Details
Movie Description
In New Bedford, Connecticut, in the 1800s, a group of seamen board the Pequod, captained by Ahab (Gregory Peck). They know they're out to harpoon whales; what they don't realize is that Ahab once lost a leg to the magnificent white whale Moby Dick, and that he'll risk anything to get back at the animal that maimed him--including himself and every member of his crew. John Huston's adaptation of Melville's symbolic and allegorical masterpiece about one man's obsession with battling nature's most powerful creature makes beautiful use of Technicolor in bringing one of literature's most beloved works to vivid life. Ray Bradbury wrote the screenplay for this first-rate adaptation of Herman Melville's 1851 novel.
Synopsis
John Huston's adaptation of Melville's symbolic and allegorical masterpiece about one man's obsession with battling one of nature's most powerful creatures.
In New Bedford, Connecticut in the 1800s, a group of seamen board the Pequod, captained by Ahab. They know they're out to harpoon whales; what they don't realize is that Ahab once lost a leg to the magnificent white whale Moby Dick, and that he'll risk anything to get back at the animal that maimed him... including himself and every member of his crew.
Film Notes
A Moulin production.
Shot in location in Ireland, Madeira, Wales, the Canary Islands, and London's Elstree Studios.
Budget estimate at least $5 million.
At one time, Orson Welles, who plays a small role in this version, had hoped to direct "Moby Dick" himself. Even before he made his first film, "Citizen Kane", he proposed the project to RKO, but he never succeeded in getting the okay to proceed.
Color by Technicolor.
Industry Reviews
"...Eccentric.....It is brilliantly shot by British cinematographer Oswald Morris in rich, dark colours..."
Sight and Sound - Geoffrey Macnab (05/01/2000)
"[I]t does have a heady richness -- you can really smell the brine. There's no question that the film's visual scheme bears the influence of Welles."
Premiere - Andy Webster (05/01/2006)
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