Herman Melville Filmography

Occupation:: Book Author

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Moby Dick

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: The eye-popping graphic style of Wanted is applied to Herman Melville's classic tale of high-water revenge in this Timur Bekmambetov-helmed adaptation of Moby Dick. Adam Cooper and Bill Collage (Wrong Turn) provide the screenplay for the Universal Pictures production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Read More

1/1/10
Captain Ahab

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Denis Lavant, Virgil Leclaire, Dominique Blanc, Jacques Bonnaffé, Jean-François Stévenin

Synopsis: Writer/director Philippe Ramos ponders the formative years of legendary Herman Melville seaman Captain Ahab in this stylized tale of adventure presented in five chapters. When Ahab's mother dies in childbirth, the infant's gruff father (Jean-Francois Stevenin) places his son in the care of his Read More

2007
Bartleby

Crew: Short Story Author

Actors: David Paymer, Crispin Glover, Glenne Headly, Joe Piscopo, Maury Chaykin

Synopsis: Herman Melville's short story Bartleby the Scrivener gets a slightly surreal update in this offbeat comedy drama. The manager (David Paymer) of the city records department in a mid-sized California community decides that his staff of three -- flirty chatterbox Vivian (Glenne Headly), sloppy Read More

2001
Pola X

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Guillaume Depardieu, Yekaterina Golubeva, Catherine Deneuve, Delphine Chuillot, Petruta Catana

Synopsis: Eight years after Les Amants du Pont Neuf (1991), which failed at the box office, Léos Carax returned with Pola X, a French/German/Swiss co-production with Catherine Deneuve and the young Guillaume Dépardieu in a story of love, incest, and descent into hell. Pierre (Dépardieu) lives with his Read More

9/8/00
Beau Travail

Crew: Short Story Author

Actors: Denis Lavant, Michel Subor, Grégoire Colin, Richard Courcet

Synopsis: In this military drama, a military man finds his position of prominence questioned when a new recruit wins the commander's favor. Galoup (Denis Lavant) is an officer at a French Foreign Legion outpost in the Gulf of Dijbouti, where he enjoys a close relationship with the Commanding Officer (Michel Subor Read More

3/31/00
Moby Dick

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Patrick Stewart, Henry Thomas, Ted Levine, Gregory Peck, Piripi Waretini

Synopsis: Director Franc Roddam and co-scripter Anton Diether adapted Herman Melville's 1851 classic for this four-hour TV miniseries sea adventure. Ishmael (Henry Thomas) ignores the warnings of dockside prophet Elijah (Bruce Spence) and joins the crew of the whaling ship Pequod. Ismael befriends Read More

1998
Billy Budd

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: Herman Melville's classic story of persecution and misplaced justice in the British navy is adapted for the operatic stage in this production, with libretto by E.M. Forster and Eric Crozier, and music by Benjamin Britten. Billy Budd stars Philip Langridge, Thomas Allen, Neil Howlett, and Richard Read More

1988
Moby Dick

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: Herman Melville's novel is adapted to the hour-long animated format. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide Read More

1977
Moby Dick

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Jack Aranson

Synopsis: Mounted live and shot at San Rafael, California's College of Marin in 1971, this stage adaptation of Herman Melville's seminal adventure novel Moby Dick was directed by Paul Stanley; like the book, it tells of a sea captain driven mad by his pursuit of an elusive whale. The production stars Jack Read More

1971
Bartleby

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Robin Asquith, Christine Dingle, Hope Jackman, Tony Parkin, Paul Scofield, John McEnery, Thorley Walters, Colin Jeavons, Raymond Mason

Synopsis: Adapted from Herman Melville's short story, Bartleby features John McEnery in the title role. A secretive, solitary lad, Bartleby works as a clerk in the accounting office of Paul Scofield. Unable to deal with Bartleby's eccentricities, Scofield fires the clerk. But Bartleby refuses to leave, and Read More

