MOBY-DICK

There have been so many adaptations of MOBY-DICK--abridgments and retellings in print, films, and dramatizations, not to mention the recent unabridged recording from Naxos--that one has to demand that any new version have something unique to offer. This BBC dramatization, featuring F. Murray Abraham as Ishmael, doesn't really accomplish that. Part of the problem is the format--the novel may have a lot of deadwood, but conveying even its primary action in under three hours is impossible. The dramatization does use special effects judiciously, and, although all the New England whalers seem to speak with different accents, the script is well acted and the performance is entertaining, if not innovative. D.B. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 06]