The Old Man and the Sea
September 2005 Reviewed by: Josh Barber Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Ernest Hemingway's novella, The Old Man and the Sea, has often been called "unfilmable." After watching two film versions of the tale, I can plainly see why.

The story is that of Santiago (Anthony Quinn), an aging fisherman who knows that his livelihood is guided by the waves. We meet him in the throes of the longest dry spell in his career -- 84 days without a catch. The younger fishermen laugh at him, often openly mocking him, and only a young boy, Manolo (Alexis Cruz), still seems to respect the Old Man. On the 85th day, Santiago sets out for what he is sure will be his finest catch ever.

The Old Man and the Sea is, ultimately, a one-man story, so the weight of the film rests on that one man. In 1958, it was Spencer Tracy, wildly miscast in a role that nonetheless earned him an Oscar; in 1990, it was Anthony Quinn, bringing both Thespian skill -- and some ethnicity -- to the role. Quinn does a good job as the tortured Santiago, but the writing and the rest of the cast bog down the film.

Particularly distracting is a newly invented subplot about an American writer and his wife (Gary Cole and Patricia Clarkson) waiting in the cafe that overlooks the fishermen's landing. Yes, it is a nod to a characteristic theme in Hemingway's writing, and it does take some of the burden off Quinn, but I want to see the Old Man and the Sea, not the Young Couple and the Waiter.

By cutting back to the American writer during Santiago's battle with his fish, director Jud Taylor kills the tension. We don't see an epic fight; we see bits and pieces, interspersed with a man in a cafe watching the ocean. At this point in the novella, readers are asked to contemplate the nature of life and luck. In the film, the audience is presented no such challenges, and the story seems softer for it. While the 1958 version of the film was shot in Cojimar, the Cuban city that inspired the story, in 1990 the US embargo meant that this version had to be relocated to the Virgin Islands. Inconsistent accents, national stereotypes, and a mariachi band all just give the film a false feeling, a set designer's idea of Cuba rather than the actual thing.

Video and sound quality are predictable. The Old Man and the Sea is a 15-year-old film, shot for broadcast on television, probably not using top-of-the-line materials when it was made, so it definitely looks and sounds its age. The scenes at sea tend to be washed out, and backgrounds tend to smear when the focus is in the foreground. It's not awful, but not great, either. There are no extras on the disc.

Both versions of The Old Man and the Sea are definitely worth checking out -- each has unique strengths. The Spencer Tracy version is available on Warner Home Video DVD. But you will be better off renting them first, to see if either is worth a purchase.

• Go Back