Not only is Tracy s work outstanding, THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA must also be recognized for John Sturges direction which keeps the limited setting from stagnating the film. If THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA has a weakness, it is the optical effects, which look horribly artificial, even for a 1958 production. While Warner home Video has made THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA available on DVD in both wide screen and full screen presentations, this review will apply to wide screen version. Although more than forty years old, the film element used to transfer THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA is still in pretty good shape. Of course, there are tiny blemishes and other minor imperfections running through the element, but they are never too disturbing.
Film grain is also noticeable from time to time during the presentation, but it is never offensive.
The image is relatively sharp and has a relatively good level of detail, which sometimes accentuates the limitations in the film's optical effects. Additionally, some of the opticals are soft looking. Color reproduction is very good for a movie originally produced in WarnerColor, which had its share of problems even back in the 1950s. Flesh tones are generally appealing and the colors appear fairly vibrant. Again, opticals sometimes effected how the colors were printed onto the original film elements, which causes some instability in the transfer.