Adaptations of Moby-Dick
Encyclopedia
Moby-Dick
is an 1851 novel
by Herman Melville
which describes the voyage of the whaleship Pequod, led by Captain Ahab, who leads his crew on a hunt for the whale Moby-Dick. The novel has been adapted a number of times in various media.
The vague and uncertain prophet of the text, ambivalent about religion
, is replaced in both the 1956, 1998 and 2010 movie adaptations with a prescient Elijah who foretells the fate of the Pequod with confident precision.
The 1956 film
has Elijah waving his lame arm in pantomime foretelling Ahab's demise, and Ahab (played by Gregory Peck
) moves his own arm in fulfillment of Elijah's prophecy.
In the 1998 television
adaptation, Elijah warns that captain and crew shall all perish except one, and that by signing on they have effectively signed away their souls; Queequeg asks Ishmael what a soul is, to which Ishmael responds by leading Queequeg to a Christian church where Father Mapple (played by Gregory Peck
) preaches the story of Jonah
. (In the text, the Jonah sermon occurs before Ishmael meets Elijah, and Queequeg leaves the chapel "before the benediction some time.")
The 2011 television miniseries has Elijah confront Ahab's wife (played by Gillian Anderson
) as she leaves the church where Father Mapple has just preached his sermon, to openly reveal to her that on this voyage Ahab will die, and that he knows it. When she haughtily demands to know the reason for this prophecy, all he tells her is that he would never sail with Ahab again.
Ahab's wife:
Described by Ahab as his "girl-wife" in the text, we know no more about her, as she has no name. In the 2011 television mini-series, her name is Elizabeth and she and Ahab's son are used to show his home life and lay the foundation of his obsession with seeking the whale. Shown as a loving wife, she begs her husband to come to church with her, and Ahab refuses, stating he has no belief that God exists.
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
is an 1851 novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
which describes the voyage of the whaleship Pequod, led by Captain Ahab, who leads his crew on a hunt for the whale Moby-Dick. The novel has been adapted a number of times in various media.
Film
- A 19261926 in film-Events:*August - Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan. The Vitaphone system used multiple 33⅓ rpm disc records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back audio synchronized with film....
silent movieSilent MovieSilent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...
, The Sea BeastThe Sea BeastThe Sea Beast is a silent film adaptation of the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville, a story about a monomaniacal hunt for a great white whale...
, starring John BarrymoreJohn BarrymoreJohn Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
as a heroic Ahab with a fiancée and an evil brother, loosely based on the novel. Remade as Moby DickMoby Dick (1930 film)Moby Dick is a 1930 film made by Warner Bros., directed by Lloyd Bacon, and starring John Barrymore and Joan Bennett. The film is a sound remake of the 1926 silent movie, The Sea Beast, starring Barrymore, which uses exactly the same plot as the 1930 version.- Plot :The film tells of a sea...
in 19301930 in film-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
, a version in which Ahab kills the whale and returns home to the woman he loves (played by Joan BennettJoan BennettJoan Geraldine Bennett was an American stage, film and television actress. Besides acting on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 motion pictures from the era of silent movies well into the sound era...
). - Moby Dick RehearsedMoby Dick RehearsedMoby Dick Rehearsed is the title of a play written and directed by Orson Welles. It was performed in London in 1955. A lost film of the play, directed by Welles, starred the original stage cast....
, a "play within a play" directed by Orson WellesOrson WellesGeorge Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
. A performance of the play was filmed in 1955, but is now considered lost. - Moby DickMoby Dick (1956 film)Moby Dick is a 1956 film adaptation of Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick. It was directed by John Huston with a screenplay by Ray Bradbury and the director. The film starred Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, and Leo Genn...
, a 19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
filmFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by John HustonJohn HustonJohn Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
and starring Gregory PeckGregory PeckEldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
as Captain Ahab, with screenplay by Ray BradburyRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
. - Woody WoodpeckerWoody WoodpeckerWoody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...
: Dopey Dick the Pink WhaleDopey Dick the Pink WhaleDopey Dick the Pink Whale is the 80th animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series. Released theatrically on November 15, 1957, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal International.-References:...
was directed by Paul J. Smith and released in 1957. Woody is shanghaied onto the Peapod by Dapper Denver Dooley to go after the whale that bit him. - Tom and JerryTom and JerryTom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
: Dicky MoeDicky MoeDicky Moe is a Tom and Jerry cartoon produced in 1961 and released in 1962. It was directed by Gene Deitch and produced by William L. Snyder. Dicky Moes Japanese title is , which literally translates into white whale. In Hungarian, Dicky Moe is translated as "Morbid dög." The plotline and title of...
