IMDb > Orca (1977)
Orca
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Overview

User Rating:
4.9/10   3,334 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Luciano Vincenzoni (story) and
Sergio Donati (writer)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Orca on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
22 July 1977 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Terror just beneath the surface
Plot:
A hunter squares off against a killer whale seeking vengeance for the death of its mate. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
User Comments:
MUCH MORE REALISTIC THAN "JAWS". more (90 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Richard Harris ... Captain Nolan

Charlotte Rampling ... Rachel Bedford
Will Sampson ... Umilak

Bo Derek ... Annie
Keenan Wynn ... Novak

Robert Carradine ... Ken
Scott Walker ... Swain
Peter Hooten ... Paul
Wayne Heffley ... Priest
Vincent Gentile ... Gas Station Attendant
Don 'Red' Barry ... Dock Worker
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Orca: Killer Whale
The Killer Whale
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Runtime:
92 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The killer whale was portrayed by a combination of stock footage taken at Marine World in Redwood City, California, and an animatronic whale which was filmed off the coasts of Malta and Newfoundland. more
Goofs:
Errors in geography: The film is set in Newfoundland, Canada, but in some scenes the main character's fishing vessel flies the U.S. flag. more
Quotes:
[Captain Nolan has just seen the orca kill a member of his crew after the orca knocked the house into the ocean. He then looks out to the water & sees the killer whale leaping out of the water, breaching]
Captain Nolan: You revengeful sonofabitch! You win!
[the orca keeps breaching, as if taunting Captain Nolan]
Captain Nolan: You want revenge? Well, you'll have it! I'll come out and fight you! You revengeful sonofabitch!
[Nolan's boat, the 'Bumpo', steams out of the little harbor the next morning with the fishermen watching as he goes to fight the orca]
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Movie Connections:
References Jaws (1975) more
Soundtrack:
My Love, We Are One more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
20 out of 33 people found the following comment useful.
MUCH MORE REALISTIC THAN "JAWS"., 19 March 2004
Author: cclennon (cclennon@yahoo.com) from albuquerque, new mexico

First off, i saw this film over a decade ago, so don't expect a full autopsy on how 70's the film was, or the plot holes. Looking back at these reviews, i must say that my memory of the plot is pretty good. Personally, when i saw this film I thought it to be pretty intense. The plot was not entirely bad. Sure it was inplausible that richard harris picked on the one genius killer whale in the whole atlantic. But am i to believe that non-human animals don't have emotions that include vengeance? No, i don't believe that at all. We hairless primates should learn not to ascribe any moderately complex emotion solely under the category "human".

To me, the real strength of this film was its allegory to the destruction of nature. I don't think it entirely inplausible that the writer wanted to symbolize the strife between man's greed, and the annhilation of this planet's animals and ecosystems. The point could have been, that our own planet at some critical point might strike out at us.

And come on you guys, after watching "JAWS" you want killer animal flicks that conform to modern day science? You're telling me that great whites do, in fact, stalk tourist filled beaches as if they were seal colonies? Now look who's living in the 70's.....

peace.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Orca (1977)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Better Than Jaws dubrobot
Great double 1977 feature bobadexter
The ending? wandering_mind
I know orcas are smart, but... knowledge of chemistry?? oliverfennell
Reason for the 'Orca kills shark' scene oliverfennell
I found this scene funny. scubadiver22
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