MovieChat Forums > Moby Dick (1956) Discussion > Surprisingly good special effects

Surprisingly good special effects

posted 15 years ago by Tjcat
8 replies | jump to latest

I FINALLY got to see the 1956 version of Moby Dick and was very impressed.
I expected the whale battle scenes to look like toy rubber whales in a tank.
HOWEVER, to my delight, the whales the crew fought, harpooned and harvested looked like the real thing.
The final battle scenes with Moby Dick were breathtaking.
The Saint Elmo's Fire scenes were spooky and done exceptionally well.
However, I thought the soundtrack to be overbearing, intrusive and interfered with the dialogue.

[–] demonflower_honeythorn 13 years ago

I agree!

The special effects were EXCELLENT, particularly for the time this film was made.

[–] wrfarley 13 years ago

Great mix of miniatures and large scale whale models.

[–] dreamonforever1 13 years ago

the effects are marvelous for the time period this film was made in, and i love the "intrusive and overbearing" music :-P
particularly in those scenes involving ahab and his crew is the music effective in conveying his obsession and the mens' admiration for/fear of him.

i don't usually compare books and their film adaptations, but - having read the novel - this film does a great job with the spiritual themes in the book. that may be because it was co-written by huston and ray bradbury.

gregory peck's best performance i.m.o., among a career of great performances.

gregory 010812.

[–] intexor 13 years ago

Yeah those effects were done surprisingly well and they also aged well. A lot of epic classic movies may still be good or impressive movies today, but their effects often look laughable.

[–] spookyrat1 10 years ago

Very impressive for a 60 year old film and the stories surrounding the constructing and filming of the Moby vs Hunters' battle scenes are just as entertaining.

[–] ziggystar86 10 years ago

Yep definetely very impressive for a 60 year old film. Couldn't have done much better now, I wonde4r how they did the whale, propably some kind of miniatures, but it really looked like they were there. I liked the the way the film was coloured too.

[–] Times_Up 9 years ago

I agree. This movie is awesome. Great effects that amaze in the same way the 1933 King Kong still can today. Peck gave a masterful performance of a beast of a man.

All good things must come to an end - Chaucer

[–] Etherdave (175) 3 years ago

Some of the whaling footage is actual, from the whaling fleet of Madeira, Portugal, which director Huston duly acknowledges at the end of the opening credits.