was directed by Gene DeitchGene DeitchEugene Merril "Gene" Deitch is an American illustrator, animator and film director. He has been based in Prague, capital of Czechoslovakia and the present-day Czech Republic, since 1959. Since 1968, Deitch has been the leading animation director for the Connecticut organization Weston...
and released in 1962. The peg-legged but unnamed Ahab-like captain of the Komquot is maniacally obsessed with hunting the great white whale Dicky Moe. When his crew desert, he shanghais Tom and makes him do the work of the whole crew while seamouse Jerry bedevils him. When Dicky Moe is finally sighted, the captain fires a harpoon gun but the rope attached to the harpoon is also looped around Tom's leg and drags the cat off the ship. The whale swims off with Tom lashed to its side and the captain screaming, "Come back with my whale!" - Moby DickMoby Dick (1971 film)Moby Dick is an unfinished film by Orson Welles, filmed in 1971. It is not to be confused with the incomplete 1955 film Welles made of his meta-play Moby Dick Rehearsed....
, an unfinished 1971 film featuring readings from the book by Orson WellesOrson WellesGeorge Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
. The footage was unedited in Welles' lifetime, but was posthumously compiled in 1999 by the Munich Film Museum. - Moby DickMoby Dick (1978 film)Moby Dick is a 1978 filmed one-man version of Herman Melville's classic Moby Dick. The film starred Jack Aranson, a Shakespearean actor trained in the Old Vic, and was directed by Paul Stanley....
, featuring Jack AransonJack AransonJack Aranson was an American actor, trained in Ireland and England, noted for acting in many Shakespeare plays and several one-man shows. He was one of the last actor/managers, creating and managing several small companies in California and New York.Jack played 13 characters in his one man...
as Captain Ahab, was filmed in 1978 and released in November 2005 on DVD. The director was Paul StanleyPaul Stanley (director)Paul Stanley was an American television director.Stanley worked in television from the early 1950s until the mid-1980s...
. - The 1984 animated film Samson & Sally:Song of the WhalesSamson & SallySamson & Sally is a Danish feature-length animated film made in 1984. It was directed by Jannik Hastrup and based on the novel The Song of the Whales by Danish author Bent Haller...
involves a young white whale named Samson who searches for Moby-Dick after hearing a legend that Moby-Dick would one day return to save all the whales. The sinking of the Pequod is shown as the young whale's mother tells him the story of Moby Dick. The film was alternately titled "The Secret of Moby Dick" in some other countries. - The 1986 animated film Dot and the WhaleDot and the WhaleDot and the Whale is an Australian animated film from 1986. It is based on the character Dot from the animated film Dot and the Kangaroo , which in turn was based on the children's book of the same name by Ethel Pedley.-Plot:...
involves the character Dot embarking on a search for Moby-Dick in hope of helping a beached whale. - In 1999, a 25-minute paint-on-glassPaint-on-glass animationPaint-on-glass animation is a technique for making animated films by manipulating slow-drying oil paints on sheets of glass. Gouache mixed with glycerine is sometimes used instead...
-animated adaptation was made by the Russian studio Man and Time, directed by Natalya Orlova. http://animator.ru/db/?ver=eng&p=show_film&fid=1758 It was made for the British market, and so was in English. http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/620100 Rod SteigerRod SteigerRodney Stephen "Rod" Steiger was an Academy Award-winning American actor known for his performances in such films as On the Waterfront, The Big Knife, Oklahoma!, The Harder They Fall, Across the Bridge, The Pawnbroker, Doctor Zhivago, In the Heat of the Night, and Waterloo as well as the...
was the voice of Captain Ahab. The film came in third place at the 5th Open Russian Festival of Animated Film5th Open Russian Festival of Animated FilmThe 5th Open Russian Festival of Animated Film was held in from Feb. 10-14 in 2000 at a boarding house called "Birch Grove" two kilometres from the town of Tarusa, Russia. Animated works from the past three years from the Russian Federation were accepted. Along with auteur films, commercial reels,...
. It is currently sold on DVD as part of the "World Literary Classics" series. - Capitaine AchabCapitaine AchabCapitaine Achab is a 2004 French short film directed by Philippe Ramos. It is an unusual interpretation of Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. In this movie, Achab falls in love with Louise, whose white skin is symbolized in his dreams by the whale Moby Dick. This movie was presented at the Cannes Film...
a 20042004 in filmThe year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
movie directed by Philippe RamosPhilippe RamosPhilippe Ramos is a French film director. He was born in France in 1966. He directed a very unusual adaptation of Moby-Dick: Capitaine Achab with Valérie Crunchant and Frédéric Bonpart in 2004....
