Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
This had me from the first frame--I mean from the first one twenty-fourth of a second. A ship under sail, the wind alive, the sea dancing. That's all it took, baby. To be broadcast in two parts on August 1 and 2: Moby Dick.
Not having seen it, I can't recommend it, exactly, but it got a good review in the Wall Street Journal, so I looked up the trailer on YouTube. William Hurt as Ahab might be overdoing the aargh, matey pirate talk, but who cares? Men at sea. A quest. Danger. Nobility and madness--and magnificent photography in HD. With, let it be noted, a completely believable Moby. (Computer-generated graphics may finally have reached the point at which they can enhance a drama rather than merely trick it out.) I've already set the Tivo.
Now, since this is Ricochet, and we're always probing reality, learning whatever we can, wherever we can, about politics and culture, a question. Is this just a guy thing? Ladies, when you look at this trailer, do you want to run and set the Tivo, too? Or do your thoughts run more along the lines of, well, "yuck?"
Just askin'.
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May '11
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
Just to add, it will be on Encore.
Jan '11
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
Save yourself some time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKhUoFCBhNE
May '10
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
Compelling drama oughtn't need to appeal only to audiences that share the sex of the protagonists. I like a good "chick flick" as much as any woman if it's well made and tells me something about the human condition.
My girlfriend and I, a couple of years back, watched the 1958 Moby Dick with Gregory Peck and Richard Basehart and both of us enjoyed it immensely. Directed by John Huston, screenplay by Ray Bradbury, a pretty complete film all around.
Call me Ishmael but, after watching the trailer I get the feeling that this new production won't hold up as well as the 1958 version. It is a "men at sea" saga and the cast in the new film just don't seem as, er, manly as the earlier cast. I'm probably wrong here but that's my impression from the trailer.
May '10
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
I'm a sucker for any good sailor story. Is there any word of a sequel to Master and Commander?
Whaling was an amazing industry. Men hunting monsters. A monster is just a creature both frightening and mysterious. Photojournalism and technologies have erased our belief in monsters, but men hunting a giant sperm whale with just longboats and harpoons reminds us.
Oceans are the final frontier.
Feb '11
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
Meself, I love a good tale, whether it is aimed at guys or dolls... This looks like fun. I've always liked William Hurt -- Gorky Park, The Accidental Tourist -- and I loved the Master and Commander movie, even when I didn't (Peter Weir loves the perfect shot, but some of them are a little too stagey, like the shot of Stephen Maturin's viola sitting propped on a chair when Jack Aubrey is debating whether to chase the enemy or go ashore to allow his friend a chance at life -- on a ship, the viola would not be left lying about as in a room on land), and Billy Boyd of course is the kicker -- I'd see him in almost anything!
Jul '11
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
This will be fun. At the very least it will be nostalgic. I grew up in an old New England sea village with the remnants of heroes in the whaling and seafaring museums around me. Anyone pelagically inclined will enjoy this one.
May '10
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
Oh boy. The Man will definitely be wanting to see this since he tells me his favorite book of all time as a boy was Moby Dick. Come to think of it, I'll be looking forward to a nice time of snuggling with The Man to watch this one. Thanks, Peter!
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
Aaron, I'm with you. Master and Commander was one of my favorite films of the last decade.
Russell Crowe apparently wants to do a sequel -- and it was indeed intended as the beginning of a series -- but the film underperformed relative to expectations. I suspect part of the problem was the release strategy. The film came out in late 2003, sandwiched between the first Kill Bill and The Matrix Revolutions on one side and The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King on the other. Not a lot of oxygen left in that room.
As for Moby Dick, perhaps my favorite story of all time (story, not book -- Melville was gifted, no doubt, but entirely self-indulgent at times), I've been waiting for an appropriately grandiose big screen version for years. I'd really love to see Sean Connery come out of retirement to play Captain Ahab.
May '10
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
Yes! Connery seems slightly annoyed even at the best of times. William Hurt is too reserved to be a great Ahab.
