Mark Turner MOBY DICK is famed as one of the greatest and most difficult to read novels of all time. The tale of a man obsessed with the destruction of a legendary white whale that took his leg and left him scarred has long been considered an allegorical tale of good and evil, looks at the differences in class structure and discusses the existence of God. At 822 pages that's a lot to transfer to a movie that last only an hour and 56 minutes but somehow it was done.The story itself tells the tale of a young seaman named Ishmael (Richard Basehart) who signs aboard the ship Pequod, a whaling vessel run by one Captain Ahab (Gregory Peck). Ishmael is bunkmates his first night before they sail with a tattooed harpooner named Queequeg who has a set of shrunken heads on hand in the room. The two start off tentative but become fast friends as Queequeg teaches Ishmael the ways of the ship.Eventually Ishmael meets the famed Captain Ahab who promises his crew to return with their ship filled with whale oil and success for all on board. But Ahab is a strange sort who also has an ulterior motive. He doesn't just seek whales but one in particular, a white albino whale feared by all and known as Moby Dick. The desire to find the whale is one filled with revenge as it was Moby Dick who took the leg from Ahab on another voyage.The majority of the movie takes the time to set up the final confrontation between man and beast. Segments on dry land before the ship sets sail include a scene set in a church where the pastor preaches from the bow of a ship installed in the church. That pastor is played by Orson Welles who is nearly unrecognizable. The journey of the men, the harsh penalties for wrong doing and the long wait to find the whales they seek all take up a portion of the time.When the great white whale is finally found Ahab promises those who follow him untold fortunes if they will but help him destroy the whale. His obsession with the whale becomes their own and all seem to set aside not just the fortune in whale oil they've already filled the ship with but their own safety as well. Larger than the ship they sail on the white whale seems as determined to insure none of them leave alive and the battle between man and beast is on display.The movie is a mixed bag, entertaining for some and tedious for others. That it is a well-made film that tackled the chore of bringing the novel to life is worth noting and for that matter makes it one worth seeing as well. While the cast does a great job it is Peck who stands out as the near mad Ahab, determined to have his revenge at all costs.The effects for the time are amazing to witness and the sequences involving the whale are fantastic. Done before the days of CGI as it would be accomplished now, the movie here offers practical effects. The whale is a terrifying sight to behold and imagining what it would be like to confront it on its own ground would be something I for one would choose to avoid.Twilight Time is releasing the film in blu-ray format and as with all of their titles limiting it to just 3,000 copies. If interested make sure you pick yours up right away.

matttaylor-65065 This film comes from one of the best books ever written, the tall task of taking such an iconic classic and making it into a film, no small order. Yet thanks to Ray Bradbury for writing the screenplay than enabled John Huston to make this film worthy of the book.I think maybe this film just hasn't graced the TV Screens more than it has is just a shame, it makes me wonder is this the reason that its not one of the all time greatest movies. There are so many timeless classics I know its impossible for them all to make it but still a shame.Gregory Peck as Ahab, Orsen Wells as the minister, both performances make this a stand out movie. Both actor's brought so much to this film, maybe some of the special effects let the film down a tad, but that's why its an 8 not a 10. Still well worthy of a watch. Enjoy.

edandjillh The beauty and strength of this version of Moby Dick is first of all it was originally filmed in black and white. You know they say when you photograph/film a man in color you photograph his clothes. When you photograph a man in b/w you photograph his soul.Secondly, and most importantly, is the ability of the film to capture the very essence of Ahab's obsession and how he is able to instill that obsession into the very souls of the crew, as if they were lined up, with anticipation, waiting their turn to be possessed . Total mesmerization. Even after Ahab's death.The fear you have as a viewer is watching the enigmatic space between the crew and Ahab slowly shrink till he has consumed them and they will follow his quest blindly with no sign of logic or reason.Obviously the writer hopes we identify with Ishmael, the only survivor, which he is, not because of any luck or good fortune, but because he is supposed to represent the thin line between free will and whatever demon any man can become obsessed with to his utter destruction.

John Perez This movie is an interesting failure. Gregory Peck is not very well cast as Captain Ahab. He tries to make his performance as the monomaniacal captain work. However some scenes with him in it are just hilarious. For example I find his final confrontation with the giant white whale the funniest part in the film. He literally climbs on the back of Moby Dick and begins stabbing him with his harpoon while yelling obscenities at the whale. The whale is poorly constructed. It looks like a maniacal whale puppet come to life and then set in a bathtub with a bunch of model boats. One scene is even screened in so badly that I was surprised with how bad it looked even for its time. The only thing I liked about this film is Starbuck. I forget the name of the actor, but he does a lot better than Peck. He makes this film come close to working. However I feel that the most recent adaption of Moby Dick, a miniseries made in 2011 with William Hurt and Ethan Hawke, superior in every sense. True the whale in that film isn't really realistic, but comparing it to the one in this version you'll see the improvement. If you want to see a good adaption of the novel watch the 2011 miniseries. I haven't seen the adaption of Moby Dick with Patrick Stewart and Ted Levine, but it looks a lot better than this movie. The only adaption that seems beneath this one is the one made in 2010 by the SyFy channel called 2010: Moby Dick. This movie has horrendous casting, special effects that make Jaws 4 look realistic and a whale that can walk on land. What more can be said about 2010: Moby Dick. Another problem I found a problem in this adaption of Moby Dick is Ishmael. In the books it is hinted that he is a young man of about 20 or so. In this adaption he is portrayed as being in his late thirties or early forties. This film in the end is not worth your time.