, with Valérie CrunchantValérie CrunchantValérie Crunchant is a French actress.She was born in Évry, Essonne, a suburb of Paris.Valérie Crunchant appears in All the fine promises , directed and written by Jean-Paul Civeyrac in which she was very graceful as the young Ghislaine.In Capitaine Achab directed by Philippe Ramos she...
and Frédéric Bonpart. - Moby Dick, a 20102010 in filmThe year 2010 saw many new films released worldwide. 2010 saw a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking and film releases after the success of Avatar in the format, with releases such as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Jackass 3D, all animated films and...
film adaptation starring Barry BostwickBarry BostwickBarry Knapp Bostwick is an American actor and singer. He is known for playing Brad Majors in the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, replacing Peter Scolari as Mr. Tyler in the sitcom What I Like About You, and playing mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom Spin City...
as Ahab and made by The AsylumThe AsylumThe Asylum is an American film studio and distributor which focuses on producing low-budget, usually direct-to-video productions. The studio has produced titles that capitalize on productions by major studios; these titles have been dubbed "mockbusters" by the press.-History:The Asylum was founded...
.
Television
- A 1964 episode of Mr. MagooMr. MagooQuincy Magoo is a cartoon character created at the UPA animation studio in 1949. Voiced by Jim Backus, Quincy Magoo is a wealthy, short-statured retiree who gets into a series of sticky situations as a result of his nearsightedness, compounded by his stubborn refusal to admit the problem...
saw Ishmael Quincey Magoo hunting the great white whale. - A 1964 episode of The FlintstonesThe FlintstonesThe Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
called Adobe Dick saw Fred and the gang encounter the great "whaleasaurus" during a Lodge fishing trip. This episode also mixed in aspects of Mutiny on the Bounty by sailing on the HMS Bountystone commanded by Captain Blah. - In 1967, the Hanna-BarberaHanna-BarberaHanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
series Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor featured the whale in adventures with two boys he had rescued. - A 1991 episode of the cartoon series BeetlejuiceBeetlejuiceBeetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros...
titled "Moby Richard" had Beetlejuice and Lydia putting on 'Disasterpiece Theatre,' and deciding to do Moby Dick as their first episode. But Moby "Richard" refuses to change the classic to suit Beetlejuice's notions of what a classic should be, and quits - but not without insulting BJ first. BJ lets the character of Captain Ahab take him over, and leads the others on a dangerous mission through Sandworm Land to get revenge on the whale. - A Japanese animated adaptation of Moby-Dick, called Hakugei: Legend of the Moby DickHakugei: Legend of the Moby Dickis an animated Japanese television series, based on Herman Melville's original novel Moby-Dick. However, this adaptation used futuristic outer space as the setting, with "whales" being large abandoned spaceships instead. It aired from 1997 to 1999, albeit with a suspension of new episodes from...
, was produced in 1997. - Moby DickMoby Dick (1998 miniseries)Moby Dick is a television miniseries based on Herman Melville's 1851 novel of the same name, filmed in Australia in 1997 and first released in the United States in 1998.-Cast and crew:...
, a 1998 television movie starring Patrick StewartPatrick StewartSir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
as Ahab, won a Golden Globe for Gregory PeckGregory PeckEldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
as Father Mapple - Moby Dick et le Secret de Mu, a 2005 LuxembourgLuxembourgLuxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
ian/FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
animated series produced by Benoît Petit. - Moby DickMoby Dick (miniseries)Moby Dick is a television miniseries based on Herman Melville's 1851 novel of the same name, produced by RHI Entertainment, Tele München Gruppe, and Gate Filmproduktion. Starring William Hurt as Captain Ahab, it was directed by Mike Barker with a screenplay by Nigel Williams...
, a 2011 television mini series directed by Mike BarkerMike Barker (film director)- Filmography :*Butterfly on a Wheel *A Good Woman *To Kill a King *Lorna Doone *Best Laid Plans *The James Gang - External links :*...
, starring William HurtWilliam HurtWilliam McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...
as Ahab and Ethan HawkeEthan HawkeEthan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
as Starbuck. - Age of the DragonsAge of the DragonsAge of the Dragons is a 2011 fantasy film starring Danny Glover and Vinnie Jones, directed by Ryan Little.Age of the Dragons is a re-imagining of Herman Melville's classic novel Moby Dick. It was released in the UK on March 4, 2011...
is a 2011 made-for-television fantasy film. It was directed by Ryan LittleRyan LittleRyan Little is a movie director, cinematographer and producer. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-Awards and nominations:*Won, 2006, Heartland Film Festival's Crystal Heart Award for independent filmmakers, for Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy*Won, 2003, Viewer's Choice...
and adapts the Moby-Dick story to a fantasy setting with a white dragon. - On the April 29, 2011 broadcast of Phineas and FerbPhineas and FerbPhineas and Ferb is an American animated television comedy series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel, the series follows Phineas Flynn and his English stepbrother Ferb Fletcher on summer vacation. Every day the boys embark on some grand new project, which...
