy.

The story of the a man who borrows from a moneylender to help his friend win over the heart of his beloved. When the borrowing nobleman cannot repay the loan, the embittered Shylock stipulates he be repaid with "a pound of flesh."

Pacino ("Angels in America," The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Salome) stars as Shylock opposite Irons (A Little Night Music, The Real Thing) as Antonio and Joseph Fiennes (A Month in the Country, "Shakespeare In Love," "Elizabeth") as Bassanio. The cast also includes Lynn Collins (The Women, Public Theatre's Hamlet) as Portia and Heather Goldenhersh (current star of Doubt) as Nerissa.

Kris Marshall ("Love Actually,") as Gratiano, Charlie Cox ("You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me) as Lorenzo, John Sessions ("Gangs of New York"), Mackenzie Crook ("Pirates of the Caribbean) and Zuleikha Robinson (Hidalgo) complete the ensemble.

Pacino made his Broadway debut in Does a Tiger Wear Necktie? in 1969 and won a Tony Award for his performance. He then won another Tony for his role in the 1977 revival of The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel. The actor — known for his film turns in "The Godfather," "Serpico," "Scarface," "Glengarry Glen Ross" and his Academy Award-winning turn in "The Scent of a Woman" — has also appeared on Broadway in Hughie, Camino Real, King Richard III, American Buffalo and Chinese Coffee. The 138-minute, R-rated "The Merchant of Venice" film will debut in limited release (in New York and Los Angeles) by Sony Pictures Classics Dec. 29 then roll out across the country in the coming weeks.

For more information and to view the trailer, visit the official website at www.sonyclassics.com/merchantofvenice.