Orca (1977)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Michael Anderson

Writers:

Luciano Vincenzoni (story) and
Sergio Donati (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

22 July 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama | Horror

Tagline:

Terror just beneath the surface

Plot:

A hunter squares off against a killer whale seeking vengeance for the death of its mate.

Plot Keywords:

Whale | Killer Whale | Revenge | Death | Ice

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

Directed by
Michael Anderson

Writing credits
Luciano Vincenzoni		story and screenplay and
Sergio Donati		writer
Robert Towne		uncredited

Produced by
Dino De Laurentiis	....	executive producer
Luciano Vincenzoni	....	producer

Original Music by
Ennio Morricone

Cinematography by
J. Barry Herron
Ted Moore

Film Editing by
John Bloom
Marion Rothman
Ralph E. Winters

Production Design by
Mario Garbuglia

Art Direction by
Ferdinando Giovannoni
Boris Juraga

Set Decoration by
John Godfrey
Armando Scarano

Costume Design by
Jost Jakob

Makeup Department
Neville Smallwood	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Pino Butti	....	unit production manager
Roberto de Laurentiis	....	unit production manager
Les Kimber	....	unit production manager
Stanley Neufeld	....	production manager: Canada
William O'Sullivan	....	production manager: Canada
Phil Tucker	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Peter Bennett	....	second assistant director
Flondar Brunelli	....	assistant director: second unit
Brian W. Cook	....	assistant director
Rob Lockwood	....	assistant director: second unit
Terry Needham	....	second assistant director
Folco Quilici	....	second unit director
Folco Quilici	....	underwater unit director

Art Department
Allan Gordon	....	property master (as Allan Jack Gordon)
Sherman Labby	....	production illustrator
Bill MacSems	....	property master
Guglielmo Modestini	....	set painter
Aldo Puccini	....	construction coordinator

Sound Department
John Bramall	....	sound mixer
Bill Cook	....	boom operator (as William Cook)
Trevor Pyke	....	sound re-recording mixer
Winston Ryder	....	sound effects
Nicholas Stevenson	....	sound effects (as Nick Stevenson)

Special Effects by
Giuseppe Carozza	....	mechanical effects
Jim Hole	....	mechanical effects
Alex Weldon	....	special effects (as Alex C. Weldon)

Visual Effects by
Fernando Valento	....	miniature coordinator

Stunts
Emilio Messina	....	underwater stunts
Sergio Mioni	....	stunt double
Romano Puppo	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Jack Atcheler	....	camera operator
Alfonso Avincola	....	still photographer
Roger Berner	....	assistant camera
Vittorio Dragonetti	....	underwater camera operator
Maurice Gillett	....	gaffer
Ray Hall	....	key grip
John Harris	....	camera operator (as John S. Harris)
Ignazio Maccarone	....	underwater gaffer
Massimiliano Sano	....	assistant underwater camera operator
David Wynn-Jones	....	focus puller
Michel Paul Bélisle	....	lamp operator (uncredited)
Bob Bremner	....	best boy (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ian Hickinbotham	....	wardrobe assistant
Philippe Pickford	....	wardrobe
Yvonne Zarb Cousin	....	wardrobe mistress (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Chris Kelly	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Michael Clifford	....	music editor
Sergio Marcotulli	....	music recordist
Ennio Morricone	....	conductor
Percy Edwards	....	whale vocalizations (uncredited)

Other crew
Angela Allen	....	continuity supervisor
Sonny Allen	....	director of training: marine world
Rinaldo Campoli	....	chemical effects
Lou Dyer	....	unit publicist
Gordon K. Kee	....	production auditor (as Gordon Kee)
Morrie Nierenberg	....	location auditor (as Morris Nierenburg)
Jack Piler	....	unit publicist
Giuliano Principato	....	production assistant
Frank Strzalkowski	....	marine mammal trainer: marine world
Luciano Tartaglia	....	production accountant
Ron Taylor	....	shark sequence: Australia
Frank Van der Veer	....	supervisor of photographic effects
Lester Simms	....	boat captain (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica
• Famous Films (II)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1977) (USA) (theatrical)
• S.N. Prodis (1977) (France) (theatrical)
• Arcade Movie Company (1998) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1978) (USA) (TV)
• H.O.M. Vision (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Kabel 1 (19??) (Germany) (TV)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (1980) (USA) (VHS)
• Sat.1 (199?) (Germany) (TV)
• VTI Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Joyce Selznick & Associates  casting
• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment
• Orthophonics Recording Studios  music recording
• Tyler Camera Supplies  sea camera stabilization
• Van der Veer Photo Effects  titles (as Van der Veer Photo)

Also Known As:

Orca: Killer Whale
The Killer Whale

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | UK:18 (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia)

Filming Locations:

Malta

Company:

Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica

Trivia:

In the mid-80s, Dino De Laurentiis considered a sequel to King Kong (1976) that would have had him going head-to-head with an Orca.

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.

Quotes:

Rachel: The killer whale. He is a mammal with warm blood, found in every sea.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gray Matters (2006/I)

Soundtrack:

My Love, We Are One

Grim? Perhaps not. Entertaining? Absolutely.

I've seen this movie at least a dozen times since it's release. The first time I saw it, I was very young, perhaps 8 or 9, and while I found it upsetting and sad at parts, as an adult I can look back and say it speaks so much more to me than say, "Free Willy." The movie follows the events in a fisherman's life following the capture of a killer whale. On the surface, it can appear grim and gory, but underneath there is a stirring tale about a man who has lost everything he held dear, has given up all feeling because of past events and leads an almost hostile towards life existence and then gradually comes to understand that because he was hurt, does not give him an excuse not to feel. Yes, the premise does dabble in the fantasy world, however the point isn't whether this could happen but the growth of the central character. Not once have I been able to watch this movie and not been moved by it.