, in the episode "Belly of the Beast", the boys create a giant mechanical shark for the annual Danville Harbor celebrations. CandaceCandace FlynnCandace Gertrude Flynn is a main character of the popular Disney Channel animated television series Phineas and Ferb, voiced by Ashley Tisdale and created and designed by Dan Povenmire. She acts as the main antagonist of the series in her endless attempts to "bust" her brothers, but in some...
and her friend Stacy join a peg-legged Ahab-like captain aboard his ship The Pea-quad in chasing the giant shark, hurling harpoons made of toilet plungers. When the captain is supposedly devoured by the shark, Candace assumes command and an Ahab-like personality, even paraphrasing Ahab's curse: "From Danville Harbor I stab at thee; for bustings' sake I spit my last spit at thee!". The rope attached to one of the plunger harpoons fired from the cannon gets looped around her ankle and she becomes lashed to the side of the shark in Ahab-fashion. - "Möbius DickMöbius Dick (Futurama)"Möbius Dick", is the fifteenth episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom Futurama. It aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 4, 2011.- Plot :...
" is a sixth-season episode of the series FuturamaFuturamaFuturama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
that first aired on August 4, 2011. Leela becomes obsessed with hunting a four-dimensional space whale. - "Ramlak Rising" is a first-season episode of the 2011 ThunderCats seriesThunderCats (2011 TV series)ThunderCats is an American animated television series executive produced by Sam Register, and produced by Ethan Spaulding and Michael Jelenic and is a reboot of the original series by Tobin "Ted" Wolf. It is produced by Warner Bros. Animation with animation provided by the Japanese Studio 4°C.The...
that first aired on August 5, 2011. The captain of a ship obsessively hunts a creature called a Ramlak. - In the One PieceOne Pieceis a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997; the individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997, and the 64th volume released as...
manga, Yonkou Whitebeard's ship is named Moby Dick.
Radio
- On October 19 and 26, 1947, Columbia WorkshopColumbia WorkshopColumbia Workshop was a radio series that aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from 1936 to 1943, returning in 1946-47.-Irving Reis:...
broadcast a two-part adaptation starring Neil O'Mally, Sidney Smith and Charles Irving. - On February 4, 1947, NBC's Favorite Story, hosted by Ronald ColmanRonald ColmanRonald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
, broadcast a half-hour adaptation starring Howard DuffHoward DuffHoward Green Duff was an American actor of film, television, stage, and radio.Duff was born in Charleston, Washington, now a part of Bremerton. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in Seattle in 1932 where he began acting in school plays only after he was cut from the basketball team...
as Ishmael, Frank LovejoyFrank LovejoyFrank Lovejoy was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He was born Frank Lovejoy Jr. in Bronx, New York, but grew up in New Jersey. His father, Frank Lovejoy Sr., was a furniture salesman from Maine...
as Starbuck and William ConradWilliam ConradWilliam Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television....
as Ahab. - The 1949 CBCCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
radio adaptation starred Lorne GreeneLorne GreeneLorne Greene , was the stage name of Lyon Himan Green, OC, a Canadian actor.His television roles include Ben Cartwright on the western Bonanza, and Commander Adama in the science fiction movie and subsequent TV Series Battlestar Galactica...
as Captain Ahab. - On November 8, 1953, NBC Star Playhouse broadcast a one-hour production starring Fredric MarchFredric MarchFredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
and Nelson OlmstedNelson OlmstedNelson Olmsted, was an actor in films, recordings, radio and television from the 1950s to the 1970s. Sometimes billed as Nelson Olmstead, he was best known for an unusual NBC radio series, Sleep No More , in which he narrated his own adaptations of terror tales and science-fantasy stories...
. - The 2006 BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
broadcast play stars F. Murray AbrahamF. Murray AbrahamFahrid Murray Abraham is an American actor. He became known during the 1980s after winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. He has appeared in many roles, both leading and supporting, in films such as All the President's Men and Scarface...
as Ishmael and Fritz WeaverFritz WeaverFritz William Weaver is an American actor and voice actor.-Life and career:Weaver was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Elsa W. and John Carson Weaver. His mother was of Italian descent and his father was a social worker from Pittsburgh. Weaver attended Peabody High School...
as Captain Ahab. - In October 2010, BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Classic Serial broadcast a new two-part adaptation of the novel by Stef PenneyStef PenneyStef Penney is a film-maker and writer.She grew up in the Scottish capital and turned to film-making after a degree in Philosophy and Theology from Bristol University. She made three short films before studying Film and TV at Bournemouth College of Art, and on graduation was selected for the...
