Does any one know if they filmed real Whales, the attention to detail on Moby was terrific!
["this is it" "chew some gum your breath smells like my grandmothers feet" THE CHASE[walk]
Of course, at least the massive hunting is performed by professional whalers from Azores, who do kill the whales.Of course, Moby Dick is a rubber model.
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I, a real life, modern day rubber white whale am greatly offended by our portrayal in this movie.
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I, as the real life, missing leg of CaptianAhab, am greatly offended by my portrayal in CaptainAhab's vengeful post.
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In the 1950's, Mad Magazine parodied this version of Moby Dick, and had a caption referring to the big white whale as a "WW2 Surplus Blimp." The parody also noted Captain Ahab's "striking resemblance to Abraham Lincoln."
shareI knew the guy who was one of the whaling consultants in this movie. He offered me two of the lances used in this movie. I delined. What would I ever do with them? Anyway, yes there is footage of whales being harpooned, killed, and cut up in this movie. Whales were actively hunted in the Atlantic up until the mid 1970s.
shareIf you watch the 1st and 2nd whaling scenes closely, all of the real harpooning is done by the Madeira whalers. Shot documentary style by the great British cinematographer Freddie Francis (who was 2nd Unit Cameraman on this and went on to shoot GLORY in the same photographic style as MOBY DICK), these wide and over-the-shoulder shots of the harpooning of the whales are tied together with close-ups of the cast (Leo Genn, Harry Andrews, etc) darting harpoons towards camera. The real whalers are almost identifiable in a few shots during the second whaling sequence. Also of note: In his biography, John Huston claimed, "whaling was not as fraught with danger as one might expect." He was disappointed because he probably thought he could top the thrills he got from bagging lions and elephants in Africa.
shareWell, when you're famous and gone, the harpoons would have been an interesting point in the Jglapin House & Museum. Seriously, Chilean poet Pablo Neruda decorated his houses with maritime themes, which is a touch ironic because although he, as a diplomat, did some sailing, he was afraid to be aboard the boats. Neruda's three houses in Chile are all now museums and lovely places to visit not only because of sentimality over the poet but also because of the maritime decor.
shareI am a long-time "save the whales" kind of guy, but I was fascinated by the whaling sequences! Very authentic...because they were real, apart from the Moby Dick scenes I suppose. I can't believe it's taken me so long to get to this movie. I very much enjoyed it. Near some 30 years ago, an anthropologist friend I was working with had raved to me about the accuracy of the whaling scenes. He studied a group of Native American whaling people and the archaeological site we were focused on has a lot of whale features......whale bone, whale art, mussell-shell harpoon points, cedar whaling canoes, all that. Anyway, I recalled what he told me about the accuracy of the whaling sequences so I was throroughly paying attention!
Great tale. Great movie. Great White Whale!! Great White Whale Tail!
Aye lads. There I was! No $hit!!!