1970
Benito Cereno

Crew: Short Story Author

Actors: Jacques Mercier, John Turner

Synopsis: This suspenseful sea story from Herman Melville takes place in the tradewinds of the Caribbean. An American captain comes to the aid of Spanish Captain Benito Cereno (Ruy Guerra) when the ship seems to be in trouble. An expedition to the ship reveals an uneasy situation where Cereno is ill and Read More

8/23/69
Les Iles Enchantees

Crew: Short Story Author

Actors: Amália Rodrigues, Pierre Vaneck, Pierre Clémenti

Synopsis: A veteran sea captain (Pierre Vaneck) recalls his South Sea adventures as a young boy in this adventure story from Herman Melville. Flashbacks tell of young Pierre (Pierre Clementi) who finds love with the beautiful older woman Hanila (Amalia Rodrigues) on a desert island. Other stories find two Read More

1965
Billy Budd

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Robert Ryan, Peter Ustinov, Melvyn Douglas, Terence Stamp, Ronald Lewis, John Neville

Synopsis: Herman Melville's short novel Billy Budd is adapted for the screen, distinguished by Robert Krasker's expressive black-and-white cinematography and Peter Ustinov's crisp direction. Terence Stamp is Billy Budd, a seaman forced to serve in the British Navy during the war between England and France Read More

1962
Enchanted Island

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Dana Andrews, Jane Powell, Don Dubbins, Arthur Shields, Ted de Corsia

Synopsis: Enchanted Island bears only the faintest traces of its source material, the Herman Melville novel, Typee. 19th century-whalers Abner Dana Andrews and Tom Don Dubbins jump ship, finding refuge on a tropical island inhabited by cannibals. When Tom disappears, Abner jumps to the logical conclusion Read More

1958
Moby Dick

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, Leo Genn, Harry Andrews, Seamus Kelly, Orson Welles

Synopsis: Previous film versions of Moby Dick insisted upon including such imbecilities as romantic subplots and happy endings. John Huston's 1956 Moby Dick remains admirably faithful to its source. "Call me Ishmael" declares itinerant whaler Richard Basehart as the opening credits fade. Though slightly Read More

1956
Omoo Omoo, the Shark God

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Ron Randell, Devera Burton, Trevor Bardette, Pedro de Cordoba, Richard Benedict

Synopsis: Omoo-Omoo (The Shark God) is based on a novel by Herman Melville. Within its attenuated budget, the film does a nice job visualizing Melville's concept. A sea captain (Trevor Bardette) courts disaster when he removes a pair of black pearls from a native shrine. According to native legend, bad luck Read More

1949
Last of the Pagans

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Lotus Long

Synopsis: Eskimo actor Ray Mala (real name: Ray Wise) relocates to the South Seas in Last of the Pagans. Mala (as he is billed) is cast as Taro, one of dozens of natives exploited by the white owners of the tin mine. The story is based on Herman Melville's Typee, which was in part a condemnation of white Read More

1936
Moby Dick

Crew: Book Author

Actors: John Barrymore, Joan Bennett, Lloyd Hughes, May Boley, Noble Johnson, Walter Long

Synopsis: Herman Melville's classic novel gets a major revision in this screen adaptation of his seafaring novel - Hollywood's first talkie adaptation of the work. (A silent version, The Sea Beast, had been produced four years earlier). Captain Ahab Ceely (John Barrymore), a crusty and hard-drinking sailor Read More

1930
The Sea Beast

Crew: Book Author

Actors: John Barrymore, Dolores Costello, George O'Hara, Mike Donlin, Sam Baker

Synopsis: This silent screen adaptation of "Moby Dick" features John Barrymore in action as Captain Ahab Cooley, played against one of the most famous denizens of the deep, Herman Melville's great white whale. At the beginning of the story, Ahab and his step brother Dererk (George O'Hara) compete for the Read More

1926