, produced and directed by Kate McAllKate McAllKate McAll is Executive Producer, Radio Drama at BBC Wales. There she is a radio director and producer for BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4. Her credits include How I Live Now and The Worst Journey in the World , along with seven Torchwood radio episodes.-Radio Plays:Sources:* * * -References:...
with specially composed music by Stuart GordonStuart GordonAfter the University of Wisconsin demanded future theatrical productions by Screw Theater be overseen by a University Professor, Gordon cut his University ties to form Broom Street Theater. Its first production, the new translation of the risque Lysistrata, premiered in May 1969. Gordon is...
and starring Garrick HagonGarrick HagonGarrick Hagon is a film, stage, television and radio actor best known for his role as Biggs Darklighter in Star Wars: A New Hope. His many films include Batman, Spy Game, Me and Orson Welles and The Message...
as Ahab, Trevor White as the narrating Ishmael, P.J. Brennan as the young Ishmael of the story, Richard Laing as Starbuck and Sani Muliaumaseali'i as Queequeg.
Stage
- Moby Dick RehearsedMoby Dick RehearsedMoby Dick Rehearsed is the title of a play written and directed by Orson Welles. It was performed in London in 1955. A lost film of the play, directed by Welles, starred the original stage cast....
, a "play within a play" directed by Orson WellesOrson WellesGeorge Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
. Welles starred in the original LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
production, while Rod SteigerRod SteigerRodney Stephen "Rod" Steiger was an Academy Award-winning American actor known for his performances in such films as On the Waterfront, The Big Knife, Oklahoma!, The Harder They Fall, Across the Bridge, The Pawnbroker, Doctor Zhivago, In the Heat of the Night, and Waterloo as well as the...
starred in the original BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production. - Writer Julian Rad and Director Hilary Adams created a bare stage adaptation of Moby Dick that premiered in New York City in 2003. The Off-Off Broadway "play with music" was nominated for three 2004 Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
s: Outstanding Play (Julian Rad, writer/Works Productions, producer), Outstanding Director of a Play (Hilary Adams) and Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (Michael Berry as Starbuck). Moby Dick was the first Off-Off Broadway production to ever be nominated in the Play and Director categories in the 50 year history of the Drama Desk Award. - Moby Dick! The Musical, a 1990s West EndWest End theatreWest End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
musical about a girls' boarding school production of the classic tale - In the late 1990s, performance artist Laurie AndersonLaurie AndersonLaura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
produced the multimedia stage presentation Songs and Stories From Moby Dick. Several songs from this project were included on her 2001 in music CD, Life on a String. - In 2000, Jim Burke's adaptation of Moby Dick toured the UK aboard Walk-the-PlankWalk the Plank (theatre company)Walk the Plank are a British group of artists, theatre makers, pyrotechnicians and event engineers who specialise in outdoor arts/theatre, touring performance and pyrotechnics....
's theatre ship, the Fitzcarraldo, in a co-production with Liverpool company Kaboodle. It won Best New Play and Best Fringe Production in the Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards. - In 2008, a production of Moby Dick was commissioned by and performed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada. The adaptation was written and directed by Morris PanychMorris PanychStephen Morris Panych is a Canadian playwright, director and actor.Morris Panych was born in Calgary and grew up in Edmonton. He studied at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and the University of British Columbia...
and was unique, among other things, for being performed on a revolving stage, for stage movement that was more like ballet, and for having no dialogue actually spoken by the cast (all narration/speech was pre-recorded and played over the action) until the very end when Ishmael is rescued by the Rachel; holding Queequeg's little idol close to him, he speaks aloud "Call me Ishmael." The production was performed at the Studio Theater from July 22 to October 18, 2008 and starred David Ferry as "Captain Ahab", Shaun Smyth as "Ishmael", Eddie Glen as "Flask", Marcus Nance as "Queequeg" and Kelly Grainger, Alison Jantzie, and Lynda Sing as "The Sirens/Whale". - Composer Jake HeggieJake HeggieJake Heggie is an American composer and pianist.Jake Heggie is the composer of the operas Dead Man Walking , The End of the Affair , At The Statue of Venus , To Hell and Back , and Moby-Dick , as well as the stage work For a Look or a Touch...
composed Moby Dick for the Dallas OperaDallas OperaThe Dallas Opera is an opera company located in Dallas, Texas . The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic Opera by Laurence Kelly and Nicolà Rescigno, both of whom had been active with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the first as administrator, the second as artistic director.-The company's...
