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The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea

Adventure · Drama · 1958

Santiago is an aging, down-on-his-luck, Cuban fisherman who, after catching nothing for nearly 3 months, hooks a huge Marlin and struggles to land it far out in the Gulf Stream.

Movie details

The Old Man and the Sea

“SPENCER TRACY in his most suspenseful role...ERNEST HEMINGWAY'S story of Heroism...Defeat...Victory!”

1958 Adventure · Drama 1h 26m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

Santiago is an aging, down-on-his-luck, Cuban fisherman who, after catching nothing for nearly 3 months, hooks a huge Marlin and struggles to land it far out in the Gulf Stream.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Old Man and the Sea?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Sturges

Written by

Peter Viertel

Spencer Tracy

Spencer Tracy

The Old Man

Felipe Pazos

Felipe Pazos

Manolin, the Boy

Harry Bellaver

Harry Bellaver

Martin, the Cafe Bartender

Don Diamond

Don Diamond

Cafe Proprietor (uncredited)

Mary Hemingway

Mary Hemingway

Tourist (uncredited)

Joey Ray

Joey Ray

Gambler (uncredited)

Mauritz Hugo

Mauritz Hugo

Gambler (uncredited)

Court is in session

Put The Old Man and the Sea on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.