Plot
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. ~ Robert Firsching, RoviReview
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. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, RoviCast
- Richard Harris - Nolan
- Charlotte Rampling - Rachel
- Will Sampson - Umilak
- Bo Derek - Annie
- Keenan Wynn - Novak
Credit
Ferdinando Giovannoni - Art Director, Boris Juraga - Art Director, Jost Jakob - Costume Designer, Philippe Pickford - Costume Designer, Brian Cook - First Assistant Director, Michael Anderson - Director, Folco Quilici - Second Unit Director, John Bloom - Editor, Marion Rothman - Editor, Ralph Winters - Editor, Dino de Laurentiis - Executive Producer, Ennio Morricone - Composer (Music Score), Ennio Morricone - Musical Direction/Supervision, Carol Conners - Songwriter, Neville Smallwood - Makeup, Mario Garbuglia - Production Designer, Ted Moore - Cinematographer, Vittorio Dragonetti - Cinematographer, Luciano Vincenzoni - Producer, John Godfrey - Set Designer, Armando Scarano - Set Designer, Alex C. Weldon - Special Effects, John Bramall - Sound/Sound Designer, Romano Puppo - Stunts Coordinator, Emilio Messina - Stunts Coordinator, Sergio Donati - Screenwriter, Luciano Vincenzoni - Screenwriter| Orbs: The Veil Is Lifting (2007 Film), Orbita Mortal (1968 Film) | |
| Orca: Killer Whale or Gentle Giant? (1990 Film), Orca: Killers I Have Known (1999 Film) |
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