The Sea Wolf

Edward G. Robinson somehow never won an Oscar, but I'd argue that his brilliant turn as the tyrannical Wolf Larsen in this outstanding film is the performance that should have captured the award. It was also interesting to see Barry Fitzgerald play against type as a rather sniveling creature. And how great that Warner Archive were able to restore footage that hadn't been seen since release. Excellent work.

Having recently only rewatched the first of the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movie, I was left rather unimpressed with Pirates of the Caribbean, seeing it mostly as being style over substance. All flash and all show, with no real heart or substance and also a far cry from the original them park ride that Walt himself created.

With this movie, Sea Wolf, I was not disappointed. Here we have both style and substance. Atmospheric and eerie, Michael Curtiz creates both an atmosphere visually on screen but also one that runs deeper than that. One that you can feel in the rich development of the characters in this piece. Certainly the two stand out performances are those of Edward G. Robinson as the sadistically cruel Wolf Larson, a man consumed by hatred and his own overinflated self ego. One that seeks to protect his pride and ego at all costs. It’s an incredible performance. But no less incredible and commendable is the performance of Alexander Knox as Humphrey van Weyden. This is not to demean the rest of the cast, but it is the performances of these two in particular that drive the story forward and allow it to build to its momentous climax.

The Sea Wolf was even better than I anticipated it to be. This new blu ray version truly looks outstanding.

Highly recommended.