Orca

Director: Michael Anderson Michael Anderson

Overview

Another big-budget monster movie from producer Dino de Laurentiis, Orca concerns the mutual revenge pact between an obsessive whaler (Richard Harris) and an angry killer whale, whose pregnant mate Harris killed. The whale strikes back by biting off Bo Derek's leg, so Harris and concerned biologist Charlotte Rampling follow it to frozen northern waters for the climactic showdown. Just in case you like Jaws better than Moby Dick, there's a killer shark thrown in for good measure. Ponderous, pretentious, and dull, this opportunistic disaster fittingly sank at the box office.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/09/2021
UPC:	0032429355676
Original Release:	1977
Rating:	PG
Source:	ALLIED VAUGHN
Language:	English
Time:	1:32:00
Sales rank:	14,947

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Richard Harris	Actor
Charlotte Rampling	Actor
Keenan Wynn	Actor
Will Sampson	Actor
Bo Derek	Annie
Robert Carradine	Ken
Scott Walker	Swain
Peter Hooten	Paul
Wayne Heffley	Priest
Ennio Morricone	Composer
Vincent Gentile	Gas Station Attendant
Don 'Red' Barry	Dock Worker
Don Leslie	Young Fisherman

Technical Credits

Sergio Donati

Robert Towne

Sergio Donati	Screenwriter
Dino De Laurentiis	Executive Producer
Emilio Messina	Stunts
Romano Puppo	Stunts
Luciano Vincenzoni	Producer
Alex Weldon	Special Effects
Robert Towne	Screenwriter
Michael Anderson Jr.	Director

Editorial Reviews

Of all the man vs. animal flicks out there, not many come close to matching the sheer absurdity of Orca: The Killer Whale. Hot on the heels of Jaws's immense success, this killer-whale opus updates the Moby Dick mythos and turns the celebrated tale on its ear while hyping up the idiotic psychic link between Richard Harris' Ahab character and the pissed off water-bound mammal. Over-the-top imagery is pushed at the viewer from the fourth minute on, as a great white shark surrounds a boat only to be bonked to death by Orca, who's soon to be a grieving whale widower hell-bent on kicking some Irish thespian butt. As his revenging rampage rolls along, Orca chomps limbs and destroys everything from a fleet of fishing vessels to an entire house and even an oil refinery. There are plenty of deaths before the big showdown at the end, where Harris and the roaring Orca take still pictures of each other with their eyes and face off one last time. As one can tell, it's all pretty silly stuff and only for the connoisseurs of schlock cinema, who will no doubt eat up the proceedings like the pure junk seafood it is.

All Movie Guide - Jeremy Wheeler