Orca | | Cast : | Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling | | Director : | Michael Anderson | | Studio : | Paramount Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Surround Sound, Widescreen | | Released Date : | July 22, 1977 | | DVD Released Date : | September 14, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 07, 2005 | | Summary | Four Stars? I Don't Think So...But Still... | Content
 | Wow, it amazes me how many glowing reviews this film is getting here at Amazon.com...which I'm venturing to guess are probably the ONLY glowing reviews it's ever gotten in the years since its release. This movie, of course, is the illegitimate offspring of a movie that spawned legions of illegitimate offspring - Steven Spielberg's "Jaws", of course. And with the exception of Sir Steven's shark tale, killer-sea-creature movies often tread that fine line between between Grade-A cheese and being Grade-F rubbish best used as a drink coaster (even the exponentially-wretched "Jaws" sequels). Fortunately, in his insatiable quest to try and top "Jaws" at the box office - which, judging by his "King Kong" remake, "The White Buffalo", and this movie, at least kept him working - producer Dino DeLaurentiis managed to get enough sincerity imbued into this film that it does get some distance from the likes of, say, "Jaws: The Revenge" - even if it's not much of a distance.
The bare-bones premise, of course, is standard for these killer-sea-creature flicks - sea creature attacks people - but the screenwriters manage to wrap an interesting, if not necessarily scientifically-accurate, concept around it. Richard Harris plays the Robert Shaw wannabe Nolan, who, along with the crew of the fishing vessel Bumpo, are in the middle of sharkin' when they run across lovely Charlotte Rampling in the obligatory role of the brainiac who tries to convince the shark hunter that sea creatures are people, too. This, of course, is interrupted when Rampling's gawky sidekick, future Tri-Lamb Robert Carradine, falls out of the boat and is ten seconds away from becoming Shark Snausages when BLAMMO! The 25-foot-long Great White Shark (comprised of stock footage, a fakey fin and an obvious juvenile slam at "Jaws" - 'My sea monster's better than your sea monster, nyah nyah!') gets rammed clean out of the water in a bloody death-froth by Our Hero...and I don't mean Nolan.
Yes, in a surprisingly inventive twist on the genre, the monster is the sympathetic character of the piece. And of course, it becomes clear early on that Our Hero is going to be gnoshing on some human eye candy as the story progresses into a profit-minded attempt by the crew of the Bumpo to capture Our Hero that results in a nick in his dorsal fin and the unnerving skewering of Our Hero's Mate. This scene is followed up by some wonderfully gory shots of attempted orca suicide by Our Hero's Mate and - here's one for the kids! - a WHALE ABORTION. Yeah, you read that right. Forgive the spoiling, but as an afficionado of bad-yet-strangely-amusing movies, I feel it is my obligation as a viewer to inform the public. As if you wouldn't be able to tell this movie was made in the late '70s as it were.
What follows, naturally, is whale vengeance of the highest cheese order as one by one, the crew of the Bumpo are given an exceptionally close look at Our Hero's pearly whites, accompanied by further cameo appearances by Charlotte Rampling as she attempts to exude sex appeal while delivering Star Trek-level exposition with that smoky voice of hers and utter grievances about orcas' capacity for vengeance (which I was taught was a distinctly human trait...oh well, that's thirteen years of basic learning down the drain).
Then there's poor Will Sampson, stuck in the token role of the wise old Indian yet again, spinning yarns about whale-gods of vengeance or some such nonsense that's intended primarily to spook Nolan into getting off his drunken butt and going out to face Our Hero before he sinks an entire fleet of fishing boats and scares away all the fish that the villagers are dependent on for their livelihood (one of the funniest developments in the movie has all the townsfolk in Nolan's seaside digs pitching together to repair his boat, all for the express purpose of getting him out of their faces).
The rest of the cast gives largely unconvincing yet wonderfully hammy performances - which, given how obvious it is early on that most of them become Purina Orca Chow, can be easily excused. Among the condemned are Keenan Wynn (who also appeared in another great "Jaws" knockoff, "Pirahna") and, for some reason, Bo Derek, who contributes absolutely nothing productive to the movie or to the development of the plot and the other characters (this before "10" hit theaters).
Still, despite itself, "Orca" has some genuine entertainment value. At the very least, it does have more heart than any killer-sea-creature movie out there (in fact, I daresay it's comparable to that of "Jaws") and you actually feel for Our Hero, even as he's chewing up yet another dummy stand-in. Our Hero is brought to life using the standard effects for their time: live footage combined with the occasional 'aquamatronic' orca for shots involving the actors. Fortunately, like Bruce the Shark in "Jaws", the faux orca never appears on screen long enough to make its phoniness stand out too much.
The bottom line: "Orca" is not what I call a film for all to enjoy, yet it has its moments. If you're in the mood for something cheesy, check it out. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 25, 2005 | | Summary | A childhood memory... | Content
| As a child, my parents would not let me see JAWS (and maybe someday I'll forgive them!)!
Two years later, I was a little older and this was a temporary substitute. The story of a whale hunting a man for vengeance fascinated me. The whale attacks were tame compared to JAWS, but still thrilling, nonetheless.
Today, the film still looks good and the acting seems fine. Not oscar calibur, but not bad, either.
Bo Derek was a piece, wasn't she! |
| Rating | | | Date | February 21, 2005 | | Summary | Heartwrenching and PROFOUND. | Content
| I first saw this movie on TV about 5 years ago. I went out and rented it after that and have seen it two more times on TV since. I don't watch a movie to cynically nit pic at anything I can find wrong with it but look for the meaning of a movie. This is not a movie for the kiddies or squeamish! The message is clear: DO UNTO OTHERS!! and... that orcas are extremely intelligent and have very strong family bonds. Obviously, the movie was made to terrify it's viewers. The irony that, when this movie was made, humans didn't know much about orcas, yet we now know that the way this orca must have FELT is probably realistic. I think Nolan realizes that this is not just some dumb creature and that wanting to capture it and take away it's freedom and family was the biggest mistake of his life. I also think that even in the end, Nolan respects it as a being in it's own right. You might want to think about that next time you visit Sea World, eh? The Orcas that we keep in captivity for our entertainment are only caricatures of their true selves. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 19, 2005 | | Summary | For being an "old" movie... | Content
| ...it is absolutely watchable, but far from the classic "Jaws" indeed is. Except for the water I wouldn't even compare these movies. The acting/actors is/are not as legendary (at least not in "Orca" anyway -Harris is of course a legend, but not because of this movie). The scenes "man/killer whale" really works for its' time, but nothing remembarable -other than that the whole theme of the movie is anything but boring, the plot (unbelievable as it may be) works fine. Gripping at times, and overall "Orca" is an entertaining piece. Ennio Morricones' music suits the movie as well.
A good movie! |
| Rating | | | Date | February 02, 2005 | | Summary | awesome education | Content
| True or not, if you believe everything said about killer whales in this movie then you will want to know more about these majestic sea mammals. I don't like whales in general, but after watching ORCA ,I am fascinated. Made in 1977 and starring the legendary Richard Harris and Bo Derek in her film debut,this is one well made suspenseful revenge trip.
The drama is heavy with emotion and you are always on the side of the killer whale getting his man (and whoever or whatever stays in his way). Great scenery accompanies this unforgettable
and rare original masterpiece. |
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