Warner Bros.
Directed by John Huston
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, MGM)
The original Melville seeps through into the dialogue, but it's still a gross Hollywood exaggeration. Whaling is a barbaric spectacle romanticized through the ages and perpetuated by this film. The bloody killings on display are mostly miniatures, but there is some footage of real blood spliced into the action and that is a shame. Some of those miniatures are quite obvious and take the viewer out of the film, as well as a baffling scene with "St. Elmo's fire" which has parts of the ship glowing green, tamed by the hand of Ahab. Still, the gradual descent into madness as Ahab pursues the whale and his destiny almost redeems any shortcomings.
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