's inaugural season in the Winspear Opera House. It premiered on April 30, 2010 with Ben HeppnerBen HeppnerBen Heppner, CC is a Canadian tenor, specializing in opera and other classical works for voice.Heppner was born in Murrayville, British Columbia, and lived in Dawson Creek...
as Captain Ahab.
Music
- Moby Dick, a cantata for male soloists, chorus and orchestra, written in 1938 by the composer Bernard HerrmannBernard HerrmannBernard Herrmann was an American composer noted for his work in motion pictures.An Academy Award-winner , Herrmann is particularly known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, most famously Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo...
, and dedicated to Charles IvesCharles IvesCharles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
. Sir John Barbirolli conducted the New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
in its premiere. - Led ZeppelinLed ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
's eighth track from the Led Zeppelin IILed Zeppelin IIThe finished tracks reflect the raw, evolving sound of the band and their ability as live performers. The album has been noted for featuring a further development of the lyrical themes established by Robert Plant on Led Zeppelin's debut album, creating a work which would become more widely...
album was also known by other names throughout the years ("Pat's Delight" and "Over the Top") but is most well-known as carrying the title of the Herman Melville's novel. - W. Francis McBethW. Francis McBethWilliam Francis McBeth was born March 9, 1933, in Ropesville, Texas .McBeth is a prolific composer, whose wind band works are highly respected. His primary musical influences include Clifton Williams, Bernard Rogers, and Howard Hanson...
composed a five-movement suite for wind band named Of Sailors and Whales which is based on scenes from the book Moby-Dick. The bombastic suite begins with the quiet "Ishmael", which builds to a heavy climax. "Queequeg" follows with a flitting melody and ends with bleak chords and finally a quick note at the end. The middle movement "Father Mapple" is supposed to be a hymn that an imaginary man sings during the voyage. This movement is actually sung by the band, and begins very wearily but has a rather strong ending. The next movement is "Ahab" which readily depicts the captain. The same is true of "The White Whale", the final movement of the suite and by far one of the most fearsome pieces composed for a wind band. Each movement is preceded by some text supposed to be read to give an indication of the movement. - Composer Peter WestergaardPeter WestergaardPeter Talbot Westergaard is an American composer and music theorist. He is Professor Emeritus of music at Princeton University.-Biography:...
has composed Moby Dick: Scenes From an Imaginary Opera, an operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic work for five soloists, chorus and chamber orchestra entitled The work was premiered in October 2004 in PrincetonPrinceton, New JerseyPrinceton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Its libretto draws on the parts of the novel that deal with Ahab's obsession with the whale. - Progressive metal band MastodonMastodonMastodons were large tusked mammal species of the extinct genus Mammut which inhabited Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Central America from the Oligocene through Pleistocene, 33.9 mya to 11,000 years ago. The American mastodon is the most recent and best known species of the group...
released LeviathanLeviathanLeviathan , is a sea monster referred to in the Bible. In Demonology, Leviathan is one of the seven princes of Hell and its gatekeeper . The word has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature...
in 2004. The album is loosely based on the Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick.
Comics and graphic novels
- In 1956 Dell Comics adapted the story in Four Color #717
- In 1965 Adventure ComicsAdventure ComicsAdventure Comics was a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983 and then revamped from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues , making it the fifth-longest-running DC series, behind Detective Comics, Action Comics, Superman, and Batman...
#332 featured "The Super-Moby Dick of Space" with the Legion of Super-HeroesLegion of Super-HeroesThe Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
' Lightning Lad in a role analogous to that of Captain Ahab, after he has to have a robotic arm replace his own due to the Creature making his lightning bolts reflect back at him, and concussion from a crash gives him a more aggressive personality. However, instead of killing the creature he shrinks it down to its original size; it is revealed to be a metal-eating creature that was accidentally grown to gigantic size by a Scientist. - In 1976 Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
adapted the story in Marvel Classics Comics #8. - In 1977 King Features adapted the story in King Classics #3.
- A 1990 Classics IllustratedClassics IllustratedClassics Illustrated is a comic book series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as Moby Dick, Hamlet, and The Iliad. Created by Albert Kanter, the series began publication in 1941 and finished its first run in 1971, producing 169 issues. Following the series' demise, various companies...
graphic novelGraphic novelA graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
by artist Bill SienkiewiczBill SienkiewiczBoleslav Felix Robert "Bill" Sienkiewicz [pronounced sin-KEV-itch] is an Eisner Award-winning American artist and writer best known for his comic book work, primarily for Marvel Comics' The New Mutants and Elektra: Assassin...
and writer D.G. ChichesterD.G. ChichesterDaniel G. Chichester is a comic book writer. His credits include Daredevil and Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for Marvel Comics.-Career:...
