Orca (1977)

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
Frank Van der Veer	....	photographic effects supervisor

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
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:

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.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Orca attacks Ken, it's seen that the orca grabs Ken's arm with its jaws, and then drags him into the water. However in the shot where orca drags Ken into the water, the Orca has nothing in its jaws, and Ken is nowhere to be found. This hints that a video of an orca jumping and splashing was used to complete the effect.

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]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Shannon Doherty/Cypress Hill (#19.2)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

My Love, We Are One

A TRULY MYTHIC FEEL

"ORCA" must be one of the most undervalued films ever made.Always regarded as a lame rip-off of "JAWS",there are few who champion its cause.The truth is that "ORCA" has a truly mythic feel about man versus beast that "JAWS" doesn't even come close to."ORCA" is a vastly superior film and its grim and relentless story of a whale pursuing the killer of its mate until it has him trapped on an ice floe is grippingly told.The score by Ennio Morricone is as hauntingly evocative as anything composed for the cinema. Richard Harris gives one of his finest performances as he reigns in his normal histrionics to portray a man who defies the gods themselves to face a date with destiny which can only have one outcome.The rest of the performances hardly matter although Bo Derek scores points over the ever lifeless Charlotte Rampling in one of only two female roles.The opening and closing scenes of whales swimming the oceans are touching in a way difficult to explain but the most haunting image in this fine movie is the shot we see of Harris as he leaves the port on board his boat for a final battle with the orca.His face is grave and determined,he knows that his fate is unavoidable and it is this image coupled with the Morricone music that accompanies it that enables journeyman director Michael Anderson to beat Spielberg at his own game.Forget comparisons and judge this remarkable film on its own merits.