Film is the most significant art form of the last century. I don’t think a lot of people would argue that point. There might be a couple people who might say that literature is still tops. But how many people have seen “The Lord of the Rings” movies versus how many have read the books? (many times each for me).
It stands to reason that we anglers have films that stand out to us as great expressions of our favorite activity. Now, we’re not talking about documentaries or short films, although there are many worth your time, but rather feature films that received major studio releases.
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There are a couple that are warmly remembered, a couple that have won awards, and there are even some that stand out as innovative pieces of art in their own right — films that actually changed film itself. Fishing and angling have had that effect on us.
“Grumpy Old Men” is a 1993 film that is remembered fondly for many reasons. Burgess Meredith straight up stealing the whole movie with perfect comedic timing (the sequel was his last film), Ann Margret looking transcendent, 30 years after her starring role in “Bye Bye Birdie”, the great chemistry between the stars Walter Matthau and Tony Curtis that hadn’t changed since “The Odd Couple” in 1968.
But in the interplay between legends, we see what fishing can mean to us. The main characters fight over lucky ice fishing poles, fishing spots, and try to take each other out with frozen walleyes. This resonates because not only is it funny, it’s also true. These are the real reasons people bicker about fishing, both on the water and off. Hopefully, you won’t actually try to kill somebody with a frozen fish, but the joke makes the point. The little love story with Ann Margret is almost an afterthought.
“The Perfect Storm” is not precisely a fishing movie, but it’s close. On the surface, the 2000 film is about a storm that swept the East Coast — one in which I was stuck in a third-floor apartment while my neighbors jumped off the balcony into snow piles. But beyond that it’s a “Moby Dick”-style tale of compulsion and ego that takes the lives of our handsome protagonists, including Mark Wahlberg, George Clooney, and William Fichtner. What makes it worse was that the guys could have turned back in time but instead pushed on to the Flemish Cap to fish untouched waters.
That is something that most anglers can associate with.
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Ernest Hemingway wrote “The Old Man and The Sea” during winter 1953 as a tribute to those who make their living from the sea. He chose to weave in religious references that solidify the connection between his main character, Santiago, to a saintly figure. While Hemingway himself had problems with the 1958 film starring Spencer Tracy – issues mainly stemming from Hemingway being unable to suffuse his ego and having arguments with Tracy himself, he was pleased with the film overall.
Tracy got an Oscar nomination for best actor and Dimitri Tiomkin won for best original score. The first time I saw this as a kid, I was amazed by the shots of Santiago fighting the marlin, then I felt his pain as the sharks tore it apart, thus showing the futility of struggling against … whatever … anything. The ending is unclear. I always assumed the Old Man passed in his sleep after returning home, but maybe not.
He loves the sea and he loves the fish, feelings that many of us anglers can relate to. He loves it so much that even though he knows he needs to kill it; it breaks his heart to do so and his spirit when the sharks come. Tracy is a literal master of the craft of acting and he was the perfect choice. In my mind, this film holds up even after so long.
A film that literally changed the way movies were produced and marketed, “Jaws” was the first summer blockbuster. When it came out June 20, 1975, it was the first movie released to hundreds of screens nationwide simultaneously, something we take for granted now. Steven Spielberg became known as the genius we know today. Young actors such as Richard Dreyfus and Roy Scheider would build huge careers. Robert Shaw figuratively put a crown on his head as the finest actor of his generation (we can fight about it if you want).
Oscars were awarded for best sound, best editing, and of course, best score to the legendary John Williams. I bet you are playing the “Jaws” theme in your head right now.
The big gamefishing scenes are the best ever put on film. The amazing monologue from Quint about the USS Indianapolis gives me chills every time, and I watch every year to celebrate Fourth of July (I’m serious). When Quint first sets the hook and Hooper argues with him about what he thinks they really have on, I feel the tension. Of course, when the line breaks, well, who here has not experienced that disappointment?
The idea that somewhere “out there” is a fish bigger than anything else and we can conquer it, this is what makes us dream.
In my mind, “A River Runs Through It,” both the 1976 book and the 1992 adaptation, creates the perfect bridge between film and literature as artforms. The soundtrack by Mark Isham, for which he was nominated for an Oscar, is beautiful. It’s masterfully shot, winning a best cinematography Oscar for auteur Philippe Rousselot. The acting is outstanding with Brad Pitt in the role that would make him a household name, as well as Tom Skerrit, Craig Sheffer and many others in vastly underrated performances.
Robert Redford produced and directed the film, for which he was a Golden Globe nominee, and provided the voice of the story in his narration. In many cases, Redford spoke the precise words of author Norman Maclean.
While actually a story of how we truly try to help those we love, it’s also about how all will ultimately choose whichever path we end up on. Author Norman Maclean’s father was a Presbyterian minister. In the film, the Rev. Maclean gives a sermon during a church service, which the audience is led to believe happens as he’s near the end of his days:
“Each one of us here today will at one time in our lives look upon a loved one who is in need and ask the same question: We are willing to help, Lord, but what, if anything, is needed? For it is true, we can seldom help those closest to us. Either we don’t know what part of ourselves to give or, more often than not, the part we have to give is not wanted. And so, it is those we live with and should know best who elude us. But we can still love them. We can love completely without complete understanding.”
This is the finest film about fishing ever. If you can sit through Redford’s final narration without getting emotional, I’m not sure we can be friends.
So, you’ve probably figured out I love movies. Good ones. Great ones. Sometimes even bad ones. I love a tornado full of sharks. But the closer they get to the things I live for, the more I can feel them.
