Piranha (1978)

Director:

Joe Dante

Writers:

Richard Robinson (story) and
John Sayles (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

3 August 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

They came downriver in their thousands. Their teeth could strip a living man to the bone in seconds.

Plot:

When flesh-eating piranhas are accidently released into a summer resort's rivers, the guests become their next meal.

Plot Keywords:

Piranha | Fish | River | Water | U.S. Army

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Bradford Dillman	...	Paul Grogan
Heather Menzies-Urich	...	Maggie McKeown (as Heather Menzies)
Kevin McCarthy	...	Dr. Robert Hoak
Keenan Wynn	...	Jack
Dick Miller	...	Buck Gardner
Barbara Steele	...	Dr. Mengers
Belinda Balaski	...	Betsy
Melody Thomas Scott	...	Laura Dickinson (as Melody Thomas)
Bruce Gordon	...	Colonel Waxman
Barry Brown	...	Trooper
Paul Bartel	...	Mr. Dumont
Shannon Collins	...	Suzie Grogan
Shawn Nelson	...	Whitney
Richard Deacon	...	Earl Lyon
Janie Squire	...	Barbara Randolph
Roger Richman	...	David
Bill Smillie	...	Jailer
Guich Koock	...	TV Pitchman
Jack Pauleson	...	Boy in Canoe
Eric Henshaw	...	Father in Canoe
Robert Vinson	...	Soldier
Virginia Dunnam	...	Girl
Diamond Farnsworth	...	Water-skier (as Hill Farnsworth)
Bruce Paul Barbour	...	Man in Boat (as Bruce Barbour)
Robyn Ray	...	Screaming Woman
Mike Sullivan	...	Dam Guard
Jack Cardwell	...	Brandy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sally Bondi	...	Swimming Deb (uncredited)
Eric Braeden	...	Dr. Robert Hoak (swimming double) (uncredited)
Joe Dante	...	Scuba Diver #2 (uncredited)
Amy Holden Jones	...	Hertz Clerk (uncredited)
Andrew G. La Marca	...	Scuba Diver #1 (uncredited)
John Sayles	...	Army Sentry (uncredited)
Phil Tippett	...	Scuba Diver #3 (victim) (uncredited)

Directed by
Joe Dante

Writing credits
Richard Robinson		(story) and
John Sayles		(story)
John Sayles		(screenplay)

Produced by
Roger Corman	....	executive producer
Jon Davison	....	producer
Chako van Leeuwen	....	co-producer (as Chako Van Leeuwen)
Jeff Schechtman	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Pino Donaggio

Cinematography by
Jamie Anderson		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Joe Dante
Mark Goldblatt

Casting by
Susan Arnold

Art Direction by
Bill Mellin
Kerry Mellin

Set Decoration by
Jeff Ayers

Makeup Department
Rob Bottin	....	special makeup
Vincent Prentice	....	special makeup

Production Management
Thomas M. Hammel	....	production manager: second unit
Tom Jacobson	....	production manager
Harry Wowchuk	....	unit production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles H. Eglee	....	assistant director (as Charles Eglee)
Greg Gears	....	assistant director
Dick Lowry	....	second unit director
Costa Mantis	....	background director

Art Department
Tim Doughten	....	assistant art director
Kathleen Hughes	....	property master
Kevin Hughes	....	property master

Sound Department
Richard L. Anderson	....	sound effects editor (as Richard Anderson)
Teresa Eckton	....	sound effects editor (as Terry Eckton)
Joel Goldsmith	....	location sound mixer
Anthony Santa Croce	....	boom operator (as Tony Santa Croce)
David Lewis Yewdall	....	sound effects editor (as Dave Yewdall)
Velcie Yewdall	....	foley artist
Kendrick Sweet	....	dialogue editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Douglas Barnett	....	mechanical effects (as Doug Barnett)
Jon Berg	....	special effects
Dave Morton	....	mechanical effects
Robert Short	....	special properties
Chris Walas	....	special properties

Visual Effects by
Adam Beckett	....	animator
Bill Hedge	....	photographic effects
Peter Kuran	....	photographic effects
Pat O'Neill	....	special opticals
Jules Roman	....	effects assistant (as Jools Tippett)
Jerome Seven	....	effects assistant
Rick Taylor	....	photographic effects
Phil Tippett	....	creature designer and animator
Chris Casady	....	photographic effects (uncredited)
Phil Tippett	....	model construction (uncredited)

