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After seeing this film for the first time since I was a youngster I'm shocked at how much of Ricardo Montalban's dialogue as Khan in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"is out and out copied from Gregory Peck 's dialogue as Captain Ahab in this film not to mention the obsessive mannerism of the acting as well.
That in itself is enough of a reason to see this film.
Based on a novel by Herman Melville who was the but of a joke in the film "animal house"about being long winded and not easily transferred to our time,has merit as well as the subject of whale hunting is a PC no/no today takes 1 star off.Otherwise what a film !!!
For the PC correct,lets remember the whale wins and kills all but one !!!
The story is straightforward.Its 1841 and a young man Richard Basehart as Ishmael signs on to a whaling ship out of new Bedford Mass.whose captain is Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab whose reason to continue sailing is not to make money on the whale fat from whale kills that are boiled down to oil and brought back to be used much the same as in ground oil is used today,no, its to hunt and kill a white whale that took his leg in the past and scarred his face so he is obsessed with killing it before he dies.That is now his only reason to live.There is a colorful cast but there are really only 3 characters.Ahab,Moby Dick,which is the name given to the whale,and the witness to the obsession,Ishmael.
They wouldn't make a movie about whaling like this today,but that was life in parts of New England back then and it serves better as a metaphor for obsession than some teen sex/slasher film I believe.So do others as it seems it was remade a few times and I'm not sure this masterpiece released in 1956 and running 116 minutes is the first version.
A great action flick for the time and no CGI,FX the way it used to be!!
Trailer URL follows pix.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_ibjoSB6Xs
That in itself is enough of a reason to see this film.
Based on a novel by Herman Melville who was the but of a joke in the film "animal house"about being long winded and not easily transferred to our time,has merit as well as the subject of whale hunting is a PC no/no today takes 1 star off.Otherwise what a film !!!
For the PC correct,lets remember the whale wins and kills all but one !!!
The story is straightforward.Its 1841 and a young man Richard Basehart as Ishmael signs on to a whaling ship out of new Bedford Mass.whose captain is Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab whose reason to continue sailing is not to make money on the whale fat from whale kills that are boiled down to oil and brought back to be used much the same as in ground oil is used today,no, its to hunt and kill a white whale that took his leg in the past and scarred his face so he is obsessed with killing it before he dies.That is now his only reason to live.There is a colorful cast but there are really only 3 characters.Ahab,Moby Dick,which is the name given to the whale,and the witness to the obsession,Ishmael.
They wouldn't make a movie about whaling like this today,but that was life in parts of New England back then and it serves better as a metaphor for obsession than some teen sex/slasher film I believe.So do others as it seems it was remade a few times and I'm not sure this masterpiece released in 1956 and running 116 minutes is the first version.
A great action flick for the time and no CGI,FX the way it used to be!!
Trailer URL follows pix.
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