I read one or two other novels by Melville, including Typee. I wasn't impressed. But Moby Dick was my favorite book in high school, alongside The Count of Monte Cristo.
Literature of the Victorian era lacks an appreciation of pacing, but demonstrates such a love for language and for philosophical reflection. When combined with high adventure, it's pure gold.
On a different note, I have always felt extraordinarily blessed to have lived during the golden age of underwater photography and marine biology. I spent many a summer on the Gulf with a collection of Jacques Cousteau books and Shark Week on the TV.
May '10
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
I once enthusiastically brought my DVD of The Ghost and The Darkness to watch with a female friend. When the film was over, my friend turned to me, bored, and said something like, "So... it's just some men hunting lions?"
This person teaches college-level English. My first instinct was to weep for her students. But, on reflection, perhaps it is a man's movie.
The Edge is another possible example.
Jun '10
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
It makes me want to run. Away.
I did love Master & Commander. But reading Moby Dick was torture for me & I generally am not a fan of sea faring movies or books.
Nov '10
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
The only woman I've ever known who liked MB was my high school English teacher, and she had whiskers. Stories about hunting anything other than the perfect love are a man thing. Lest you think me misogynist, My Big Fat Greek Wedding is one of my favorite movies.
I'll add that although Hurt is a good actor, topping Gregory Peck's soul-chilling glare and resonant baritone in the 1958 version will not be easy.
May '11
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
Has any one read "Two Years Before the Mast"? Dana's best. A true rendition of sea life in the days of sail.
Jun '10
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
Moby Dick is superb. It's interesting that Melville was not recognized during his life but is now in the pantheon of American writers. The book is a metaphysician's delight. He was way ahead of his time. The metaphysics of Melville is the old style -- they believed in God then. Great understanding of religion and the spiritual life. Nikos Kazantzakis is the closest more modern author to write in this way.
Read Father Mapple's Chapel Sermon sometime and if you believe in God and love the Bible, then it will lift your spirit up. It's a tour de force. Here's Wells' brilliant and very moving portrayal of Father Mapple. My wife loved this movie (Peck and Huston, 1956) but I have to admit that she got a little tired of the endless rolling around in the ship.
Melville's Typee (real cannibals), Omoo, Mardi (surfboarding and "Dreams") Redburn (story of mother and children in Liverpool will break your heart) are simply magnificent! But, don't have people under the age of 25 or 30 read most of these books. It will ruin the child's mind and turn them off of great classics.
Edited on Aug 1, 2011 at 11:08amJul '10
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
*spoiler alert*
As the final credits roll, the camera slowly pans back and exposes that it all took place here.
Apr '11
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
Maybe, if I had premium cable, on which I assume this will be aired. Being a product of public school and a woman, I have not read Moby Dick. However, my husband and I have just scheduled a trip to Maine to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. I plan to go whale watching, which is on my bucket list. So, this show is timely, if only I had premium cable...
Apr '11
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
Jimmy Carter: *spoiler alert*
As the final credits roll, the camera slowly pans back and exposes that it all took place here. · Jul 31 at 4:10pm
Jimmah -- your quote link comes up 403 Forbidden.
Apr '11
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
Jimmy Carter: *spoiler alert*
As the final credits roll, the camera slowly pans back and exposes that it all took place here. · Jul 31 at 4:10pm
Jimmah -- your quote link comes up 403 Forbidden.
Mar '11
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
J. C. Casteel:...
I'll add that although Hurt is a good actor, topping Gregory Peck's soul-chilling glare and resonant baritone in the 1958 version will not be easy. · Jul 31 at 1:09pm
Gregory Peck as Ahab had an enormous inhuman coldness. Hurt (at least in this trailer) doesn't have that black hole in him. Peck is a 'dead man walking' in the Huston version.
As to Master and Commander: that film cries out for a sequel, and Crowe's aging can only add to it's interest.
May '10
Re: Enough with the Summer Reading. Now for Some Summer Viewing: Call Me Ishmael
A great book. "Watch and watch."