Ishmael, a young seaman, signs up for a voyage on the whaling-ship Peaquod, captained by the legendary Ahab. Once at sea, Ahab announces his real purpose - to catch Moby Dick, a monstrous and terrifying white whale no whaler has ever managed to kill.
Herman Melville's classic seafaring novel is a fantastic adventure story, with some of the best sea-dog characters and lingo ever written ("For hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee ... "), and John Huston's film is an exciting and spectacular adaptation. Technically, it is quite superb, primarily due to Huston's sheer devotion to the project, but also because Oswald Morris, Freddie Francis and Arthur Ibbetson, three of the greatest British cameraman of all time, all worked together on it. The depiction of the voyage and the realisation of the whale are terrific, as is the script, by Huston and the great fantasy writer Ray Bradbury. Peck is an unusual choice to play Ahab, who is of course as mad as a brush, but his performance is unforgettable, even though he doesn't appear until the fourth reel. He manages the difficult task of making Ahab seem tortured and human and yet also thoroughly deranged in his obsessive quest to confront his enemy and his fears. The rest of the crew are equally bonkers, and just as much fun - Genn as the mild-mannered first mate Starbuck, Andrews as the grinning Stubb, Miles as the doomy Manxman and especially Ledebur as the giant tattooed Queequeg - and good old Welles throws in a cautionary sermon from the book of Jonah at the start just for extra measure. Avast ye lubbers, splice the mainsail, kiss yer wimmen goodbye forever, down the hatch and enjoy the adventure !!
Herman Melville's classic seafaring novel is a fantastic adventure story, with some of the best sea-dog characters and lingo ever written ("For hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee ... "), and John Huston's film is an exciting and spectacular adaptation. Technically, it is quite superb, primarily due to Huston's sheer devotion to the project, but also because Oswald Morris, Freddie Francis and Arthur Ibbetson, three of the greatest British cameraman of all time, all worked together on it. The depiction of the voyage and the realisation of the whale are terrific, as is the script, by Huston and the great fantasy writer Ray Bradbury. Peck is an unusual choice to play Ahab, who is of course as mad as a brush, but his performance is unforgettable, even though he doesn't appear until the fourth reel. He manages the difficult task of making Ahab seem tortured and human and yet also thoroughly deranged in his obsessive quest to confront his enemy and his fears. The rest of the crew are equally bonkers, and just as much fun - Genn as the mild-mannered first mate Starbuck, Andrews as the grinning Stubb, Miles as the doomy Manxman and especially Ledebur as the giant tattooed Queequeg - and good old Welles throws in a cautionary sermon from the book of Jonah at the start just for extra measure. Avast ye lubbers, splice the mainsail, kiss yer wimmen goodbye forever, down the hatch and enjoy the adventure !!