- Also in 1990, Pendulum Press adapted the story in issue #1 of Pendulum's Illustrated Stories.
- A 1998 graphic novelGraphic novelA graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
by artist Will EisnerWill EisnerWilliam Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an... - 2000AD's series A.H.A.B. borrows the storyline and the names of several characters from Moby Dick.
- A French BDFranco-Belgian comicsFranco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
from 2005 takes a sci-fi approach similar to Bradbury's, below. - In 2008 Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
released Marvel Illustrated: Moby Dick, a six-issue adaptation.
Other
- Speed-talking actor John Moschitta, Jr.John Moschitta, Jr.John Moschitta Jr. is a spokesperson and performer best known for his rapid speech delivery. He appeared in over 100 commercials as "The Micro Machines Man" as well as an award winning 1981 ad for FedEx....
, as part of his audio tape, Ten Classics in Ten Minutes, read a rapid-fire one-minute summarization of the lengthy novel, concluding with the line "And everybody dies... but the fish... and Ish." - On June 5, 1966 the BBC radio series Round the HorneRound the HorneRound the Horne was a BBC Radio comedy programme, transmitted in four series of weekly episodes from 1965 until 1968. The series was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman - with others contributing to later series after Feldman returned to performing — and starred Kenneth Horne, with Kenneth...
broadcast a parody of the story entitled Moby Duck ("the great white Peking Duck ... eighty foot long it be with a two hundred foot wingspan and they do say as how when it lays an egg in the China Seas there be tidal waves at Scarborough!") starring Kenneth HorneKenneth HorneKenneth Horne was an English comedian and businessman. The son of a clergyman and politician, he combined a successful business career with regular broadcasting for the BBC. His first hit series Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh written with his co-star Richard Murdoch arose out of his wartime service as...
as the Ishmael-like hero "Ebenezer Cuckpowder" (Kenneth Williams: "This fine stripling with his apple cheeks and his long blond hair, aye and his ... cor', you don't half have to use your imagination!") who is shanghaied in PortsmouthPortsmouthPortsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
aboard Captain Ahab's ship The Golden Help-Glub-Glub ("the woman who was launching it fell off the rostrum and drowned!"). Kenneth WilliamsKenneth WilliamsKenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
played "Captain Ahab", who after the great duck is sighted has himself stuffed into the harpoon gun and fired at his prey (Betty MarsdenBetty MarsdenBetty Marsden was an English comedy actress.Originally from Liverpool, she attended the Italia Conti Stage School and ENSA.In the radio series Beyond Our Ken, she played Fanny Haddock, a takeoff of Fanny Cradock...
: "Oh, congratulations! A direct hit!" Kenneth Horne: "Where?" Betty: "Well, I can't actually say, but if Captain Ahab was an orange ..."). At the end of the story, Kenneth Horne stated that "Hugh PaddickHugh PaddickHugh William Paddick was an English actor, whose most notable role was in the 1960s BBC radio show Round the Horne in sketches such as Charles and Fiona and Julian and Sandy...
played the part of the duck ... it was the part that most people throw away." - In 1973, a simplified version of the novel by Robert James DixsonRobert James DixsonRobert James Dixson was an American writer who simplified and adapted some classic works of literature, that were later published in their new version, and wrote a number of books about the English language, especially crafted for the foreign born.He lived in New York City and moved to Florida in...
was published by Regents Pub. Co. - In 1982, Star Trek II: The Wrath of KhanStar Trek II: The Wrath of KhanStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the second feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise. The plot features James T...
was essentially Moby Dick in space, with Khan taking the Ahab role (the whale and object of his revenge obsession obviously being Admiral Kirk)' Khan even quotes Ahab extensively throughout the film, right up to his last lines: "From Hell's heart...I stab at thee!!!" - MC LarsMC LarsAndrew Robert MacFarlane Nielsen is an American rapper, known by his stage name MC Lars. He is the self-proclaimed originator of "post-punk laptop rap". He was one of the first underground rappers to sample and reference post-punk and emo bands...
' 2006 album The Graduate contains the track "Ahab", in which Lars raps the story of Moby-Dick. - In 2004, the heavy metalHeavy metal musicHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band MastodonMastodon (band)Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1999. The band is composed of bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, guitarist Bill Kelliher and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor...
released LeviathanLeviathan (album)Leviathan is a concept album by sludge metal band Mastodon, released in 2004 by Relapse Records. The album is loosely based on the Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick, and the songs "Iron Tusk", "Blood and Thunder", "I Am Ahab" and "Seabeast" were released as singles...
