Moby Dick

Like the story

I used a summary of this book and this movie as an assignment in American Literature for my great granddaughter whom I homeschool. The movie is faithful to the text and presents the themes of the book accurately. The acting is excellent. The story and the picture of the historical era is engaging as well as interesting. I recommend this to those who do not enjoy reading the long books of the classics, but want to be knowledgeable about them, or to anyone who enjoys a good movie.

A racy and spirited tale of the hard life out to sea, with colorful sailors and harpooners venturing to take on the great beasts called sperm whales, fighting them from small skiffs sent out from the fragile wooden whaling vessel, and their captain set on a relentless crusade to have his revenge upon the great white whale that once took his leg.

Mill Creek Entertainment's new R1 DVD has incorrectly stated on the packaging a widescreen format of 1.85:1. This production from the late '90's was conceived and shot in 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which is how TV audiences of the day first saw it and is how it is presented here.Another gaffe on the DVD case, but this one's just amusing: to go merely by the description on the back, in this version Ahab is "a man obsessed with vengeance against a menacing beast that *not only stole the lives of his former crew* but continues to haunt him from the sea."A deceptive attempt to stoke expectations for the film, perhaps? Or genuine ignorance of the source material? Who knows?The menu screen after start-up gives an immediate clue to the film's presentation on the new disc. There are only two options from which to choose: "Part One" and "Part Two". Ergo, this edition preserves the original miniseries format.I'm not too crazy about this decision -- I would have preferred a seamlessly edited 3-hour picture without two sets of opening and closing credits, but c'est la guerre.As to the film itself, there has never been a "faithful" adaptation of Melville's masterpiece on film, but how could there be? Maybe a filmmaker as unconventional as, say, Terrence Malick, could come close. Many of the traditional dramatic conventions embraced by this and other renditions might have to be eschewed. What that leaves you with in terms of compelling cinema, though, is a good question. As I post this, Ron Howard's adaptation of Nathaniel Philbrick's "In the Heart of the Sea" (about the Essex disaster, which inspired the writing of "Moby Dick") is close to its premiere, and may prove the best approach for this kind of material, assuming it'll be more than just another amusement park ride.This 1998 version is the best, overall. Its budget whale effects were never impressive compared to John Huston's film, and that picture also captured a more convincing flavor for New Bedford whaling. Oswald Morris' scrimshaw hued cinematography is also missed. But Franc Roddam's film is better as a whole, using the expanded run time to fill out the characters. It feels less cursory, less rushed, Christopher Gordon's music is superb, and the performances by Patrick Stewart and Ted Levine are unforgettable. Gregory Peck does better in his cameo as Father Mapple (his last film appearance) than he did as Ahab in Huston's film.Movie -- 4DVD -- 3 (point deducted for the two-parter presentation)

I like that the item Trived as they said it would. Not like some of the other companies I've dealt with. Thank you.

very difficult to read and too stay interested. Did not even like the movie with .p. Stewart.

This movie has enough interest and enough good whaling scenes that even one who knows little of the story can learn the basics. If you pair it with the Ron Howard film which proposes how Melville might have written it, you have quite a combination.

This story has a lot more action than the original with Gregory Peck, yet still has all of the elements that made the book a classic