Stunts
Roger Creed	....	stunts
Conrad E. Palmisano	....	stunt coordinator (as Conrad Palmisano)
Nick Palmisano	....	stunts
Bobby Sargent	....	stunts
Bruce Paul Barbour	....	utility stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Daniel Adams	....	best boy (as Dan Adams)
Ted Boehler	....	still photographer
Chris Brightman	....	grip
Clyde E. Bryan	....	assistant camera: second unit (as Clyde Bryan)
Scott Buttfield	....	grip: second unit
Dana Christiaansen	....	assistant camera
Bill Decker	....	grip
Ben Haller	....	key grip
M. Todd Henry	....	director of photography: second unit
Michael Katz	....	gaffer (as M.W. Katz)
Andrew G. La Marca	....	assistant camera (as Andy La Marca)
Moshe Levin	....	grip: second unit (as Moshe Levine)
O.C. Perkins	....	still photographer
Eric Stoner	....	underwater grip
Lynn Troupe	....	underwater grip
Christopher Tufty	....	assistant camera: second unit

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jack Buehler	....	wardrobe assistant
Linda Pearl	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Brenda Balanda	....	assistant editor
Stacy Russo	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Natale Massara	....	conductor

Transportation Department
Michael K. Davis	....	driver: grip (as Michael Goldson)

Other crew
Jim Boni	....	production assistant
Robert Brown	....	production assistant
William Decker	....	dog wrangler
Jeffrey M. Hoffman	....	production assistant (as Jeff Hoffman)
Nava Jacoby	....	location auditor
David Kayler	....	coordinator: Los Angeles
Michael Martin	....	production assistant
Sharron Reynolds	....	production secretary
Jeanne Rosenberg	....	script supervisor
John Smead	....	scuba instructor
Ashley Stieglitz	....	production secretary
Ed Tarbutton	....	production assistant
Harry Wowchuk	....	location manager
Susan Arnold	....	adr voice (uncredited)
Taira Rosales	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• New World Pictures

Distributors

• New World Pictures (1978) (USA) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1978) (France) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1980) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Warner Home Video (1983) (USA) (VHS)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print)
• Stormovie (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Shout! Factory (2010) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Shout! Factory (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Another World Entertainment (2010) (Denmark) (DVD)
• Fazer Musiikki Oy/Fazer Video (1984) (Finland) (video)
• Future Film (2010) (Finland) (DVD)
• New Concorde (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• New Horizons (video)
• Studio S (2010) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (????) (Finland) (video)

Other Companies

• Ryder Sound Services  post-production sound

Also Known As:

Runtime:

94 min | USA:106 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1978) (uncut) | Finland:K-16 (1984) (cut) | Italy:VM14 (original rating) | Iceland:L | Argentina:16 (re-rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-15 (2010) (uncut) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Italy:T (DVD rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | Australia:M | France:-12 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2002) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

New World Pictures

Trivia:

Eric Braeden was originally cast as Paul Grogan, but he pulled out to pursue another project. He had already shot some underwater swimming footage which is used in the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: The position of the plane ticket in Earl's hand as he gives it to Maggie.

Quotes:

Reporter:Terror, horror, death. Film at eleven.

Movie Connections:

References Plane Crazy (1928)

Entertaining "Jaws" rip-off

Even in the late 70's studios were trying to cash in on the "Jaws" phenomenon and to this date they are still doing it. This is a Roger Corman produced film and he never saw a genre that he didn't exploit. Story is about an insurance investigator named Maggie McKeown (Heather Menzies) who is trying to locate two lost campers and she runs into an alcoholic hermit in the woods named Paul Grogan (Bradford Dillman) and she persuades him to give her a ride to a supposedly closed military facility. They look around and Maggie finds the campers gear certifying that they were there. They start to drain the pool to see if they drowned and they're attacked by a man who says not to let the water drain. They knock him unconscious and take him back to Paul's cabin. They tie him up and with the use of a raft they head downstream to the authorities. While on the raft they find out that his name is Dr. Robert Hoak (Kevin McCarthy) and he has been working for the government undercover and has developed a mutant species of piranha and that they let them out of the pool and into the river! The military comes in and they try to keep Maggie and Paul quiet but they escape and try to stop the piranha from heading downriver and into the ocean. The piranha chew up several people and even little kids swimming at camp. A local businessman named Buck Gardner (Dick Miller) is opening a resort on the river and even though he knows about the piranha he doesn't delay the grand opening. This was the directorial debut of Joe Dante and even though this was made on a shoestring budget his talent is very evident. Yes, the film is silly but the special effects are not that bad and the script was written by John Sayles. The only flaw (For me that is) is that Dillman and Menzies spend way to much time on that raft. The film does slow down a notch but luckily it's not for that long. There is one truly scary scene and it's where the piranha attack the little kids at camp. The kids really get chomped on and the scene where a pretty counselor is killed is very effective and well made. The opening scene in the film is a direct "Jaws" rip-off where the two campers go swimming at night and are eaten. Menzies is then seen playing a "Jaws" video game. Like all Corman films this has many recognizable faces in the cast like Keenan Wynn, Barbara Steele, Paul Bartel, Belinda Balaski, Richard Deacon and Sayles himself plays the Army guard that is fooled when Dillman and Menzies escape. Definitely a film that you don't take seriously but this is pretty well made and a must for fans of Corman and horror films.