, a concept album based on Moby-Dick. - In 2006 The funeral doom metal band AhabAhab (band)Ahab is a German funeral doom metal band founded in 2004 by Midnattsol guitarists Christian Hector and Daniel Droste and former Endzeit guitarist Stephan Adolph. The band is named after Captain Ahab, a character in the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville...
released an album titled The Call of the Wretched SeaThe Call of the Wretched SeaThe Call of the Wretched Sea is the debut album by the German Moby-Dick-themed funeral doom band Ahab. It was released in 2006.- History :...
, adapting the novel. - The music video for the song "Into the Ocean", from the "Foiled" album released April 4 of 2006 by the band Blue October, depicts an outdoor theater in which the band plays said song and also acts out a rendition of Moby Dick in which the lead singer, Justin Furstenfeld, plays the part of Captain Ahab.
- The Demons & WizardsDemons & WizardsDemons and Wizards is a power metal band conceived as a side-project of the metal bands Blind Guardian and Iced Earth. It is made up of the vocalist for Blind Guardian, Hansi Kürsch, and the guitarist of Iced Earth, Jon Schaffer. Schaffer writes the music and Kürsch writes the lyrics...
song "Beneath These Waves" is based on Moby-Dick. - The novella Leviathan '99 (2007) by Ray BradburyRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
is a direct spin-off of Moby-Dick set in the year 2099. The whale is replaced by a comet, the sailing ship by a space ship, and the character names are either the same or nearly the same. In 1968, BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
broadcast a ninety-minute adaptation starring Christopher LeeChristopher LeeSir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
. - Philip Jose FarmerPhilip José FarmerPhilip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his award-winning science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories....
wrote a sequel called The Wind Whales of Ishmael in which Ishmael is transported to the far-future where flying whales are hunted from aircraft. - A parody exists in the 2010 Chick-fil-AChick-fil-AChick-fil-A |"fillet"]]) is a quick service restaurant chain headquartered in College Park, Georgia, United States, specializing in chicken entrées and is known for promoting the company founder's claims of Christian values. Long associated with the southern United States, where it has been a...
calendar "Great Works of Cow Literature" in July where the novel is referred to as Mooby Dick. - In 2010, the band Glass WaveGlass WaveGlass Wave is a Bay Area cerebral rock band formed in 2008 by Robert Pogue Harrison and Dan Edelstein, both professors of literature at Stanford University. The band was conceived originally as a literary musical collaboration for their team-taught Introduction to the Humanities course entitled...
recorded a song entitled "Moby Dick." The song recounts the story from the perspective of the mariners and of the whale itself after the decimation of the ship. - In 2011, The illustrator Seumas Doherty created a redesign of the story as if it were a Scifi video game titled "Moby Dick: A Space Odyssey".
Significant deviations from the novel
Elijah:The vague and uncertain prophet of the text, ambivalent about religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, is replaced in both the 1956, 1998 and 2010 movie adaptations with a prescient Elijah who foretells the fate of the Pequod with confident precision.
The 1956 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
has Elijah waving his lame arm in pantomime foretelling Ahab's demise, and Ahab (played by Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
) moves his own arm in fulfillment of Elijah's prophecy.
In the 1998 television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
adaptation, Elijah warns that captain and crew shall all perish except one, and that by signing on they have effectively signed away their souls; Queequeg asks Ishmael what a soul is, to which Ishmael responds by leading Queequeg to a Christian church where Father Mapple (played by Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
) preaches the story of Jonah
Jonah
Jonah is the name given in the Hebrew Bible to a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BC, the eponymous central character in the Book of Jonah, famous for being swallowed by a fish or a whale, depending on translation...
. (In the text, the Jonah sermon occurs before Ishmael meets Elijah, and Queequeg leaves the chapel "before the benediction some time.")
The 2011 television miniseries has Elijah confront Ahab's wife (played by Gillian Anderson
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson is an American actress.After beginning her career in theatre, Anderson achieved international recognition for her role as Special Agent Dana Scully on the American television series The X-Files. During the show's nine seasons, Anderson won Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen...
) as she leaves the church where Father Mapple has just preached his sermon, to openly reveal to her that on this voyage Ahab will die, and that he knows it. When she haughtily demands to know the reason for this prophecy, all he tells her is that he would never sail with Ahab again.
Ahab's wife:
Described by Ahab as his "girl-wife" in the text, we know no more about her, as she has no name. In the 2011 television mini-series, her name is Elizabeth and she and Ahab's son are used to show his home life and lay the foundation of his obsession with seeking the whale. Shown as a loving wife, she begs her husband to come to church with her, and Ahab refuses, stating he has no belief that God exists.