Moby Dick

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.

I was a bit concerned since this version comes out of Korea, but I must say the technical quality of the DVD was fine. it was very easy to turn off the Korean subtitles (I do read Korean and speak it a bit, but I find the subtitles distracting), and from that point on, it was technically a fine DVD.In terms of the acting, this is my favorite version, with Gregory Peck's version a close second. Peck is more of a smoldering, deep Ahab. Stewart is a fiery, charismatic Ahab. When Quequeg comes out of his death trance and crawls over to Ahab and proclaims, "Me sabe. You god. You god" it's totally believable. Stewart has that kind of presence. Even though everyone on board the ship thinks Ahab is crazy, they are willing to follow him to the death. It made me think of the power Adolph Hitler must have had in 1930s Germany.There are of course a few artistic liberties - variations from Melville's original story. But I do not think any of these detract from the essential story. If you have read Melville, you will enjoy this re-telling. And if you have never waded through Melville's prose, you will find in this version why Moby Dick continues to be a story that is told again, and again, and again. Even if you have the Gregory Peck version (and I hope you do), you will want to buy this one. It's a great version and much superior to some which have come later, IMHO.

This version certainly does not compare to the other version of Moby Dick, the 1956 version with Gregory Peck starring as the captain bent on revenge. Problems amount with this updated version mainly because it seems to be an attempt at dumbing down or stripping the story to make it more accessible to a wider audience. In making this happen, the producers seemingly beat us over the head with Ishmael's simplicity, Ahab's madness, Starbuck's reluctance and nonconformity, and Queequeg's cartoonishness. The ultimate result is a version which constructs the story accurately, but in a bare-bones way; we are left without much of the depth that Melville's novel depicts.Still, with my reservations ( mainly because I do teach English literature), this is a version that does have some entertainment value and certainly gives some accurate information to both the characters and the story. There are some enlightening and funny scenes, such as the first meeting between Ishmael and Queequeg in the sleeping quarters and the scene with Queequeg answering for Ishmael as they board the Pequod. Starbuck's character is successfully depicted as a man who reluctantly goes with the mission of hunting the white whale despite his longing to return safe and sound home. As others have noted, Patrick Stewart illustrates Captain Ahab a little over-the-top in terms of his mental balance, but he does have a certain feel to the Ahab we encounter in the novel: he is quick to judge, narrow-minded, revengeful, and unrelenting, and Stewart embodies all of these characteristics in his portrayal.Understandably, a two-hour movie cannot illustrate the depth at which the actual book works. We don't really get the chance to scrutinize the magnitude of Ahab's vengeance, his opposition to the laws of nature, and the essence of this futile voyage of revenge. Still, for what its worth, this film does have some credibility and merit, and certainly can be used as a tool for both Melville and the novel itself. And, if those aren't your cup of tea, it still has entertainment and moments that make it worthy of viewing. This is Moby Dick and Melville, but stripped a bit down.3 1/2 stars

Patrick Stewart handles Ahab admirably, and Gregory Peck as the minister giving his blessings and warnings at the outset provides continuity to the version in which he himself played Ahab.Two points to consider:1. Queequeg is played with considerable energy and earthy humor, but the actor risks veers close to a "John Belushi" homage (which has its own charms).2. I found the English subtitles (for those of us who need help hearing) contain an unacceptable number of errors - from simple misspellings (e.g., "thoudsands" for "thousands") to text that appears to be the transcribed notes of a non-native English speaker (as heard by his/her ear and written out by sound). I highly recommend that Amazon contract with an editor to review the English subtitles, edit appropriately, and that Amazon find a way to insert corrected text. The errors are so distracting that I would even ask Amazon to send corrected versions to those who request a swap-out (such as myself).

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.

To my mind this is the best version of Moby Dick committed to cinema or TV. Consisting of 2 feature-length episodes on one disc it effectively captures the overall essence of Melville’s seminal work in a format that is easy to digest.With an excellent soundtrack and sensitive filming this is a high quality production that is a joy to watch (although it is a pity that there are no sub-title options - about the only real criticism I have). It is however the quality of acting from all concerned that truly elevates this to the incredibly enjoyable viewing experience that it is. Stewart in particular has to deserve special mention for his portrayal of the tortured and tragic Ahab. Powerful, moving, spellbinding and mesmerising from his first appearance to his last, his masterful performance is without doubt what makes this DVD a must-buy.If you are fed up with modern films which rely upon tedious eye-candy to wallpaper over shallow story lines, pointlessly noisy sound-tracks, ridiculously dark ‘lighting’ or inconceivably unrealistic ‘action sequences’ then cheer yourself up and get this DVD. If quality and talent are the things that are important to you when it comes to your viewing pleasures then I assure you that you will not be disappointed.

Good remake. Different to original, but still great viewing with updated effects.

Good addition to previous films.Poor ending.

ok

I would like to have had a little booklet ... film is great