Product: Moby Dick [VHS] (1998)
Rating: 5.0
A powerful retelling of an oft-told tale
I was a bit concerned since this version comes out of Korea, but I must say the technical quality of the DVD was fine. it was very easy to turn off the Korean subtitles (I do read Korean and speak it a bit, but I find the subtitles distracting), and from that point on, it was technically a fine DVD.In terms of the acting, this is my favorite version, with Gregory Peck's version a close second. Peck is more of a smoldering, deep Ahab. Stewart is a fiery, charismatic Ahab. When Quequeg comes out of his death trance and crawls over to Ahab and proclaims, "Me sabe. You god. You god" it's totally believable. Stewart has that kind of presence. Even though everyone on board the ship thinks Ahab is crazy, they are willing to follow him to the death. It made me think of the power Adolph Hitler must have had in 1930s Germany.There are of course a few artistic liberties - variations from Melville's original story. But I do not think any of these detract from the essential story. If you have read Melville, you will enjoy this re-telling. And if you have never waded through Melville's prose, you will find in this version why Moby Dick continues to be a story that is told again, and again, and again. Even if you have the Gregory Peck version (and I hope you do), you will want to buy this one. It's a great version and much superior to some which have come later, IMHO.