Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

ThiefHott Too much of everything

Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

kayaker36 For some strange reason Texas-born Henry Thomas affects an Irish brogue in his portrayal of Ishmael, the narrator in Melville's towering novel written in the second person. It is this young schoolmaster's first experience with the sea but former child actor Thomas takes the wide-eyed innocent thing too far. But this time at least the part went to an actor of appropriate age.Patrick Stewart is best known to American audiences as Capt. Luc Picard in the syndicated TV series "Star Trek--The Next Generation". As Captain Ahab, speaking in accents midway between British and American, he really does seem like a Nantucket man out of the 1840's. He is diabolic, obsessed, yet sea-wise and with considerable personal magnetism. As first mate Starbuck, husky, stolid Ted Levine gives the performance of his career. He plays the part in an understated fashion, does not try for any period accent, yet there is real conviction in his portrayal of a man of conscience who knows he is serving a captain who will lead the ship and crew to destruction yet is bound by his oath of fealty.A genuine South Pacific Islander, Piripi a New Zealender of Maori descent, plays the harpooner Quequeg in this production. He has a fine speaking voice and turns in a creditable performance despite some occasional over the top routines.The scene where the two, Quequeg and Ishmael, go aboard the **Pequod** at its berth in Nantucket harbor and are questioned by the owners is particularly well acted. It is evident that these are sharp businessmen for all their Quaker dress and speech.As this was a made-for-television production, the special effects are less spectacular than even the Hollywood filming forty years earlier.

d-millhoff I rented this remake with high expectations.I was disappointed.In four hours, they failed to tell half the story Huston and Bradbury got so perfectly right in the 1956 classic.Huston's classic is a little dated, particularly in terms of special effects that look like the miniatures they in fact are. While the CGI whale in this remake is a refreshingly-convincing manifestation of a 60-foot sperm whale, it's not Moby Dick.This movie is bright and colorful, and the whale's just a whale. The cast doesn't come across as seasoned whalers, it feels like actors playing weekend yachtsmen, thanks in no small part to a script that can't seem to respect the intelligence of its audience.Moby Dick is a dark, slow story of building, brooding menace, which makes the moments of action all the more thrilling and terrifying.This remake captures none of the atmosphere or colorful character or menace of Melville's classic. At its best moments, it's simply re-hashing moments that were were perfected 42 years before.If you want to see Moby Dick, see John Huston's 1956 masterpiece.

Wyrmis There has been some debate as to what precisely Melville meant by the story of Moby Dick. On one hand, it is a whaling story which is largely based on shipping legend and fact. On another level, there is a lot of reference to Moby Dick the whale being self-referential to the book itself (white beast with black blood, he describes the whale as being a large book at one point). Ultimately, though, most readers find a two pronged story which is search for God on one hand (Ahab's need for revenge and Ishmael's need for purpose and love, note that both names also refer to biblical characters) and is the passionate bonding between males on the other. Unfortuneately, it is in these two areas that the movie does not quite portray the book with due respect.Now, there is plenty of bonding and Ishmael does sort of get jostled around as per normal, but Melville did not want this to be the standard group of "older men ragging the new". These men, in the book, developed a passionate bond for one another. Ishmael's deep loneliness lead to his deep love for his fellow crew. As for the search for God, the movie has some of the key scenes to suggest Ahab wants to slay the greatest of God's creatures because he feels his life has been failed and to suggest needed to get away because his life had no meaning. Yet, for the most part, the scenes become much more "sea adventure" oriented and I am not sure that there is much hey could have done to fix it considering the media of choice. I think they could have at least given Father Mapple more passion in his scene and the painting at the beginning (which suggests both the three crosses of Christ and a whale killed by a the three masts of a ship at the same) which offers a great thematic moment could have done more besides show up briefly as it did. It is almost as though they expected one to have read the book and to know what they were talking about.Finally, as far as the movie's lacks go, they cut out most of the (usually tongue-in-cheek) humor of the book.Now, as a made for TV movie, it is good stuff. Some of the acting is pretty sketchy at times and there are a few places where the special effects flat out fail in their purpose, but overall the movie is worth watching. Stewart plays a different version of Ahab than what I pictured, but at the same time his version has a lot of life and passion which is good. The other acting had moments of perfect time and moments of almost the opposite, but no scene comes directly to mind where the movie "cracks".The pacing of the movie actually sort of improves upon the stop-go style of the book. I think some of the visuals were a little less gory than they should be (this is a violent tale with a good deal of blood and despair in the original) but most of the cues are there for those who have read the book.Because of such things as this, I almost feel as though one needs to read the book to fill in the gaps, or the story does not get the treatment it deserves. But, as long you know more of the depth of the story, the movie is a decent vessel for which to carry it in. 7/10

TexasRedge I didn't even know that this film even existed until one day I was at the check-out counter at my local Wal-Mart store and the had a shelf/table full of discounted videos(you know-the ones thay couldn't sell at full price,so they move them to the front of the store and mark the price way down) And being a lover of films, I took the liberty to sift through these to see if there was anything there that might peek my interest. ....and that is when I found Moby Dick. So,I purchased the film for only $3.99I remember reading Moby Dick in my 8th grade Jr.High class and I also remeber that I didn't like it, and I remeber wondering why this story had been so popular for so many years, and I remeber wondering why it had became such a timeless classic. Dispite the fact that I didn't like Moby Dick as a novel, for some reason I though I might Enjoy this film. Seeing how I only had $4 bucks invested in it - it seemed that I couldn't go wrong.I ended up liking everything about this film but the story.The Music is first rate, the costumes are great,The acting is very well done. In fact this is one of the best quality Made for TV films of the 1990's (exclunding epic mini-series which are always done much better than single Made for TV films like this one). My problem with Moby Dick was that the source material for this film(the Moby Dick novel itself)isn't good to start with. Once again just like when I was 14 and in the 8th grade (only now I'm 32) I must admit that my yunger 14 year old self was right. this story is pointless. Captain Ahab chases a Albino(White) whale all over the world because he is own a revenge quest to kill the great white whale nick-named Moby Dick. only to get him self and his entire crew killed in the process. leaving only the stories main charactor as the sole survivor.Once again at age 32(just like when I was 14)I found myself wondering why this story has managed to stand up to the test and time and still remain one of the worlds great literary classics. The story has always been pointless to me. However this movie did absoletly the best they could with the source material that had. I guess the best way to make a movie thats not very good is to base it on a classic novel that not very good to start with.I gave this film 6 out of 10 stars- only because the production,Music, cast and crew did a very fine job. it the story Moby Dick that stinks