Moby Dick
by Franc Roddam
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bruce Spence, Henry Thomas, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Robin Cuming, Shane Feeney-ConnorDirector: Franc Roddam
DVD: 2 Layers, Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 145 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1998-08-18
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Hallmark
Movie Reviews of Moby Dick
Movie Review: Blubber
Summary: 2 Stars
Didn't anyone on the set say, "You know, that whale's tail is retarded!"?
Moby Dick as a pure adventure story. How sad. Didn't anyone read the book? The deviations in this movie from the book are profound and completely dismast the story's importance. The director seems terrified of injecting mood and irony into his narration. His direction was uncreative and uninspired. What a waste.
Then there are all the sad details. For instance, sorry folks, Queequeg was not Maori. Wrong culture. Yes, believe it or not, the Pacific is full of very different cultures and Maori does not fit the Queequeg character. It's like making Ahab French. I preferred the 1956 Queequeg. Even though he was obviously a white actor, at least his character was indeterminate--as a character from Moby Dick should be. Moby Dick is not a simple adventure story with straightforward characters. And finally, why was this movie so afraid of doing the ending the way Melville conceived it? Probably because they were so deathly afraid of complicated meaning. Please, respect and dignify your audience with something more challenging. We can handle it.
Ted Levine as Starbuck and Hugh Keyes-Burne as Stubb were good cast decisions. The young actor playing Pip did a great job too. Those three, the carpenter and some of the other minor character actors belonged on the boat. The rest should have been thrown overboard, not necessarily for lack of talent, but for being the wrong person for the part. Stewart didn't pull off Ahab. It was a commendable attempt, but he didn't have the focus and moodiness necessary for the part. Stewart is British. That fact still rings through. Ahab in his soul is American. That's one of the major themes of the story. They should stay as close to foundations as possible. Just because he was the commander of the Starship Enterprise shouldn't make him top choice for Captain Ahab.
Henry Thomas was too nice and innocent. Ishmael was the narrator of Moby Dick and the narration of Moby Dick is full of profound insight, intelligence, humor, wit, and biting sarcasm. Ishmael was a character, at least he said so, who could be prone to running around town knocking the hats off people's heads, and he was also not the landlubber this movie portrays him as. He'd been to sea before as a sailor. Why change these kind of details? What were they so afraid of? This movie trashes everything important in the book, including the little details.
But besides that whale's tail, the movie had some good historical recreations that made it worth getting two stars. Now I want to get ahold of a copy of the 1978 version. I read elsewhere that the Ahab portrayal is pretty good in that one. Making a movie of "Moby Dick," though, seems to be as hopeless as hunting the White Whale. I doubt anyone will ever take us on a true brooding Melvillian Nantucket sleigh ride. In the hands of the right talent, though, there's very fertile ground in Moby Dick for a very creative cinematic experience. It's waiting for someone with the highest caliber of talent and insight. Anyone else should lay their hands off it.
Summary of Moby Dick
Patrick Stewart makes his entrance late into this telefilm, stringy hair hanging from under his three-cornered hat, his peg leg tapping out his arrival on deck. This Captain Ahab is a hard, driven man--you can see it in his burning eyes--and there's no question he has the resolve and the mad devotion to complete his quest at all costs: kill the white whale that took his leg. Franc Roddam's mini-series adaptation of Herman Melville's classic novel (filmed previously by John Huston in 1956) manages its budget wisely: a judicious use of digital effects creates a terrifying vision of the great white whale, and Roddam's eye captures a near-epic quality. Henry Thomas's earnest performance as the young seaman Ishmael can't compete with Stewart's intensity, and Gregory Peck's cameo as Father Mapple is a hollow echo of his passionate Ahab from Huston's masterpiece. But the rest of the cast excels, and Roddam's haunting imagery and horrific climax make this a compelling dramatic adventure. --Sean AxmakerAction & Adventure DVD Video
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