How does this compare to Al Pacino version that was just stunning

Never seen the Pacino version. This one is a little neat theater play on film. I watched just to see Cranham who is one of my favorite actors. Probably wouldn't like this version since it is very English and you really have to be in the mood.

This version is for people who love stripped down minimalistic stage presentations of Shakespeare's plays.

Most staged Shakespearean plays have an element of extroverted lavishness and extravagance, of richly artistic misé-en-scene, of actors who move their bodies when they speak, who cross the stage as they recite the dialogue, there are flourishes here and there, intrusive music, oftentimes a directness with the audience, but the BBC series fails to capture this on nearly every level. People who watch these versions erroneously think that this is how Elizabethan plays were performed, and that is false.

I loved this version because 80% all the dialogue was recited, and it was recited and acted out exceptionally well, Warren Mitchell was excellent, except for the fact that he spoke with a Yiddish accent, which was not accurate for that location. The set designs were better than most of the BBC's "Complete Dramatic Works of Shakespeare" series, and the music was unusually magmatic and melodic (usually their music is muted in the background, and minimal).

I liked the 2004 version, but, Benoit Delhomme's breathtaking artistic direction, I found (per usual) that too much dialogue was omitted and amended, especially dialogue that was integral to presenting the core themes, which for me personally decreased the thematic effect of this particular play. This was one play where as much of the dialogue should have been presented as possible, to dispel the myths of the play. The static and gratuitous visual of multiple bare breasted women wrecked scene after scene after scene, especially Shylock's key speech, which was delivered in the presence of partially nude women. Authenticity is fine, but not to the extent that an irrelevent element has its authenticity overly emphasized. The score for the film was magnificent (and I purchased it), and Al Pacino - an actor I generally do not like - deserved an Oscar nomination for his performance. Kris Marshall and Jeremy Irons were criminally underused (they should have recited all of their dialogue), the actress who portrayed Portia was not prepared at all to portray Portia, she was too reserved and weak.