I saw this film because I was studying the book and hoped it would give me another perspective. Sadly, I was disappointed, as this film is awful.<br /><br />I know it is an old film but, even making allowances for that, the special effects look truly awful. The back of the video claimed that it was shot on-location, this was obviously untrue; White borders are visible around some of the characters and the backgrounds look like they were painted on canvas.<br /><br />It's not just the special affects, either, the majority of the story is told for narration. The acting is nonexistent because the narrator frequently reports character speech in third person rather than the actors speaking. This is a film, so why do we need a running audio description of what's being shown on this screen? In summary: If you want to listen to a reading of The Old Man and The Sea with some pretty pictures to look at then this is the film for you. Otherwise, just read the book.