Overview: Based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway, Santiago goes out on his usual fishing trip and makes a huge catch, the biggest of his life.

Then a shark attacks and tries to steal his catch. Santiago battles with the shark for days. He returns to the shore beaten, tattered and torn, and his catch consisting now of mostly bones.

DVD Verdict: In truth, not much actually happens in this movie which is why en mass of viewers over the years have sadly given a mighty thumbs down to one of Quinn's final cinematic acting moments.

An old man Santiago (Anthony Quinn) has not caught a fish in over eighty trips, goes out for one last trip and catches a huge fish.

By doing so, he discovers, perhaps for the first time, the insignificance of human beings in the overall scheme of things.

Indeed, it is a testament to Quinn's performance in the central role that our interest is sustained; his range of facial expressions is positively wondrous, especially when alone on the boat with no one but himself to talk to.

Director Jud Taylor also works hard to develop the spring-and-autumn relationship between Santiago and the boy Anderez (Paul Calderon), which prompts the old man to consider his own behavior as an old men when he believed that he was virtually impregnable.

The story has a Hemingwayesque figure in the form of Tom Pruitt (Gary Cole), a writer who cannot leave Santiago's small community until he has discovered for himself just what motivates the old man.

This role is a little superfluous, but at least shows why the author himself was interested in such an apparently insignificant story.

In closing, 'The Old Man And The Sea' is an excellent adaptation of Hemingway's novella and Quinn was just perfect for the role.

Even though it's a Made-For-TV movie the story and acting are incredibly worthwhile. A must for Hemingway lovers, of that you can be sure. This is a Full Screen Presentation (1.33:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.

'The Old Man And The Sea' [DVD] is out June 25th, 2019 via S'More Entertainment / MVD Visual.

www.smorent.com