Moby Dick

Orson Wells is a great actor. But for my money the best AHAB is Jack Aranson's MOBY DICK (1978). As someone trained in the Old Vic, he fully captures AHAB'S humanity and madness. When AHAB says "All of life is but a pasteboard mask" , we can fully identify. MOBY DICK ( 1978) is the closest version ever made to the words of America's greatest novelist Herman Melville. As we know, the novel is really not a sea story. Its a story of one man's obsession which turns into madness. Jung stated that Moby Dick was the 1st study of the sub-conscious. To quote AHAB again " I's strike the son if it insulted me." and "Who moves this hand, if not God, talk not to to me of blasphemy."

In this one, Orson Welles proves, more than anything else, that he was not only a directing genius but also a terrific actor. He plays all roles himself, and he's doing an excellent job. However, it suffers from being acted on a blank set and filmed almost entirely in closeups.